Anyone paying attention to the pumps at their local recently might have noticed something peculiar: a swathe of old-school logos. There’s the red triangle of Bass, the red right hand of Allsopp’s, the yellow bees and barrel of Boddingtons.
Despite fighting long-term decline, cask ale is having a moment. At some of London’s trendiest new pubs, like the Robin in Stroud Green, McIntosh Ales in Stoke Newington or the Pocket in Angel, cask makes up a significant portion of available beers.
While it would be overstretching to say the American-inspired craft beer movement is over, the recent administration of Brewdog, and anecdotal tales of drinkers growing tired of high-strength IPAs that taste of grapefruit could spark interest in Britain’s original beer.
Guinness is the great success story of late, partly inspired by nostalgia. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that cask is beginning to make waves among Gen Z drinkers. According to a recent report by the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates, one in four younger drinkers now regularly orders ale, a 50 per cent increase from 2024. The Brewhouse and Kitchen pub chain reportedly saw 8 per cent growth in cask ale between 2024 and 2025; in the same period, the Crown in Bildeston, Suffolk witnessed a 28 per cent rise.
Bass, Boddingtons and Allsopp’s were once market leaders. All were discontinued or saw production significantly decreased, as multinationals gobbled up Britain’s traditional breweries and favoured lager. Each is now growing. The number of pubs selling Bass has almost trebled since 2023. After relaunching in 2021, Allsopp’s can now be found across the country, with a particularly strong presence in London. After a successful revival last year, Boddingtons is all over Manchester.
Bedford-based Wells & Co recently resuscitated Double Star Bedford Bitter, first brewed in the 1960s. It is, according to the brewery, ‘a style at the heart of English pubs for generations, and one that is seeing a small but meaningful revival.’
In London, I’ve noticed both Timothy Taylor’s and Harvey’s at more pubs recently, while Yorkshire brewery Theakston has seen double digit growth for two of its heritage ales, Old Peculiar and Theakston XB, over the past two years.
According to Jonny Garrett, who is writing a book about British pubs and last year launched a petition for cask ale to receive Unesco heritage status, the revival is partly explained by ‘nostalgia, comfort and familiarity. Even if you haven’t drunk cask in the past, it’s part of our cultural heritage, it feels familiar. The 1990s are very cool again, look at what the kids are wearing. It feels like it’s hand in hand with the revival of traditional pubs’.
Cask ale fosters local or regional pride in a way generic lagers rarely do
With the hype around Guinness sending prices soaring, the lower cost of an ale could encourage cash-strapped drinkers to switch. According to the Morning Advertiser, craft keg beer costs £1.77 more per pint than cask, and it is still possible to find £5 pints of ale in central London. At the Blue Maid and Queen Charlotte, two new sister pubs in Borough and Fitzrovia, there are always three cask beers available. ‘Though not in our top five bestsellers, a couple are in the top ten, it helps that they usually cost £5,’ says co-owner Dav Sahota, who adds that selling cask is a ‘really important part of what makes a pub a pub in Britain.’
At his pubs you won’t find big heritage brands, with the focus on independent breweries like London’s Five Points and Brighton’s Unbarred but Sahota has been surprised by how wide-ranging the thirst for cask is: ‘It appeals to a wider demographic than traditionally pubs have assumed.’
In health-conscious times, it helps that cask ales are often under 4 per cent. They also foster local or regional pride in a way generic lagers rarely do. Although owned by AB InBev, the world’s largest brewing company, Boddingtons is seen as a Manchester ale, as are Bass and Burton. ‘Everyone from AB InBev down to the smallest, trendiest craft brewery is looking at cask again, it’s that long and very British story,’ says Garrett.
Gillian Hough, vice-chair of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has also noticed a revival. ‘Our strong impression over the last year or two is that cask is coming back,’ she says, adding that the growth of the independent beer sector over the past 20 years has seen drinkers search for alternatives to ‘bland’ mass-produced beers. Yet Hough reckons many revived heritage ales are pale imitations of the versions of yore, their owners ‘trading on the history, it’s a bandwagon effect basically.’
Many argue it doesn’t matter who owns a beer – more ale benefits the industry as a whole. But Hough believes with many pubs offering a limited range of cask beers, it can impact the route to market for smaller, independent brewers.
An average of three breweries are closing a week. Last month, Chicago-based Molson Coors announced plans to sell Sharp’s, the makers of Cornwall’s beloved Doom Bar ale. Overall, ale’s market share dropped from 8.3 per cent to 7.7 per cent between 2023 and 2025 – stout and world lagers are among the biggest growers. The way to save Britain’s cask ale heritage, whether old-school brand or a modern innovator, is by drinking it. Thankfully, there are tentative signs many are starting to do just that.
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