BICM asks Justin Way, Marstons Category Development Manager         WHY ???

On average an outlet sells an extra firkin a week, after receiving ABCQ staff training. Getting the right range: This is a balance of ensuring you’ve got the throughputs and demand to sell through a container for each brand on offer in three days, whilst still providing choice for the drinker.

The ideal brand mix is to provide permanently available local hero and national tried and trusted brands to build trust and reliability and a choice of rotationalguest beers for variety.  

The perfect offer will have: 

1. Permanently available local brand of sessionable strength                        (3.5% - 4.5% abv) 

2. Permanently available national premium brand                                        (4.1%-5.0%abv) 

3. A rotational guest brand to provide experimentation & choice*          *Where your throughputs are low, use your third handpull as a “weekend guest pump”. 

We have a range of over 20 permanent beers and 60 guest beers available from five different regional breweries to ensure you can get the right balance of regional local heroes, national tried and trusted brands and an extensive range of guest beers.

 

For years, ale has been in the shadow of lager – what’s changed? 

Recent consumer trends show that we’re seeing a movement away  from lager into cask ale and stout. Premium cask ales are leading the charge as the only sector of the on-trade beer market in growth. This is driven by improved beer quality and genuine consumer demand for more variety and flavour in their beer. 

Has the typical cask ale drinker changed?

The appeal of cask ale is broadening from the traditional picture of older drinkers and CAMRA enthusiasts to a broader set of drinkers who include cask ale in their repertoire of drinking occasions. This new appeal is drawn by improved levels of beer quality and consistency and a genuine trend in drinkers seeking to experiment with a variety of beer styles and flavours. This suits cask ale’s craft product credentials and natural ingredient story. 

What sort of beers are more popular?

The three things drinkers are looking for are quality, choice and local favourites. The success of our (Marston’s) portfolio is based on having a variety of tried and trusted national brands like Marston’s Pedigree and Wychwood Hobgoblin and local regional favourites like Jennings Cumberland Ale from the lakes, Ringwood Best Bitter on the south coast, Banks’s in the West Midlands and Brakspear in the Thames Valley, which drinkers know they can rely on. This is supported by a wide range of seasonal guest ale brands to provide a range of alternative beer styles for regular experimentation. 

What advice do you have for clubs looking to make the most of cask ale?

There are two areas that you have to get right – quality and range.            Beer Quality: It’s the number one thing that drinkers look for and something that you must get right before anything else. Cask ale is a craft product and your staff are part of the brewing team, as the final part of the brewing process happens in the cellar. We have a national team of over 40 beer quality technicians whose sole purpose is to provide on-site training and trouble shooting to ensure that your beer is in tip top condition. We also provide support with ABCQ qualifications and cask marque accreditations.