Kokova Magazine

Calling pubs up and down the country to start planning for Cask Ale Week 27th September to 6th October 2013 and get people celebrating Britain's national drink at your pub.

The theme, the Great Big Taste Challenge gives plenty of scope to highlight your cask offer, run promotions and put on events.

Get your chef to recommend cask ales to match each dish on the menu; involve your local CAMRA branch in an event; get loyal cask ale drinkers to 'introduce a friend' through promotions or sampling activity; give prizes for the best descriptions of the taste of each cask ale you sell.

We're calling for breweries, pubs, industry champions with a passion for Britain's national drink to put their backs into supporting the Week. A huge 47% of British adults have never even tried cask ale including many who are regular pub-goers. Extraordinarily, nearly 30% of them can't even give a reason why they've never tried it. Presumably no-one has ever introduced them to the delights of a perfect pint - hence our theme for the Week.

Quite simply, Cask Ale Week is a platform for pubs and breweries all over the country to give people the reason to try. It's in the interests of pubs to use cask ale, which is outperforming other beers on the bar, and which is, after all, unique to the pub, to attract people through the doors. They can make the most of the Week by inviting their regular cask ale drinkers to introduce 'cask ale virgins' to the flavoursome tastes of our national drink.

Could be dads and daughters, mums and sons, (all over 18's of course!), linking with a local football/rugby clubs to bring a partner, or inviting local MPs for taste challenge. There is plenty of scope to really go to town and create a real buzz about cask ale.

Last year's Cask Ale Week was a great success. Licensees who actively promoted the Week told us they saw new faces through the pub doors; sold more cask ale than usual; and that the interest it created will help business in the long term. It all helps with reinforcing drinkers' commitment to come to the pub, and their decision to drink cask ale when they're there.

Paul Nunny, executive director of Cask Marque (which is facilitating the whole event)

Cask Marque is encouraging the industry to get behind the Week, run special promotions, introduce beer and food matching menus, organise innovative and exciting events, produce new beers and reap the rewards through increased sales of cask ale and increased footfall into their pubs.

Activities ranged from Free Pint and Money-Off mechanics, tutored ale tastings, beer festivals, and 'Try Before You Buy' in over 8,000 Cask Marque pubs.

So if your business is in any way, large or small, reliant on sales of cask ale, put 27th September to 6th October 2013 in the diary - and start planning how to maximise the benefits of this year's Cask Ale Week.