Independent brewers are predicting cask ale will return to growth within the next 12 months as the rate of decline in the market continues to slow down.
Latest figures point to real-ale losses now running at less than 3% as small brewers continue to record impressive sales increases.
Delegates at the Society of Independent Brewers Association (Siba) conference in York heard that much of the increase had been driven by the group's successful direct delivery scheme (DDS).
Year-on-year figures for the final quarter of 2007 revealed 30% more pubs were now taking advantage of the system, which allows beers to be ordered direct from local brewers. Annual sales through DDS increased from £4.5m to £6.7m last year, accounting for 26,431 barrels.
Siba managing director Nick Stafford said the demand for local beers from licensees had now overtaken the association's own targets.
"I am delighted we appear to have won over many of the sceptics who initially ignored DDS. The demand for local beers is on a roll and the interest by licensees has shown a spectacular increase," he said. "Consumption of cask beer in pubs could provide ammunition in the fight against home drinking," he added.
Stafford revealed supermarkets and multiple stores were also starting to increase their volume sales of local bottled beers. Pubs owned by Enterprise Inns, the main driver of the DDS scheme, account for 71% of the scheme's business.
Admiral Taverns pubs account for 5.5% and Punch 5.2%, although sales through the company's houses showed a 20% increase over the final quarter of last year.
severn sins stout wins supreme champion award
A beer brewed in a disused milking parlour in Gloucestershire has won the supreme national championship in a contest run by Britain's local brewers.
Severn Sins, a full-bodied stout from the Severn Vale Brewing Company, based in the village of Cam, took the supreme champion award in the 2008 National Beer Competition organised by Siba. The beer brewed to a strength of 5.2% abv, beat 342 other draught ales from around Britain on its way to becoming national champion.
Brewery owner Steve McDonald received his award at the end of Siba's annual conference in York last Friday.
The brewery supplies more than 50 pubs including the Old Spot in Dursley, which last month was named the Campaign For Real Ale's National Pub of the Year.
McDonald said winning the Siba award was a dream come true, which made all his hard work worthwhile.
calls for action on 'pre-loading'
An MP has called for urgent action to address a growing "pre-load" culture which sees teenagers plying themselves with cheap off-licence drink before setting off for a night out.
All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group member Eric Illsley said pubs were often unfairly blamed for problems out of their control. "Outbreaks of disorder are invariably blamed on the premises where a person last had a drink," he told the conference. "The problem is not so much pubs, but people pre-loading at home and hitting the streets at 10pm," he said.
Illsley, MP for Barnsley Central, said ways had to be explored to make supermarkets stop below-cost selling, because appealing to the big chains to take action voluntarily would not work.
siba plans big pbd push
Siba says it will push for progressive beer duty (PBD) concessions to be increased as long as EU regulations permit.
Association chairman Peter Amor said PBD had been an outstanding success and achieved what it had initially set out to do.
"It has enabled brewers to invest in new plant and take on extra staff, and our aim would be to maintain current levels or even increase them," he told the conference.
cyclops is the way forward
All 320 Siba brewers registered for the direct delivery scheme will be Cyclops accredited by next year. The companies have all applied to join a scheme, which sees beer tasting notes accompany their brands.
The scheme was first launched by regional brewer Everards of Leicester, but has now been adopted by most regional and independent companies.
"If we want people to sample our beers its important they know exactly what they are drinking," said Camra
Good Beer Guide editor Roger Protz.