CAMPAIGN FOR REAL ALE

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The decline in real ale sales is expected to turn to growth in the next few years as smaller brewers continue their spectacular success.

A new report shows that regional and independent brewers are increasing their sales by an average of 7.5% per year, and one in three pints of ale sold in the UK is now cask beer.

The report, “The Intelligent Choice” – The True State of the Market for Cask Ale in 2007, is backed by the Society of Independent Brewers, Independent Family Brewers of Britain, CAMRA, the Cask Marque Trust and market analyst AC Nielsen.

Real ale declined by 61% in the ten years between 1995 and 2005 to represent only 7% of the total alcohol market. But most of the decline derives from the abandonment of cask beer by the UK’s global brewers.

Additional headline findings published in The Intelligent Choice include:

• Good quality cask ale accounts for up to 40 percent of a pub’s beer sales
• Consumers are becoming increasingly affluent and show an interest in different and more complex flavours
• Forget style bars, the traditional pub is back in fashion
• Consumers are starting to favour buying local produce and cask ale clocks up far fewer ‘food miles’ than imported lager brands or wines

Carlsberg and Coors are now the only globals producing cask beer in the UK. The Tetleys and Ansells brands and Burton Ale are brewed by Carlsberg in Leeds, and Worthington plus some tiny brands are brewed by Coors in Burton-on-Trent.