Trade raises a glass to Cask Beer Week

The Independent Family Brewers of Britain (IFBB) has declared its third National Cask Beer Week the most successful so far, with the backing of a number of regional brewers and pub companies.

The week-long celebration of British cask beers is being heavily pushed by both regional and smaller brewers up and down the country in an effort to elevate cask's profile among pub-goers.

A spokesperson for IFBB said: "Cask Beer Week is an opportunity to celebrate cask beer - its regionality, diverse flavours and variety of brands. The IFBB considers itself the guardian of cask beer, and Cask Beer Week is the celebration of everything that the IFBB stands for."

Pub companies such as Punch, Unique and Scottish & Newcastle have added their weight to the campaign while Coors, Cask Marque and the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) have also provided support, with CAMRA taking point-of-sale (POS) material and distributing it among its members.

While the IFBB has orchestrated the initiative and provided pubs with POS material, much of the funding and promotional ideas for the event have been provided by individual brewers.

In many parts of the country, local rivalries have been put to one side and brewers have joined forces as part of the crusade.

In London, Fuller's, Young's and McMullen's took three giant pints on a London pub-crawl during which they handed out free vouchers. Fuller's and Young's also staged a pint-swap where lager drinkers in their respective pubs were offered a free pint of real ale in exchange for a pint of the fizzy stuff.

More than half a dozen brewers in the West Country have joined forces to launch a "Best of The West" campaign prior to National Cask Beer Week with seven giant pints touring major tourist locations in the region.

Rick Payne, marketing manager of Badger Ales, said: "Brewers in the South West have come together to promote National Cask Beer Week and encourage more people to celebrate this heritage and sample cask ale.

"The message seems to be getting through. Figures from the IFBB, which accounts for 50 per cent of cask ale sold, show that production of cask ale among IFBB members is up by 9.5 per cent."

Further north, a quartet of local brewers - JW Lees, Holts, Hydes and Robinsons - embarked on a 21-mile tour on the world's largest bike distributing free pint vouchers.

Pictured: West Country brewers have joined forces for National Cask Beer Week​