The Craft Beer Channel has teamed up with Asahi, owners of the Fuller’s Griffin Brewery and Dark Star, to produce a documentary series about Britain’s cask ale culture.
Craft Beer Channel creators Johnny Garrett (left) and Brad Evans
The project has the long-term aim of getting real ale recognised by Unesco as an example of intangible cultural heritage.
Across five episodes, the Craft Beer Channel will investigate the challenges cask beer faces in the modern world, while focusing on the beers, people, and breweries that make it great.
With Britain’s traditional serving format still in severe decline and heavily affected by the covid-related lockdowns, there’s never been a more important time to support real ale and tell its stories in a way that appeals to modern drinkers.
The series forms the main part of a new campaign, Keep Cask Alive, instigated by Asahi UK and taken on by the Craft Beer Channel.
On their journey around England, presenters Jonny Garrett and Brad Evans visit a traditional boozer on Old Street, London’s Silicon Roundabout, witness a brew on one of the world’s oldest brew kits, visit the breweries that kick-started the craft beer movement, down pints with punks in Margate’s micropubs, push cask ale to its limits with bold New England IPAs, and explore the history of Fuller’s own world-famous Vintage Ale. Dozens of breweries and real ale pubs are featured, and there are interviews and tours with Hook Norton, Abbeydale, Dark Star, and Gadds.
The videos are being released weekly via the Craft Beer Channel on Youtube, tying in with Cask Ale Week. The finale will air on the 27th October, when work will begin to persuade Unesco to take action. The series is funded by Asahi UK, who hope to bring attention to the entire category in a bid to support traditional breweries of all sizes and help assure new drinkers discover the joy of live cask ale. It’s hoped more breweries, media, and drinkers will get involved with the
campaign as it develops.
Jonny, co-founder of the Craft Beer Channel, said: “Both Brad and I grew up drinking cask ale, but we’ve definitely neglected it on the channel until now. With the decline it’s endured and how hard it was hit by the pandemic, we thought it was vital that we stepped up and tried to make people re-examine their prejudices and assumptions.
“While we’re looking to protect it, we wanted to make something joyful, modern, and narrative to get people excited, and I think we’ve done that with the stories we’ve told.”
