Cask Ale Week success hailed

Using both the iPhone and Android platforms, 2,186 people downloaded the CaskFinder app, when it was launched during National Cask Ale Week.

A further campaign is planned with a You Tube video and beer being delivered to journalists with a QR (Quick Response) code on the bottle to download the Caskfinder app and instructions on how to use the bar code reader on the app to read the Cyclops description of the beer.

Each Cask Marque pub received a new annual certificate with a unique QR code on it for the customer to scan with their smartphone when they visit the pub.

Consumers need to register on their smartphone to start the trail, and will receive a prize donated by Cask Marque corporate members when they visit a set number of pubs. The app also lists beers on sale at the last pub the user visited, and provides information on beer festivals.

National Cask Ale Week, organised by the Campaign for Real Ale and Cask Marque, ran from 1 to 9 October.

Cask Marque director Paul Nunny said: “We are starting to reap the benefits of a £50,000 spend taking place in the four months up to Christmas which is targeted at creating consumer awareness of the app and the Cask Marque award.

With 7,500+ pubs having the award, a Cask Marque pub is within easy reach of all customers. In the long term, this will increase footfall in pubs as the Cask Report research showed that the cask ale drinker visits the pubs twice as often as a normal customer.”