5 common cask mistakes

1​. Plan ahead! Cask shouldn’t go in a cellar unrefrigerated because the “spoil time” is probably 24 hours.  The cellar should be ideally 11°C to 13°C to keep the beer fresh but also allowing it to condition before serving

2​. As the proverb goes, “cleanliness is next to godliness”. To serve any beer, especially cask ale, you need to have prepared your beer lines. Make sure your lines are meticulously clean. We always, always recommend cleaning lines before putting a new cask on sale. A good remainder is to clean beer lines AT least every seven days.

3.​ The maximum time on sale is three days to keep the quality “excellent”. This applies right down to the last pint you serve. Cask is a unique beer only available in pubs so its important to remember that a great pint brings customers back to your bar again and again!

4.​ When thinking about which cask ales to offer, your first resource should be your supplier. They can tell you which cask ales to stock on a permanent basis as well as any that are good as “rotational” or “guest” beers. 

Your supplier will also let you know what is popular and will also have your order history that you can refer back to.  Starting out, as a rule of thumb, you should have one core cask beer on offer all the time and if adding any more, making sure ANY additional, rotating beers sell through completely.  Less is always more! CMBC has a fantastic cask ale range tool that will help with choosing the right cask ales for your outlet;  make sure you speak to a local CMBC representative who will be more than happy to assist and advise.

5.​ Last point on cask ales – One of the all-time great selling tools for cask ale is the “recommendation”. Thinking anything will “just sell” isn’t wise given the amount of choice available. 

Don’t be shy about you and your staff being proactive – talking to your customers and encouraging them to try a small sample of any cask beer you’re selling.  Just try it next time you have a new cask ale on your bar and carefully watch the wonderful reactions of customers, often trying cask beer for the first time.