Marston's plans to roll out different pub concepts under its Retail Agreement, which sees licensees paid 20% of the pub's turnover, to focus on specific areas of expertise such as ale or sport.
The first concept, Ale House, has been launched at Marston's George Inn in Winslow, Buckinghamshire. The pub has been vacant for a few months, during which time Marston's has been refurbishing it.
Ale House pubs will have one or two rooms, with traditional interiors, such as open fireplaces and distressed furniture. They will also have cask ale-themed bric-a-brac, related to the local area, on the walls. However, they won't be able to stock non-Marston's ales.
Alistair Darby, boss of Marston's Pub Company, was reluctant to say how many pubs Marston's wants run as Ale Houses, saying that the company "is not hooked on numbers and we're pretty sure a lot of licensees will want to sign up".
He said the Ale House concept would be a "a great success if the licensee cares passionately about ale".
Darby added: "As we continue to roll out the agreement, areas with a number of our pubs will have different offers for consumers; for example, a pub that's good for sport, another that's good for food, and then one for real ale."
Marston's first introduced the Retail Agreement last year and hopes to roll it out in 600 pubs within three years.
Under the agreement, licensees earn around 20% of their turnover to pay themselves and staff, with Marston's buying everything centrally and paying all other bills.
The model is billed as a way to allow licensees to focus on maximising sales and motivating staff without administration and purchasing price distractions.