Thornbridge Brewery has reported 30% year-on-year growth in cask ale, despite the category showing an overall 20% decline in the year to date.
Hazy session IPA Green Mountain is to be released in cask next year
Thornbridge’s growth is centred around its perennial favourite Jaipur. But growth is also coming from ‘modern’ styles of beer going into cask. Demand is also strong for bottle conditioned ales in 500ml bottles.
“Jaipur, our flagship beer, was initially brewed 18 years ago as a cask beer and, despite its ABV, demand for it has rocketed since Covid, as it has for all our cask ales to the tune of over 30% growth,” said Thornbridge chief executive, Simon Webster.
“Licensees and consumers seem to be happy to pay more for products they have reassurance in from a quality perspective, and for beer styles that are relevant.”
Dom Metcalfe, sales and marketing director, added: “We are seeing a real shift towards hazy, vegan cask beer, as younger drinkers seek out a style of beer they are familiar with, but one that also fits with their ethical stance on eating and drinking.
“This has allowed us to be experimental with styles and flavours usually associated with can and keg, but to adapt them to cask.”
Rob Lovatt, production director, believes that Thornbridge’s approach to producing cask ale is why they are seeing such success. He said: “I believe some of the reasons we stand shoulder to shoulder with the best cask breweries in the country are down to ingredients and processes.
“We only use Maris Otter malt, which is a heritage variety and more expensive than other types, but worth it. We use a hopback, meaning we use whole-flower hops rather than hop pellets or hop extracts, and we also use our very own house yeast strain, which gives a real depth of flavour.
“Furthermore, we prime all our casks with a dextrose solution before filling them, to ensure the condition of our cask beer is superb, from the first to the last pint, resulting in a better experience for the consumer and hopefully a better rate of sale and yield for the licensee.”
On the back of the demand for modern, hazy styles of cask ale, Thornbridge will launch its highly acclaimed hazy session IPA, Green Mountain, on cask in 2024.
