January winner - STAFFORDSHIRE LICENSEES Josef, Phyllis and Jamie Lang

The Langs run the Red Lion, a Marston's Pub Company

local in Rugeley, Staffordshire. We spoke to Phyllis Lang

Winning CaskForce in January was very good publicity for us. Winning anything like this is always going to be popular, even though cask ales aren't that important to our business at the moment.

What does cask ale mean to your

business and your customers?

We're trying to build it up to get youngsters interested in cask ales, so that it can continue to grow. We have the diehards who wouldn't drink anything else, but younger people have more fickle tastes - they're always looking for something different, and cask ales can give them what they want.

They just don't know it. There are so many varieties out there, but it isn't always easy getting the youngsters to try them. But if we all work hard, cask ales will thrive again.

What is the future for cask ale,

in your opinion?

My customers like the variety of cask ales on offer. I put on a different guest beer every week, and sometimes they just fly out of the barrels. Some sticklers wouldn't change their tastes for anything, but a lot of the youngsters like something new, so I try to give them a new beer as often as possible.

Do your staff know and understand about beer quality? If so, how?

I do try to show my staff the importance of quality in everything, not just beer. It's important that people should expect the best, and I try to pass on the benefits of my knowledge and experience to my staff.

Have you done the ABCQ training?

If so, has this helped with your overall approach to lager, beer, soft drinks and so forth?

You always find out something you didn't know before - such as how to pour lagers properly, for instance.

Even lagers have their own special ways of being served, so I always try to make my staff aware of the benefits of extra knowledge.

What has being a monthly CaskForce

winner meant to you?

Winning CaskForce has helped us because it's good publicity, but it's also meant that we could do a special event for St George's Day, with reduced beer prices, to give something back to our loyal customers.

What would being the overall

winner mean to you? And how would you invest the year's rent?

If I won overall, I'd upgrade some of my equipment - you can always do with a better fridge, for example, or a new ice machine, or something for the kitchen, maybe.