October is Proud of Ale month at TCG pubs

Brett Sanders, manager of The Golden Fleece in Chelmsford, will hold a beer festival shwocasing 30 different cask ales

Managed pub group TCG is to run a Proud of Our Ale event at 65 of its pubs during the month of October.

TCG has teamed up with the Campaign for Real Ale, Cask Marque, the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) and brewer SA Brain for the event, which coincides with Cask Ale Week (1 October-9 October).

Proud of Our Ale will encourage customer who have not tried cask ale before to give it a go, as well as appealing to converted fans. Brains IPA will be available in all pubs as well as several local brews.

TCG is also offering a 20% discount on every pint of cask to all 100,000 CAMRA members in October. Customers will also be offered a Facebook loyalty card giving 25p off a pint of cask beer, with their 7th pint free. Thirds of pints will also be available as well as taster glasses during Cask Ale Week.

“Some of our pubs have served great cask beer for many years, and we want to extend that to other pubs and a more diverse range of customers,” said TCG chief operating officer Nigel Wright.

“We see the Proud of Our Ale campaign as a great way to introduce them to one of life’s great pleasures — a pint of cask beer enjoyed in their local pub.”

Paul Nunny, director of Cask Marque, said: “From having a limited cask ale presence only a few years ago, TCG has put a huge investment of time and money into making cask an integral part of its offer.

“The speed with which they’ve achieved this, and the enthusiasm with which their managers have embraced cask beer, make TCG a model for building a cask ale business.

“TCG has recognised that cask ale has a place in mainstream pubs as well as specialist ale pubs – the key is having the right number of cask beers and then keeping and serving them well.”

Over 50 TCG pubs now have Cask Marque accreditation, meaning around 100 employees have completed the Award in Beer Cellar Quality.