The Cask Project

The Cask Project

The Morning Advertiser launched The Cask Project in a bid to re-energise the category and reinstall it in pride of place on the bar of pubs throughout the country.

Cask beer is in long-time decline and, having joined forces with some of the UK’s leading cask beer suppliers – Greene King and St Austell – we want to reinvigorate attitudes within the trade to a product which should be rightly cherished by operators.

Cask beer is a unique product that can only be replicated successfully within pubs but the perception of cask, particularly among younger drinkers, is that it is made and loved only by an ageing male population.

We want to create a real buzz about cask to get pub owners, operators, general managers, bartenders and all pub staff on board and debunk the myths surrounding the drink and educate them on how to make cask work for their business. And by doing this, we can pass on that knowledge, care and skill into cask beer at the bar for customers to get excited about too.

Greene King launches Cask Iron Guarantee to save pubs money

GK launches Cask Iron Guarantee

By Gary Lloyd

Suffolk-based brewer and pub operator Greene King has launched a new initiative – the Cask Iron Guarantee – that gives free-trade customers the ability to claim a refund or credit for expired cask ale.

Why CMBC's Hobgoblin could help cask category

Seeking a younger market for cask

By Gary Lloyd

Cask is often associated with old men and an out-of-fashion drink but if modernising the beverage and bringing down the average age of the customer is the answer to reinvigorating the category – could Hobgoblin help the category?

Anspach & Hobday completes brewery expansion after fundraising

the cask project

Anspach & Hobday capacity hits 1.76m pints per year

By Gary Lloyd

London-based cask and keg brewer Anspach & Hobday has completed the expansion of its brewery following a crowdfunding drive that mean it is now capable of producing 1.76m pints per year.

Theakston's first ever collab is with craft brand Wylam

the cask project

Cask and keg brewers join for Theakston’s first collab

By Gary Lloyd

Yorkshire-based brewery T&R Theakston has joined forces with Newcastle-upon-Tyne’s Wylam Brewery to create Henry’s Pick – the first collaboration beer since the family brewer was founded almost 200 years ago.

Why beer styles only work with a certain dispense method

the cask project

If you love cask ale, is it OK to flirt with keg?

By Pete Brown

Since CAMRA’s foundation, some real ale devotees have insisted it’s the only style of beer worth taking seriously. But times have changed, and so has beer.

Big Bog Brewing named North West champion in SIBA awards

the cask project

Liverpool-based Big Bog wins SIBA regional award

By Gary Lloyd

Liverpool microbrewery Big Bog Brewing Co has won the Overall Champion Cask Beer Award at the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) North-West Independent Beer Awards 2022, which took place at the Bolton Beer Festival.

Beer and food pairing with Ed Hughes of Sharp's

the cask project

How to match complex cask flavours with your food

By Ed Hughes, beer sommelier, Sharp’s Brewery

Sweet, bitter, sour, spicy and fruity: beer arguably has a more complex range of flavours than wine, and beer and food matching is a growing concept in modern cuisine.

Beer Piper tips and online tool to work out beer waste

the cask project

Beer Piper launches beer-saving calculator

By Gary Lloyd

Beer line cleaning business Beer Piper has launched an online calculator to help publicans save money and offered six tips to help keep money in licensees’ pockets.

Sheffield's Kelham Island Brewery saved from shutdown

the cask project

Kelham Island Brewery saved from closure

By Gary Lloyd

Sheffield’s oldest independent brewery has been saved from closure by a six-strong group made up of beer, music and art fans.

Purity bucks trend on cask and charges more

the cask project

Purity pub charges premium price for cask

By Purity Brewing Co

Contrary to some preconceptions, when properly ‘looked after’ and poured, cask ales can range from cool, light, zesty and refreshing to dark, rich and complex, with an infinite variety of styles, flavours and aromas in between.

London brewer Small Beer put Steam beer into cask

the cask project

Small Beer puts Steam variant into cask

By Gary Lloyd

South London brewer Small Beer, which is known for its sub-2.8% ABV brews, is putting its Steam beer variant into cask format.

