OPINION: Get down the pub for a cask beer or two

There’s nothing quite like it and what makes it even more special is that you have to go to a pub to get one because cask isn’t bottled or canned.

At St Austell Brewery, we demonstrate our commitment to excellence through 101 different tests performed on our cask beers before distribution, with quality control continuing even after they reach our pubs.

Despite misconceptions about cask beer – like it being flat or appealing only to the older demographic – we strive to showcase its true potential as a consistent and enjoyable tipple. We continually innovate to meet the ever-evolving consumer wants, with the season for bitters, rich porters and stouts upon us.

Small-batch experimentation

Our initiatives like Cask Club provide our brewers with a platform to create limited-edition beers each month, experimenting in our small batch.

This dedication to innovation and quality ensures cask beer remains a vibrant and exciting choice for all beer enthusiasts. You never know what might be the next best thing; Tribute, our flagship ale, started its life as a small, experimental cask brew, and it’s still winning awards a quarter of a century on.

You can’t beat the quality and special care put into cask. Cask beer is the most natural beer on the bar as it is not force carbonated like kegged beer, instead undergoing a secondary natural fermentation in the cask, often resulting in more noticeable flavours.

Outstanding success

Cask beer is (supposed to be) handled with much more care than keg – it can’t simply go from barrel to tap – it has to be looked after properly in the days leading up to and during its arrival to a pub, which is another reason cask beers are a crafted brew and one I implore you to give a go next time you visit a pub.

Taking our punchy IPA, Proper Job, in cask to London Craft Beer Festival this August – in a space otherwise dominated by craft beer – proved the passion and the trust that we have in the taste and quality of our cask beers.

The outstanding success of how many people came to try the beer and learn about cask just goes to show that more needs to be done around education and the willingness to give things a go.

Cask beer should be celebrated and St Austell Brewery will continue to fly the flag for it.