One eye on the prize

A recent Nielsen report examined the 10 years of the beer industry during Tony Blair's premiership. Here are a couple of points:• off-trade has...

A recent Nielsen report examined the 10 years of the beer industry during Tony Blair's premiership. Here are a couple of points:

• off-trade has gained share and doubled in value over the last decade at the expense of on-trade

• on-trade beer volumes are down by 25 per cent

• off-trade beer volumes are up by 60 per cent

• ale share of beer volume has fallen from 46 to 33 per cent.

Yet cask ale is one of the few things left exclusively available in the on-trade. It is a true lure in getting people into pubs.In July 2006 Cyclops was launched by Everards in conjunction with the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) as a mechanism to make the most of this opportunity and reverse the trend.

It was widely welcomed and more than 12 months down the line has continued to gain momentum, which, in time, will hopefully make it a recognised and established industry standard.

The progress has been impressive:

• a total of 34 brewers of all different sizes are on board, with each one adopting the system on pump clips, bottles, posters, glassware and other point-of-sale items

• these brewers range from national to micro, but all are keen to see the UK cask ale business move forward

• it is now used by companies such as Carlsberg, Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) and Punch Taverns as the standard way of marketing guest ales to their customers

• the Society of Independent Brewers is now committed to using Cyclops across its membership, using it for educating staff and customers alike and ultimately, to raise the profile of real ale.Rising to the challenge

Currently, out of the top 200 on-trade brands, 37 are cask ales and, to date, 26 of these (an impressive 70 per cent) are using the Cyclops system. However, the 10 brands that haven't signed up are owned by InBev, Coors and S&N - and it is disappointing that, one year on, they are still dragging their feet over getting on board.

While our industry continues to be faced with many challenges, including the smoking ban which has preoccupied us all for so long, it is important that we seize the initiative and work together. Cyclops is virtually free to adopt and proven to both educate staff and recruit new drinkers.

It is not just down to the brewers. Pubs and consumers should also create a 'push and pull' effect, bringing pressure to bear and demanding Cyclops-accredited ales. Sadly, while many brewers fail to engage, the market will not only stand still, it will continue to decline. This reluctance to adopt Cyclops is indicative of the attitude of many national brewers. Great cask brands like Bass and Worthington's do not use Cyclops. It's all very well to moan that traditional cask ale sales are falling, but what are they doing about it?

Innovate to grow

All is not lost. There is innovation - but we need more of it. Cyclops, blonde ales, stout ales, modern merchandise, all of these have given a fresh look and feel to the cask ale market. It is by continuing investment and coming up with new ideas and angles that we will survive and grow.

The smoking ban also offers great opportunities. Pubs focusing on food, older drinkers and families are set to do well and frequently these are the same pubs where cask ale thrives.

And there's a whole new generation of drinkers out there just waiting for us to excite and interest them in cask ale - we just have to work together and find the ways in which to do it.

• David Bremner is operations director - commercial for Everards Brewery

Brewers who have adopted the Cyclops scheme to date:

Saltaire

JW Lees

Bath Ales

SA Brain

Batemans

Okells

Everards

Tom Woods

Titanic

Fuller's