Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Co (CMBC) has announced plans to start serving keg beer through handpumps, widely understand as being used for cask conditioned beer.
CMBC’s own illustration for its ‘fresh ale’ press release
While CMBC has indicated that it will label so-called ‘fresh ale’ served through handpumps as ‘brewery conditioned beer’, the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) fears this will still confuse customers and erode their long-held understanding that only cask beer is served in this way.
The campaign is also concerned that CMBC’s plan will reduce choice to consumers. By taking up handpump space, ‘fresh ale’ will elbow out genuine cask beers produced by smaller, independent brewers.
“It’s baffling why CMBC feels the need to serve a keg beer through cask ale handpumps in the first place, when it would seem to be simpler and more honest to simply serve it through keg taps, as with all other keg products,” said CAMRA’s Gillian Hough.
“It would be even better if this company, despite claiming to be incredibly proud to be a leading brewer of cask ale, actually invested in producing new cask ales and supporting its existing beers. It’s particularly ironic that instead it has spent time closing the historic breweries in their portfolio and now wants to cash in on that cask heritage with a keg product which hijacks the handpump.
“Even with additional labelling, our fear is customers — especially those who perhaps don’t understand a term like ‘brewery conditione’ or don’t notice the small print — will be confused. It also seems likely that, over time, this potentially misleading approach will erode the image of the iconic beer handpump as a clear symbol of cask conditioned beer.”
She added: “We believe that beer drinkers should be fully informed at the point of dispense and we will continue to condemn dispense practices that seek to mislead the consumer, particularly by selling non-live, non-cask beers through cask beer handpumps.
“CAMRA calls on CMBC to either provide a genuinely live and fresh beer to be served through handpumps, to give the drinker what they expect and want, or to be honest and serve this so-called ‘fresh beer’ through keg taps.”
John Clements, vice-president of marketing at CMBC, said: “Fresh Ale is a critical element of our plan to reinvigorate the on-trade ale category, supplementing, not supplanting, traditional cask ale.
“Fresh Ale offers pubs who have stopped selling cask the opportunity to reintroduce a traditional ale offering to drinkers. Our primary aim is to safeguard the future of ale and the pub culture it embodies.”
