STAR PUBS LAUNCHES REAL ALE SUPPORT TO COINCIDE WITH CASK ALE WEEK

• New cask training based on insight from 30 brewers made available to all Star pubs.

•   Exclusive guest ale to raise up to £20,000 for loneliness charity.

Star Pubs has collaborated with 30 brewers from around the UK – including Fyne Ales in Cairndow – to create a free cask ale training playbook designed to address publicans’ most common concerns about cask and drive sales.

Called Hello Cask, the training is part of a wider package of cask ale support provided by Star Pubs – including a guest ale programme aligned to emerging new trends – that has helped its pubs outperform the market year-to-date. Its launch coincides with Cask Ale Week, which Star Pubs is also marking by releasing Marmalade Best¹, a limited-edition ale aiming to raise up to £20,000 for leading loneliness charity Marmalade Trust² and highlight the role of the pub in bringing people together.

Marmalade Best is being brewed exclusively for Star Pubs and HEINEKEN UK on-trade customers by Timothy Taylor’s. For every pint sold during the three months it is available, 20p per pint sold will go to Marmalade Trust, which Star Pubs has supported since 2023.

Research amongst participating brewers into common barriers to stocking cask ale has determined the topics covered in the Hello Cask training. It debunks myths about the difficulty of delivering cask, with modules such as a step-by-step guide to conditioning, common cask mistakes, and tips & tricks to ensuring consistent top quality. With ease of use in mind, the training comes in bite-sized chunks that can be accessed by publicans and their staff at any time. To keep it engaging, the content is presented in a variety of formats, from checklists to videos filmed at breweries.

Says Caren Geering, Central Operations Director for Star Pubs: “We know publicans are busy – with Hello Cask, they can benefit from training without the need to leave their pubs, including sessions filmed in breweries. Thanks to the participation of brewers around the UK, the training provides a truly national approach to the cask category.

“In a cost-of-living crisis, customers are seeking out quality and an experience they can’t replicate at home when they choose where to go out. A great cask ale offer will deliver this. Nearly 70% of our estate currently stocks cask ale. We’re committed to getting even more on board and to supporting our pubs in achieving the perfect pour – it’s the way to outperform the market in any drinks category.

“We’re starting to see green shoots of growth in the cask sector, with younger pubgoers and women discovering it, particularly in high street venues. Over time, we expect this trend to take off in community pubs. More fruity flavours, such as the citrus notes of Marmalade Best, are proving particularly popular with the younger demographic. Cask is a product that people love to talk about and lends itself to discussion, making it the ideal drink to raise funds to aid people experiencing loneliness.”

Adds Graham Coates, Head of Sales for Fyne Ales: “Nothing beats a fantastic pint of cask. When it’s at its best, it has a freshness, character and sense of place that is impossible to replicate in any other format. But the brewer is only the start of the journey; the care, knowledge and confidence of the publican are just as important in making that pint what it should be.

“We are lucky in Scotland that we have so many phenomenal publicans and bar managers with a real passion for the craftsmanship of cellaring cask beer. But, on the flip side, cask beer in bars across Scotland is still too inconsistent. A brilliant pint can make someone fall in love with the category; a poor one can put them off it completely. If we want more people to fall in love with cask, particularly younger drinkers or those trying cask for the first time, we have to make sure their first experiences are great!

“For cask to have a strong future, we need to have both an evolving, exciting category and publicans with the knowledge and confidence to serve it at its best. That’s what makes training like this so important – because, as brewers, we can only do so much to persuade drinkers to choose cask at the bar. Ultimately, the quality of the pint is what will decide whether somebody comes back for another one.”

Notes to editors:

¹ Marmalade Best is brewed at 3.4% ABV using Admiral and Emperor hops for a refreshing, gold beer with soft, citrus notes. Participating pubs will receive point-of-sale kits featuring icebreaking talking points to encourage pubgoers to strike up conversation.

² Marmalade Trust is dedicated to raising awareness of loneliness and helping people make social connections. Amongst other projects, its work has helped Star Pubs deliver bespoke loneliness training for publicans.

About Star Pubs: Star Pubs is part of HEINEKEN UK. The vast majority of our 2,350 pubs – of which 225 are in Scotland – are leased out to small businesses and entrepreneurs. Around 220 pubs operate on our Just Add Talent model (a managed operator agreement), 14 of these are in Scotland. Our ambition is to bring out the best in pubs – by attracting and retaining the best operators, investing to create great locals at the heart of their communities and providing licensees with market-leading insight and support. More information on Star Pubs’ website.