St Austell's Georgina Young on the need for expert cask beers

the cask project

Big boys have ‘dumbed down cellarmanship’

By Gary Lloyd

St Austell brewing director Georgina Young believes the art of cellarmanship is being dumbed down and, because cask beer is exclusively made only in the UK, it must be saved.

Quality and premiumisation is key to cask growth

THE CASK PROJECT

Cask needs to premiumise, research reveals

By Ed Bedington

Premiumisation is the future of cask beer but quality will be key to the delivery of that, according to a new report into the category.

Goose Island & Magic Rock launch two collabs at Nicholson’s Pubs

The Cask Project

Goose Island and Magic Rock release new cask beers

By Gary Lloyd

Beer brewers Goose Island and Magic Rock Brewing have collaborated to launch two new brews at Nicholson’s Pubs to celebrate Cask Ale Week, which runs until Sunday 2 October.

Greene King incentives for Cask Ale Week

the cask project

Greene King launches two promotions for Cask Ale Week

By Gary Lloyd

Brewer and pub operator Greene King is launching two incentives to engage new and loyal drinkers in the cask ale category to coincide with the launch of Cask Ale Week, which runs between Thursday 22 September and Sunday 2 October.

Salcombe gains St Austell listings and Theakston triples distribution of Summit

the cask project

St Austell lists Salcombe brew, Theakston triples distribution

By Gary Lloyd

South-west-based brewer and pub operator St Austell has recently listed cask and kegged beers from Salcombe Brewery while brewer T&R Theakston has seen the distribution of its Summit variant rise threefold since the start of summer.

Sharp's to release mango beer for Cask Ale Week

the cask project

Sharp’s releases new beer for Cask Ale Week

By Gary Lloyd

Rock-based Sharp’s Brewery has created a limited-edition cask beer called Coaster Alfonso to celebrate Cask Ale Week, which runs between 22 September and 2 October.

Cask operator sees chance to expand cask category

the cask project

‘Opportunity for flavoured and fruit cask ales’

By Gary Lloyd

In the run-up to Cask Ale Week, which takes place between Thursday 22 September and Sunday 2 October, Shaun Slater, licensee of Star Pubs & Bars site the Black Rock, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, talks about the future of cask ale.

Opinion for the cask project on beer quality for customers

the cask project – opinion

Cask ale shouldn’t be Russian roulette

By Gary Lloyd, associate features editor at The Morning Advertiser

There’s nothing better than seeing a beer on the bar you really want to try rather than the homogenous offer available at almost all pubs.

Sharp's and Shepherd Neame win beer awards

the cask project

Sharp’s and Shepherd Neame scoop awards

By Gary Lloyd

Cornwall-based Sharp’s Brewery is celebrating after its cask ales were among beers from its portfolio that earned honours at prestigious awards events.

CMBC technical specialist John Fogg Q&A session

the cask project

All the technical help you need for cask

By Gary Lloyd

Adding a cask beer offering to your pub can be a great way to introduce a new revenue stream while paying homage to what many describe as the most quintessentially British of products.

Consumer ideas on how to improve the cask category

the cask project

Could cooling cask create a greater customer base?

By Marc Walker, consumer journalist and cask ale lover

As someone who came of age in the late 1990s, my journey to cask ale drinker might be considered fairly typical; as a student, I simply went for the same drink as my peers: big brand, non-descript lager, entirely unaware that an alternative, boasting...

Greene King creates new role to champion cask ale

the cask project

Cask has to be perfect to attract younger drinkers

By John Malone, head of brewery customer engagement, Greene King

Brewer and pub operator Greene King has created a new role that is set to champion the most British of drinks – cask ale. Here, head of brewery customer engagement, John Malone, explains what he and the Suffolk-based business is doing to help the cask...

St Austell Brewery talks about cask quality and give top tips

the cask project

Top cellar tips to ensure quality cask

By Su Stafford, St Austell Brewery trade quality manager

When it comes to cask beer, cellar management is key to achieving top quality and taste. St Austell Brewery’s trade quality manager, Su Stafford, gives her top tips.

