Nicola Macdonald, PR Director of The Pub Show, discusses challenges faced by the cask ale category, and how an emphasis on authenticity, provenance and well-informed pub teams could endear it to a whole new generation of drinkers. 

The world of cask ale has always been one that slightly eluded me. Working in pubs throughout 2010s I would dutifully pull varying levels of brown foamy chaos, and owners would occasionally disappear down into the cellar with a mallet and an expression of grim determination for about 3-5 business days to ‘change the cask’.  

I dallied with drinking cask ale, mostly due to the low prices which appealed to a cash-strapped Glasgow student, gaining some appreciation for the range of flavours and styles on offer before eventually retreating to the more familiar world of lager.  

For a category with a rich history and an identity defined by tradition, cask ale arguably needs fresh messaging to appeal to a new generation of drinkers. The ingredients are all there: provenance, local production, craftsmanship and lower ABVs that could appeal to those seeking moderation. However, the category continues to suffer from a bit of a PR problem.  

CAMRA has spent more than 50 years campaigning for real ale, while the annual Cask Ale Week continues to encourage pubs, breweries and drinkers to celebrate Britain’s distinctive national beer style. This year’s campaign, taking place from 17 to 27 September, arrives at a pivotal moment for the category. 

Cask has spent years contending with falling volumes, brewery and pub closures, inconsistent quality and an image problem among younger consumers. Yet the picture in 2026 is more complicated than one of managed decline. Contemporary styles, local provenance and renewed appreciation for the traditional pub are giving drinkers fresh reasons to approach the hand-pull. 

Research commissioned by SIBA and conducted by YouGov in February 2025 found that 25% of beer drinkers aged 18 to 24 regularly ordered cask ale, an increase of more than 50% on the previous year. It is an encouraging finding (if quite surprising to me in my London bubble!), but one that should be viewed alongside the markedly different experiences of individual pubs. 

At the Seven Stars in Falmouth, Owner Amy Bennetts believes the pub’s distinctive way of serving cask is helping to attract a new generation. 

“I’m in a unique position as I serve straight from the barrel on gravity (the way God intended!) and being a generational pub we find those following in their parents’ and grandparents’ footsteps. 

“For us younger generations are on the rise because it’s quirky and unique to them. 

“Cask ales are also increasing in flavour and styles, the days of traditional bitters and being an ‘old man’s’ beer is definitely making cask ale drinking more popular for us.” 

Winning over the ‘repertoire drinker’ 

While it’s fantastic that younger generations are trying cask ales as a curiosity, it’s another to establish a new dedicated group of genuine cask ale drinks.  

Tom McNeeney, Manager of The Oxford in Rochdale, points to the rise of the ‘repertoire drinker’: someone whose choices change with the season, setting and occasion. 

“I think one thing some pubs are still struggling to get to grips with is the rise in the last few years of the ‘repertoire drinker’,” he explains. “Thinking historically, pubgoers were creatures of habit, drinking the same thing like clockwork. Now you see great swathes of drinkers shifting from drink to drink by season, mood, reputation or location. The same girls drinking Aperols in summer are having a Guinness in winter. It’s just a matter of capturing that for cask, but with so many small brands competing for space in the market it’s easier said than done.” 

This may be the key opportunity for cask: it doesn’t need to displace lager, stout or cocktails entirely. It needs to earn a place within a wider year-round repertoire, in the same way that Guinness has managed to do to stunning effect.  

Independent brewers are helping it to do so through contemporary branding and styles already familiar to craft beer drinkers.  

Charlotte Foy, Licensee of The Old Plough and The White Horse in Birstall, says: “A lot of these new-style brewers have produced ales with more modern and quirky branding which stand out on the shelf or on the hand-pull label and encourage the customer to try, as it’s novel and fun. A good majority of our hand-pull ales are from smaller producers in less traditional styles.” 

She adds: “We are seeing more customers giving it a try and when they have tasted a cask beer they are pleasantly surprised by the more complex flavour profile and the lack of filling fizz.” 

Woodforde’s, an independent brewery based in Norfolk, is seeing interest in both experimentation and familiarity. Its core range includes Wherry, its long-established amber ale, alongside a rotating selection of seasonal beers. 

CEO Paul Sullivan says: “We’ve always enjoyed exploring and experimenting with new styles through our popular seasonals range, which has given us the opportunity to introduce the wonders of cask ale to a greater audience, including younger people. 

“But regardless of the seasonals, it’s promising to see younger people are enjoying our core cask product and are loving the same beers their friends and family have enjoyed for decades.” 

Confidence remains the fault line 

Cask’s greatest strength is that it is a living product, cared for and served by skilled pub teams. That is also its vulnerability. 

