At the launch of The Cask Report 2018, Cask Marque sales and marketing director Paul Nunny revealed plans to introduce the ‘Beautiful Beer’ scheme to pubs across the UK from autumn 2018.
The scheme will seek to recognise pubs that have made significant efforts to promote quality beer and will run alongside the organisation’s existing Cask Marque accreditation programme, which is now featured in over 10,000 pubs in the UK.
The Beautiful Beer programme will be run by an independent company that Cask Marque intends to set up in November of this year. The scheme will be trialled across five pub groups in spring 2018, before being launched officially in autumn.
Greater staff training
Paul Nunny told attendees that the idea for the scheme came about as a result of research for The Cask Report that showed gaps in “the beer experience” in pubs, and the need for greater bar staff training.
Cask Marque has not yet revealed full details about what pubs will need to do to achieve the accreditation but it is thought that the scheme will not be judged purely on pub’s selection and quality of cask ales. Craft keg and small pack formats will also play a factor, as well as the ability of staff to talk with knowledge about the venue’s beer selection.
Other Cask Report news
Among the other key findings from The Cask Report were the news that overall cask beer sales are down 5% in the past six years and cask drinkers spend more money than any other group of consumers in the pub.
Nunny expressed his concern about the fall in sales of cask beer but said it was important to try and “turn a negative into a positive” by focusing on the benefits cask drinkers could provide to pubs.
The Morning Advertiser’s full analysis of the report can be read online here.