Reading the Cask Report will boost real ale sales at your pub

14-Oct-2012 - Last updated on 12-Mar-2017 at 01:49 GMT

Adams: "Statistics imply that pubs serving cask are closing at a much slower rate than those that don’t"

Cask Ale Week, the Cask Report and the latest Good Beer Guide launch has left me feeling very upbeat about the industry. Cask ale is at the heart of British brewing heritage and should be celebrated.

One of the encouraging Cask Report findings is that cask ale is now in growth, despite the overall continuing decline in draught-beer sales. We all know times are tough, but the statistics imply that pubs serving cask are closing at a much slower rate than those that don’t.

As most pubs serving ‘craft keg’ also serve excellent cask ales, this can only be good news for all beer lovers, so to support cask is not to denigrate keg or ‘craft’ beer. I believe beer should be drunk by the means the brewer intended, and if that is straight from the fermenter in a hollowed-out pumpkin, so be it...

Another impressive development in the Cask Report over the years has been the evolution of its stocking-policy suggestions. The report urges: “Any pub should stock an interesting variety of beers.”

While an element of familiarity on any bar gives drinkers confidence that the outlet serves good beer, customers appreciate the chance to try unfamiliar brands too. So the optimal range would include styles from a range of brewers.

Not rocket science, I know, but there are still many pubs struggling to put an eclectic range together. Last week I saw a blackboard offering Adnams Bitter, Greene King IPA, Sharp’s Doom Bar and St Austell’s Tribute.

While I wouldn’t criticise these choices individually, I query the selection of four beers, all amber in colour, with a variation of just 0.6% ABV between them and no more than 1.5 units difference in bitterness or sweetness, according to the Cyclops Beer website.

British beer is having a renaissance, with many styles available, from dark stouts, porters, milds and black IPAs to amber and golden ales. Most brewers offer a range of styles, and many big ones cottoned on to the trend for golden ales pioneered by the likes of Hopback, Exmoor, Dark Star and my local brewery, Crouch Vale.

These popular golden ales should no longer be labelled by traditionalists as ‘fads’ aimed at lager drinkers. Brewers Gold is our biggest-selling beer, leaving me bemused as to why so many pubs still don’t permanently stock a golden hop-led beer.

So if you want to stay at the top of your game, read the Cask Report, be brave with your beer range, offer ‘try before you buy’, and perhaps try stocking interesting keg beers. If you do, I’m sure like us, you’ll see your cask sales grow — and your reputation with it.