Good Beer Guide 2019 by Campaign for Real Ale

Unfortunately, the evidence shows clearly that this is totally untrue. And two thirds of landlords insist their cask ales never stay on sale for longer than three days. Hilariously – or not – more than 90 per cent of pub landlords insist that they are aware of the advise on how to keep cask beer well, advice which strongly recommends arranging turnover so that a cask is emptied within three days, and they claim either that they do their best to follow that advice or don’t actually need it because they are expert cellarmen. Two per cent were served at an alarming 20✬ – almost 70✯. However, in July this year, Cask Marque found that almost seven out of ten pints of cask ale were served warmer than the recommended 11✬ to 13✬. This is obviously more of a problem in summer, but cellar air conditioning has been available for many decades: that picture at the top shows a pub cellar from 1947, with aircon units. So there is a fair chance that just as your pint is finally coming into condition, it’s already past its best because the cask has been open too long.Īdding to the problem of poor quality caused by age, the evidence clearly shows most pubs keep their cask beer too warm. Almost three in five publicans confess to putting beer on sale before the recommended three days of cellar conditioning. Paradoxically, there is also a big problem of pubs selling beer too young. Most pubs ignore this, and as a result most cask beer is sold a long way off from peak condition.

Cask beer is a perishable product: it loses its best qualities very quickly, certainly within a few days. Anybody buying that week-old sandwich is unlikely, after trying it, to buy a sandwich from you again. The bread will be stale, the filling long past its best. This is exactly the same as making a sandwich on Monday, and still having it on sale a week later. The typical cask of beer is still on sale seven or more days after it has been opened. According to CGA, almost 90 per cent of cask ale brands sold at below the rate of 18 pints per tap per day required to maintain quality. Almost nine out of ten pints of cask beer sold in Britain are sold after the cask they came from has been open for at least three days.

The answer is actually ridiculously simple. Why is finding a properly kept pint of cask ale such an appalling lottery in Britain’s pubs, despite the existence since 1971 of a consumer organisation dedicated to beer quality – before most pub staff were born – and the existence of a trade organisation dedicated to raising the standards of draught beer, Cask Marque, since 1998, two decades ago?

Good Beer Guide 2019 by Campaign for Real Ale