{"id":3306,"date":"2023-01-20T13:29:14","date_gmt":"2023-01-20T13:29:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/?p=3306"},"modified":"2023-01-25T13:34:33","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T13:34:33","slug":"a-quarter-of-a-century-of-promoting-beer-quality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/2023\/01\/20\/a-quarter-of-a-century-of-promoting-beer-quality\/","title":{"rendered":"A quarter of a century of promoting beer quality"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I remember first meeting Paul Nunny in 1997, in a pub in East Anglia, when he informed me of the imminent launch of something called Cask Marque. A lot has happened since then and I caught up with him in central London (in a different pub) to find out what has been going on.
In the mid 1990s, Paul was the deputy managing director of Adnams and was a great lover of cask beer (he still is!). Although Adnams had a growing share of the cask beer market, total sales were declining. Research showed that the main reason for this was quality. Paul said, \u201cNo one was taking responsibility. The issue of quality was falling between the pubs and the breweries. We felt something had to be done to secure the future of cask beer<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul spoke to Morlands, Greene King and Marston\u2019s and, along with Adnams, research was commissioned using a sample of around 1,000 pubs. The results were as expected and so the group set up Cask Marque. A quality procedure was devised and this has changed little to this day: temperature, appearance, aroma and taste. The next step was to recruit some retailers to trial it. They were aiming for ten but got eleven. As well as the original breweries, the new additions were Fuller\u2019s, Wadworth, Carlsberg, Charles Wells, Shepherd Neame, Robinsons and Whitbread (see note). The pilot exercise established what the issues were and the objective was to try and educate the industry to address them. There was a trade initiative to start with. Paul explained, \u201cUnless we got lots of Cask Marque plaques on the walls, the consumer wouldn\u2019t see it<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The focus for the next two to three years was building up participating pub numbers. Paul continued, \u201cWe started with 15 assessors who were all brewers. Then we hit a barrier. The cost involved in correcting problems, which were mainly equipment orientated, was an issue for pubs but our recognition was increasing. We started to sponsor the Good Beer Guide and deliver footfall to pubs, so they could start seeing the benefit<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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Paul with the new GBG<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The training of staff was identified as another issue and a strategy was developed to address it. Annabel Smith, ex- Diageo, was brought in as a training manager and there was work with both the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) and the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) to develop a cellar management course. Paul said, \u201cThe training is a recognised qualification for cellar managers. We train throughout the UK, including Northern Ireland, and have expanded to having 15 trainers and that allows us to provide one to one training in the cellar if required<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of trainers is not the only area to have grown; Paul added, \u201cWe now have 60 assessors. Pre-lockdown we had 10,000 pubs registered for assessment. Our recognition has grown to 75% amongst cask beer drinkers and 56% of them know us as a quality mark<\/em>.\u201d Besides its own assessors, Cask Marque uses feedback from customers. \u201cOur App has circa 60,000 visits each month and this generates customer feedback. If a drinker reports a problem then this will generate a mystery drinker visit to check what is going on. Regardless, each pub is visited twice a year unannounced.\u201d Paul continued, \u201cThe majority of the Cask Marque pubs are brewery or pub chain owned: 50% managed, 25% tenanted. But we do have a number of individual pubs; they seem to be the ones that have an entrepreneurial streak<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cask Marque\u2019s role goes beyond the checking of quality. \u201cWe have actively championed the sector. I chair Cask Matters and we set up Cask Beer Week, as well as organising the Future of Cask Seminar and and we continue to sponsor CAMRA\u2019s Good Beer Guide. What helps is that we are recognised as independent. Industry value us to do projects such as venue checks, assessing new equipment and we provide an impartial technical service. This saves pub chains and breweries having to run their own departments<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what of the future? The service continues to evolve, \u201cFrom the start of 2023 every pub will need to pass a cellar inspection and they are given a rating. This follows on from the support packages we already offer to managed pubs. Going forward, we are going to be able to offer brewery checks, both processes and \u2018at the gate\u2019 beer quality, extending our services beyond the pub.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the quality of cask beer still an issue, Cask Marque probably has enough to keep them going for another 25 years! See https:\/\/cask-marque.co.uk<\/a> for more information and their free Cask Finder App.
Christine Cryne<\/em><\/strong>
Note: Whitbread Breweries, of course, no longer exist, having been sold to InBev in 2001, but they still own pubs, including the Beefeater and Brewers Fayre chains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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