As easy as ABCQ

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As the final stages of CaskForce approach, Rosie Davenport reports on the vital trade training aspect of the competition Competition prizes don't get...

As the final stages of CaskForce approach, Rosie Davenport reports on the vital trade training aspect of the competition

Competition prizes don't get much more enticing than having your rent paid for a year. And as the seven MA readers who have made it through to the final round of CaskForce, our joint promotion with Marston's, wait to find out if they have won the top prize, we look at how useful other licensees have found the competition.

A survey of the first 100 licensees to win free training, undertaking the Award in Beer & Cellar Quality (ABCQ) in their pub, shows that 85% were pleased with the help they received, and none were disappointed.

Many of the remaining 15% said they initially felt they were too experienced to learn anything new from the training, but were actually surprised, seeing it as a valuable refresher in the key aspects of selling good beer.

The majority of licensees - 74% - took the training themselves, and 26% passed it on to another member of their bar team. Those that wanted someone else to receive the training said they were now more confident leaving staff to care for cask ale in the future, as it helped them to serve better beer.

In terms of how valuable licensees found the training, 65% said it was excellent with the remaining 33% rating it as good.

Virtually all the winners, 99%, said the training had inspired them to consider taking part in a more challenging course in the future - encouraging feedback for other suppliers and pub companies that are also trying to push quality training.

However, one of the major differences between the ABCQ training offered to winners of the CaskForce promotion, as opposed to other programmes, is that it takes place on site, in the licensee's own pub.

The results of the survey reveal that overall this made it more "convenient, cost effective and relevant" to the pub's individual needs, in contrast to conducting training in a class-room setting.

This was also borne out by the fact that 21% of the licensees polled said they had previously not undertaken training because they could not afford to leave the pub for a day; a further 22% said they had opted out of training because they would have to find staff cover.

But perhaps one of the most telling areas of the research was the reason MA readers had entered the competition in the first place.

While the lure of having their rent covered for a year was the main draw for 23%, and 15% wanted to scoop a month's free supply of beer, 60% said they were attracted by the chance of winning ABCQ training - a positive signal that shows how switched on the trade is becoming to the need to up the ante on beer quality.

