tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post3482361330975296729..comments2023-09-20T12:50:40.208+01:00Comments on Pete Brown: Britain's National Drink - the new Cask Report launches todayAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03011702209832734676noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-11369911540104938622009-10-09T12:31:14.249+01:002009-10-09T12:31:14.249+01:00Oscar, good question - it's simply a matter of...Oscar, good question - it's simply a matter of the data not being labelled quite as clearly as it should be.<br /><br />The barrelage loss figure is to the end of December 2008. The growth we've seen so far is in the first six months of 2009, and latest figures suggest it's continuing to improve.<br /><br />Re comments about cask ale being middle class... the simple truth is that it is - cask drinkers are significantly more upmarket than other beer drinkers in every single set of figures you can look at. This is good news for pubs because it means cask drinkers have more money to spend. But I agree we shouldn't try to make it exclusive and snooty on that basis. Beer - any beer - is democratic.<br /><br />I never liked The Intelligent Choice as a name.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03011702209832734676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-84328909060693595822009-10-08T12:57:03.245+01:002009-10-08T12:57:03.245+01:00I am as thick as mince when it comes to anything t...I am as thick as mince when it comes to anything that talks about net volume versus gross growth or similar, so this is a genuine question rather than a dig. The Report says things such as "2009 will be the year that cask ale returned to positive volume...growth" (p.10) yet one of the very first stats in the report shows cask beers' "market volume" declining by 81,000 barrels. What, aside from the standard number of brain cells, am I missing?OscarTGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-82952705833599169112009-10-06T08:37:15.028+01:002009-10-06T08:37:15.028+01:00I like it because it's not for riff-raff, what...I like it because it's not for riff-raff, what?<br /><br />There's a lot to read. How do I get hold of a nice glossy copy?<br /><br />I like the bit:<br />"Off-trade premium bottled ale performance demonstrates that ale drinkers are prepared to pay a premium for beers with quality, flavour depth and integrity - something the on-trade should perhaps take on board."<br /><br />Coffee porter is terribly pongy, I find....Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11319272987951077205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-41178017142442822152009-10-05T14:19:22.927+01:002009-10-05T14:19:22.927+01:00Will look forward to reading it. Very, VERY glad ...Will look forward to reading it. Very, VERY glad it's not called "The Intelligent Choice" any more. It may as well have been called "Cask isn't for riff-raff, what?"scissorkickshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16948039070881900877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-51700199298597772252009-10-05T13:09:05.248+01:002009-10-05T13:09:05.248+01:00Cask beer has become a frightfully middle-class dr...Cask beer has become a frightfully middle-class drink now, though, hasn't it? The message is very much that if you want more ABC1s in your pub, the way to do it is through selling and promoting cask ;-)Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-10276048871127071692009-10-05T12:58:16.069+01:002009-10-05T12:58:16.069+01:00CL - it's meaningful if you happen to earn you...CL - it's meaningful if you happen to earn your living in the niche, and far more of us do that than earn a living from brewing Stella.Fatmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-48363423386800128062009-10-05T12:28:32.702+01:002009-10-05T12:28:32.702+01:00CL, it's meaningful because there are lots of ...CL, it's meaningful because there are lots of people out there who believe the niche (a niche worth £2bn to pubs by the way) is the one that's in terminal decline - and it isn't.<br /><br />Lager will always be the bigger, more mainstream drink, but it's nice to know the alternatives are thriving.<br /><br />But you know that, you coffee porter lover.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03011702209832734676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-48615613989991813782009-10-05T11:59:07.242+01:002009-10-05T11:59:07.242+01:00If Stella maintained its current decline, it would...If Stella maintained its current decline, it would remain the biggest beer in the UK for the next 15 years. Comparing an improvement in a small niche market with and overall decline in the mainstream is not a meaningful comparison.Cooking Lagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02830924433230427226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-83966029757835329152009-10-05T10:52:27.717+01:002009-10-05T10:52:27.717+01:00This is great news, I can even give you an example...This is great news, I can even give you an example, my cask sales have literally doubled in the year I have been at The Rake. People really seem to be genuinely glad to see real ale on, to the point that I've recently put in a third handpump.<br />Cheers to that!rabidbarflyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02287790634237896071noreply@blogger.com