At the moment, around 90% of cask beer is being sold outside of that three day window according to Sharp’s Brewery and Molson Coors, and that is damaging perceptions and enjoyment of cask beer across the sector.
The MA’s Cask Project, which is supported by Sharp’s, St Austell, Marston’s Carlsberg Brewing Company and Greene King, is looking to re-energise the pub and bar sector’s approach to cask beer, improve standards and enthuse the sector with a renewed love of what should be a crown jewel category for every pub.
To encourage better practices with cask, Sharp’s Brewery brought together a group of cask enthusiasts from within the Sharp’s and Molson Coors businesses they called the Cask Guardians.
This group of twenty three sales team members from all over the UK were selected based on their passion for the cask beer category. The team have since been put through a rigorous training programme to bolster their expertise in all things cask, from cellar management to flavour profiling and everything in between.
Their aim is to train and inspire the wider sales team with their passion for cask and support customers in loving cask as much as they do.
Elena Petrescu, assistant brand manager for Doom Bar, who heads up the project, said: "I have loved working on our plans for Cask Guardians and working with the team on this project has really opened my eyes to the challenges but also the amazing opportunities within cask for delighting customers with such a wonderful, unique product.”