Pete Brown on how cask ale can use some hops better than kegged beers

the cask project

Cask is building on craft ideas

By Pete Brown

Too often in this industry, we tend to take an adversarial approach to trends: beer versus wine, lager versus ale, keg versus cask, cask versus craft...

Black Sheep Brewery and Salcombe to release new cask ales

the cask project

New cask ales to hit pubs UK-wide

By Gary Lloyd

Cask fans will be able to enjoy new beers from Black Sheep Brewery and Salcombe Brewery Co next month (July).

Why do we sell cask beer too cheaply?

Let's stop being cheap with cask

By Ed Bedington

Our consistently cheap approach to the sale of cask beer is one of the main reasons we struggle to ignite the category.

Vocation Brewery on cask ale and category future

the cask project

Vocation ramps up cask range post-pandemic

By Gary Lloyd

Vocation Brewery sales director John Hadingham answers a few questions about the Hebden Bridge-based beer producer, the business’s cask ale range and offers advice for pub licensees.

Why selling cask gives a pub an advantage

the cask project

Making cask ale more commercially viable

By Anthony Hughes, director of Lincoln Green Brewing Company

We’ve seen the statistics and know from our own experiences; cask is in decline.

Theakston and Robinsons launch beers for Queen's Platinum Jubilee

the cask project

Theakston, Robinsons and Joseph Holt launch Jubilee beers

By Gary Lloyd

North Yorkshire brewery T&R Theakston, Stockport-based Robinsons Brewery, Manchester brewer and operator Joseph Holt and Hook Norton Brewery of Oxfordshire are celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with the launch of new beers.

Quality is key for cask beer

Are you getting it right on cask?

By Ed Bedington

Are you selling your cask beer within the three day window? That’s the question we’re asking as part of The Cask Project.

Female drinkers' choices could lead to more cask ale sales

the cask project

Female drinkers could be key in cask take-up

By Gary Lloyd

Licensee Ady Smith operates Greene King pub the Dove Street Inn, in Ipswich, with partner Karen. Here he explains how they took on the site and how cask can break ground with younger people.

How can cask beer retain its relevance?

The cask project

How can cask beer retain its relevance?

By Nikkie Thatcher

A number of beer experts discussed how cask can remain relevant The Morning Advertiser’s MA Leaders Club in Manchester earlier this week (Tuesday 10 May).

Dr Steve Housden talks about cask beer in quality and how to improve it

the cask project

Is it time to reform the tradition of cask beer?

By Dr Steve Housden, beer expert

I write as a lover of cask-conditioned ale and a veteran of some 40-odd years of brewing it, caring for it in pub cellars and, of course, drinking it.

Frisco boss Cuthbertson on cask ale

the cask project

We need to stop the ‘Real Ale Assassins’

By James Cuthbertson, director Frisco Group and ex-MD of Dark Star Brewing

Let’s be honest, as an industry, when it comes to cask beer, we need to do much better.

Improve your offer: if you a new pub operator who wants to add cask ale to your range, we can help

The Cask report

Call for new cask ale operators

By Ed Bedington

With cask beer being a unique product for UK pub operators, it’s important to ensure pubs are maximising the opportunity and getting it right and The Morning Advertiser (MA) is now seeking new operators to the trade to help them lay solid foundations...

Important part of a ‘proper’ pub: the appreciation of cask ale remains

The cask project

Licensees must realise the trouble cask is in

By Pete Brown

It’s 15 years now since I wrote the first edition of the Cask Report – an initiative organised by cask brewers and industry bodies to reinvigorate attitudes around cask ale. Now, The Cask Project is a new initiative with the same goals.

Falling numbers: CGA statistical analysis shows where cask ale is failing

The Cask Project

The decline of cask ale in numbers

By Gary Lloyd

The short shelf life of cask beer is a major factor in why the category has suffered a continued decline throughout recent years, according to statistics from data insights expert CGA.

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