Report says sophisticated drinkers are keeping cask ale sales buoyant, despite pub closures and a declining total beer market

This article is more than 10 years old

This article is more than 10 years old

Real ale is enjoying a revival, a report reveals today, as younger drinkers and women embrace a drink which may be shedding its traditional "flat cap" image.

Despite declining total beer sales and pub closures, research shows that cask ale has outperformed the rest of the beer market for the third year running, increasing its share of beer sold in pubs and clubs and recruiting 100,000 new drinkers.

According to the Cask Report, Britain's National Drink, 2010-2011, published today, the real ale market grew by 5% in 2009 to £1.4bn, against a 2% decline in the total UK beer market, which remains dominated by carbonated beers such as lager.

Food appears key to this renaissance, with sales of real or cask ales booming in pubs where sophisticated consumers are choosing ale in preference to wine with their meal.

Real ale now accounts for 15.2% of total beer volumes in pubs – about one in every six pints sold.

More than 8.6 million people now drink cask beer and the number of younger drinkers aged 18-24 grew by 17%.

Ale's image as a northern drink is long out of date, the report found, as 42% of all cask volume is sold in London and the South East and the latter's 24% share far exceeds its share of the UK population.

In fact, cask is under-represented in the north, largely because "northern" brands such as John Smith's and Boddingtons are in decline.

But Scotland saw growth of 31% last year – a testament to the country's burgeoning craft brewing industry.

Cask drinkers typically have a high disposable income, visit pubs more often and spend more in them.

Pete Brown, the report's author, said: "Considering everything else that was happening in the beer market, with continuing pub closures and consumers switching from drinking in pubs to home consumption, it's hard to view this as anything other than a strong performance from cask ale.

"We might be emerging from recession but we're not jumping back to conspicuous consumption: instead, we've become more thoughtful about our purchases and, in our food and drink choices, we're looking for tradition, provenance and wholesomeness – all values that cask ale can provide in spades."

Rachel Evans, drinks quality manager of pub operator M&B, which runs Vintage Inns and Toby Carvery, said: "Cask ale is a fantastic match to food, with natural ingredients and strong flavours which complement many of the dishes on the menu."

Real ales' eco-credentials also appeal to consumers worried about the environmental impact of their food and drink, the report finds.

A pint of cask from a local brewery bought in a pub has a carbon footprint of 300g of C02 equivalent, for example, compared to 900g for a bottle of imported lager in a supermarket.

The Campaign for Real Ale said earlier this month that microbreweries are booming in the recession, with 78 opening in the last year bringing the total in the UK to 767 – four times higher than when the pressure group was established in 1971.