the pubs that scooped a prize in the final monthly draw of this year's caskforce

ABCQ training winners: Craig Brittles, Town Crier, Coventry, West Midlands; Linda Horn, Hearty Goodfellow, Nuneaton, Warwickshire; David Elson, Gate Hangs Well, Carlton, Warwickshire; Wayne Maunder, Biggin Hall, Coventry, West Midlands; Mark Roden, the Gristmill, Sydenham, Warwickshire; Jon Morbey, Jug & Jester, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire; Janet Woodward, the Lamplighter, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire; Susan Thurman, Fir Tree Inn, Coventry, West Midlands; Steven Hargreaves, Hat & Beaver, Atherstone, Warwickshire; John Runcorn, Bird in Hand, Atherstone, Warwickshire; David Terry, the Feathers, Wolverhampton, West Midlands; Valerie Hayward, the Wheatsheaf, Wolverhampton, West Midlands; Roy McGlynn, Dog & Partridge, Wednesfield, West Midlands; Maxine Lewis, Why Not Inn, Essington, Staffordshire; Amanda Byrne, the Homestead, Willenhall, West Midlands; Gordon Tomlin, the Crown, Willenhall, West Midlands; Stewert Parton, Hop Pole Inn, Bilston, West Midlands; Michelle Johnston, Tin Hat, Hinckley, Leicestershire; Roy Arnold, Railway Hotel, Hinckley, Leicestershire; Natalie Parratt, Sycamores Inn, Burbage, Leicestershire; Neil Rodgers, Generous Briton, Loughborough, Leicestershire; Shaun Gilder, Nags Head, Harby, Leicestershire; Carl Thorne, the Huntsman, Cosby, Leicestershire; Terry Willars, White Horse, Desford, Leicestershire; Ken Harrison, Jubilee Inn , Newbold Vernon, Leicestershire; Ken Bairs, Gate Inn, Netherwhitacre, West Midlands; Richard Wright, Old Bush Revived, Rowley Regis, West Midlands; Lorraine Riese, the George, Oldbury, West Midlands; Janet House, Nags Head Inn, West Bromwich, West Midlands; Lisa Andrew, Fox & Dogs, Tamworth, Staffordshire; Chris Podmore, the Tavern, Denstone, Staffordshire; Sandra Cartwright, Red Lion, Rocester, Staffordshire; Matthew Lowe, the Star, Stone, Staffordshire; Simon Hyde, the Oxleathers, Western Downs, Staffordshire; Tina Bennett, New Inns, Brewood, Staffordshire; Gary Hardy, Potters Bar, Stoke-on-Trent; Michael Mcelin, Dunkirk Tavern, Dunkirk, Staffordshire; Andrea Carswell, Inn on the Green, Shrewsbury; Lisa Garner, Navigation Inn, High Peaks, Derbyshire; Darren Butterfield, Greater Manchester Police, Corlton, Manchester; Pauline Metacalfe, Lightning Club, Warton, Lancashire; Joanne Diggle, Marstons Tavern, Rayton, Lancashire; Karen McKenzie, Little Mill, High Peaks, Derbyshire; Mike Flaun, the Observatory, Worle, Somerset; Kevin Ramsden, Lobden Golf, Whitworth, Lancashire; Lesley Cawdell, Corbet Arms, Shrewsbury; Nigel Brooks, Royal Oak, Loughborough, Leicestershire; Robert Lindsey, Gough Arms, West Bromwich, West Midlands; Andrew Way, the Crown, Droitwich, Worcestershire

Cask Marque accreditation winners: Tom Nicholls, the Collegian, Lancaster; Gordon Rough, Express Tavern, Brentford, Middlesex; Ken Nuttycombe, West Somerset Hotel, Watchet, Somerset; David Newman, White Lion, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire; Yvonne Younger, Stapenhill Institute & Social Club, Stapenhill, Staffordshire; Stephen Marshall, the Steampacket, Swanwick, Derbyshire; Ray Ferguson, George & Dragon, Ashbourne, Derbyshire; Esme Bennett, Avon Brewery, Salisbury, Wiltshire; Brett Harrison, Crooked House, Himley, West Midlands; Audrey Gilmour, Grapes Hotel, Appleby, Cumbria; Kenneth Hunt, the Milestone, Hinkley, Leicestershire

Recognition for a dedicated approach

Mark Hughes from the Dog & Pheasant in Ashton-under-Lyne has put real ale at the heart of his pub for the 19 years he has held its tenancy.

And now his dedication has been rewarded with a place in the CaskForce final, where he'll battle it out to win his rent for a year.

Although his name was picked randomly from the long list of entrants to the March draw, the win is a welcome boost to the Marston's Pub Company tenant whose dedication to serving good beer has earned him a spot in the Good Beer Guide each consecutive year since 1990.

Known locally as the "Top Dog", the pub sells three permanent ales; Pedigree, Bitter and Bank's Original with a regular guest from the Marston's portfolio.

He believes the key to top beer quality is keeping it clean and cool in the cellar and buying the right-sized container. After 20 years in the job he has mastered the best techniques and is confident of delivering customers good quality beer.

Hughes' advice for success is to leave cask beer to settle, breathe and continue fermenting for at least five days in the cellar before it is ready to sell.

The lucky seven MA readers in the CaskForce final

October winner:

Wayne and Jenny Massey

Crown Inn, Stafford

November winner:

Gary Woods, The Britannia

Rowley Regis, West Midlands

December winner:

Mike Ford, Farmers Arms

Kelsall, Tarporley, Cheshire

January winner:

Josef, Phyllis and Jamie Lang, Red Lion