Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Co (CMBC) has responded to criticism from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) of its new ‘Fresh Ale’ concept.
CAMRA has reported the brewers Fresh Ale concept to Trading Standards for potentially breaching consumer protection legislation.
CMBC, however, says Fresh Ale is a way of reinvigorating the cask ale category, which has seen a 31% decline in sales over the last four years.
“Our brewery conditioned Fresh Ale is a critical element of this, supplementing, not supplanting, traditional cask ale,” a CMBC spokesperson told Beer Today.
“It has been developed to make offering a wide range of great-tasting ales more accessible for publicans who either aren’t able to offer cask at all, or who don’t have sufficient throughput to have more than one or two cask options on the bar, but who want to offer consumers a greater choice of ales. Our primary aim is to safeguard the future of ale and the pub culture it embodies.
“However, we agree it is important to make the distinction between brewery-conditioned ale and cask-conditioned ale, and for that reason we are clearly signposting the difference, at point of purchase, with a pumpclip attachment, which states ‘Brewery Conditioned for Freshness’ and includes a QR code leading consumers to a microsite, to learn more about Fresh Ale.
“We welcome the opportunity to engage with CAMRA in a constructive discussion on how industry innovation can help us all collectively deliver a sustainable future for ale in the UK.”
