Cask Beer: Moving on up
Lat month I revealed a love of American political jargon. I suggested that the beer market needed some Barack Obama-style 'bounce' Well here's another cracker, this week Obama's got "the big mo" - momentum.
Well, cask ale at this particular point in time has has the big mo too. So often the sickly child of the beer market, it has somehow now become the good news story in a category buckling under the weight of volume declines.
The smoking ban, rock bottom prices in supermarkets and a general shift in drinking habits have made this a grim start to the year for beer.But cask ale is showing signs of robustness. It would appear that the big loser from the smoking ban, initially at least, has been standard and premium lager - the drinks which are generally consumed in volume, rather than those which are drunk in a more considered way.
A tour of pubs across Manchester last week confirmed this finding, with pubs finding cask volumes either remaining solid or climbing and lager sales perhaps not enjoying such success.But when we say cask ale is performing well, it all has to be taken into context. It is still in decline. Its sales volumes are still much lower than lager. Nielsen figures for the year to November 2007 show both standard and premium ale down eight per cent.
Getting to the bottom of it…
In fact, given my earlier comments and looking at the statistics, it begs the question, what on earth is actually going on in the cask ale market? It is not an easy market to decipher. One senior brewing executive put it to me: "It is very difficult to get to the crux of the numbers in cask ale."
And he is right. Some brewers and retailers use Nielsen stats - which certain brewers and retailers don't buy into - others refer to British Beer & Pub Association numbers, which are only for members (and are protected under pain of death.) Others use Independent Family Brewers of Britain (IFBB) figures, and some Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA). When talking to customers or the press, brewers will use some or a few of these, others cite them all, and a few cite none at all!
So where does that leave the intrepid reporter seeking to understand the cask ale market? And more importantly where does that leave the drinker?
I and they could do worse than look at a recent piece of research by author and beer writer Pete Brown. The report was funded by groups such as Why Handpull?, the IFBB, SIBA, the Campaign for Real Ale and Cask Marque. While the bulk of the data used is from Nielsen, it is the closest I have seen to industry unity, and well worth reading. In Brown's words "cask ale is thriving, with a return to growth overall forecast".
The report's conclusion is that the market is experiencing some good times. And the rest of this Focus will potently demonstrate that. From social trends, to top marketing and better quality, cask ale brewers that have for years suffered challenging sales figures and a disparaging press should welcome the light that is emerging at the end of tunnel. But it is a fragile step forward. Who knows what a nasty duty hike, a poor period of weather or a recession could do to the market? And, as we will discover, standard cask sales (with some brands excepted) are still suffering.
The brands that have succeeded are the ones that have been bold and have put their money where their mouths are. So the message to licensees interested in cask beer? Go out, be bold and enjoy the big mo.
