New figures for the first quarter of 2015 obtained by Cask Matters show continued growth for cask ale, particularly premium cask ale.
This comes on the back of figures for 2014 which revealed that cask ale was in growth despite the slow down in on-trade beer sales, with total sales of cask ale 2,204,000 barrels in 2012, 2,223,000 in 2013 and 2,248,000 in 2014.
Sales for the first quarter of 2015 show the following:
- Premium cask continues to be the success story with sales this year up against the same time last year by 1.7% in January, 5.1% in February and 1.8% in March.
- Standard and premium combined is up by 0.8% on Q1 2014.
This shows that cask is standing up well as total on-trade beer sales have continued to decline, down by -2.4% in the first quarter of 2015.
Although standard ales still represent the largest part of the cask ale market, it is the premium ales (those ales over 4.1% ABV), that are continuing to show the strongest growth, demonstrating the move from session beers to stronger, premium beers amongst an increasing number of drinkers.
The figures are all taken from the British Beer and Pub Association Barrelage Survey.