Food pubs help cask stay strong
Cask ale is no longer the preserve of traditional, wet-led pubs, with food-led sites increasingly recognising the product as a major source of income, according to new research.
Data gathered by CGA Strategy exclusively for The Publican shows that it was food pubs in particular that helped cask outperform the overall beer market in 2008.
Food-led pubs' (defined by CGA as a venue where food accounts for over 30 per cent of sales) cask sales were 2.5 per cent higher in value terms in 2008 than in 2007.
Locals (defined as traditional wet-led venues) meanwhile saw the value of their cask sales fall 6.3 per cent in the same period.
Circuit bars' (defined as town-centre venues or ones that drinkers would visit on a circuit from a town centre) cask sales suffered heavy declines, their value falling 12.9 per cent.
Food pubs' success in growing cask sales was a major factor in cask ale declining slower than beer overall in the on-trade. According to CGA, while the volume of all beer sold by the on-trade fell by 8.5 per cent in 2008 year on year, the volume of cask fell by eight per cent.
Stripping out the sales data concerning beer produced by 'The Big Four' brewers (Coors, InBev, Scottish & Newcastle and Carlsberg, broadly perceived as neglecting formerly big cask brands in favour of smoothflow variants), cask is faring significantly better than beer as whole. On-trades sales of beers excluding The Big Four's produce fell only six per cent in volume and 3.7 per cent in value.
CGA head of insight Phil Tate said: "Since the smoking ban, 1,592 pubs have migrated from a wet-led style of operation into food. In addition, venues in general have increased the level of food they offer and this has again been very beneficial for the cask market."