“I think cask will always have an identity issue in younger circles, but that’s no new news,” says McNeeney. “And although it’s often cheaper on the bar, the worry of getting a ‘bad pint’ and the fear of the awkward interaction that can follow, to a generation already finding their social skills challenged by the traditional pub setting, can be enough to put them off a pint of cask entirely. You know where you stand with a standard keg lager.” 

If someone is trying cask ale for what may be their first and only time, the quality of the beer becomes paramount. Every hand-pull therefore comes with a responsibility: sufficient throughput, rigorous cellar management and, in an ideal world, staff who can describe the beer and confidently offer a taste. 

This creates an opportunity for staff training that goes beyond the technicalities of keeping and serving cask. Teams who understand the styles on the bar, can offer informed recommendations and make tastings feel welcoming rather than intimidating could play a major role in winning over occasional or ‘cask-curious’ drinkers. 

Independent pubs and breweries are particularly well placed to curate these experiences, using flights, meet-the-brewer events and guided tastings to help a new generation explore cask without expecting them to arrive with specialist knowledge. If the category wants younger customers to meet it halfway, it should give them the confidence and invitation to do so. 

Anthony Hughes, Founder of Lincoln Green Brewing Company and Chair of SIBA, reduces the formula to three essentials. 

“Success ultimately depends upon three things: great choice, absolute freshness and beer presented in the best possible condition. When those elements come together, cask offers an experience that no other drinks category can replicate.” 

McNeeney says pubs are increasingly choosing between making cask part of their identity and maintaining a smaller, dependable range. 

“If you have enough following to make that part of your identity then you lean heavily into it, otherwise you cut your losses on beers that might not move and settle for a core rotation of reliable brews you know suit your site,” he comments.  

Local, affordable and rooted in the pub 

Cask also possesses advantages that feel particularly relevant in 2026. It can offer value at the bar, give pubs a point of difference and connect customers with breweries in their own communities. 

At The Royal Dyche, Owner Justine Lorriman has seen little evidence of increased demand among younger customers, but local loyalty remains powerful. 

“Cask ale has always been about supporting local,” she says. “Our customers really get behind a local brewery, and you don’t get more local than Reedley Hallows who are located in the same town as us.” 

The pub keeps two established cask ales and adds themed releases, including a beer developed with Reedley Hallows and local mental health charity Six Connections. A QR code on its pump clip directs customers to support services. 

Price can also lower the barrier to discovery. Cask is normally the cheapest pint at The Royal Dyche at £3, while the pub reduces it to £2 during Cask Ale Week and introduces a wider selection from Reedley Hallows. 

“It’s a fantastic way for people to try new beers and you’re not hit with a big cost if you don’t like it,” says Lorriman. 

Another brand which has emerged as a champion of cask ale is Wetherspoons, which often has a vast range of ales available at almost alarmingly low prices, mixing local microbreweries with national cask ale staples, and which releases quarterly tasting notes and both online and as part of its menus.  

Curiosity must become sustainable demand 

Cask Ale Week, from 17-27 September, will provide pubs and breweries with an opportunity to put the category in front of new drinkers through tastings, promotions and events. But discounts and themed activity can only open the door. Whether customers return will depend on the pint they receive and the experience surrounding it. 

The future of cask can’t survive on nostalgia, and it won’t be secured by adding brighter pump clips or producing more pale ales. It relies on viable pubs, skilled and informed teams, reliable throughput and routes to market that allow local and independent breweries to compete. 

“The future of cask is so deeply entwined with the future of pubs and the success of them finding and retaining fantastic staff who are focused on keeping it well, educating our customers and supporting real ale brewers nationwide,” says McNeeney. “We keep cask relevant by reminding people what makes pubs unique, accepting some changes in drinking habits and maybe just a little moving with the times along the way.” 

We might be coming to the end of cask ales being drunk as a regular pint like clockwork. But the future of the category could instead lie with customers who move freely between categories and recognise that, when choice, freshness and condition come together, the hand-pull offers something they cannot find anywhere other than the pub. 

Cask ale is one of the few drinks that cannot truly be replicated outside the pub. At a time when consumers increasingly value distinctive experiences and authentic products, that could be its winning card. 

Paul Sullivan of Woodforde's concludes: "Wind the clock back only two years ago and there were serious questions being raised about the future of cask ale. To now be in a position where we are seeing more people purchasing a pint of our national drink at the bar is a really positive sign. The industry as a whole is facing difficulties right now through VAT, beer duty and inflation – and that’s not unique to cask. It’s driving up costs at the bar at a time when everyone is feeling the pinch.

"What’s clear though is people still want to enjoy a pint with their friends down the pub – and the best way to do that is to provide great value options, which cask undoubtedly is.
When money is tight, people want quality. That’s what you get with cask, a pint steeped in tradition by artisan brewers that you can’t replicate at home with a can of lager. Continuing to open the next generation’s horizons to the beauty of cask is crucial to its future."