Katie Mather discovers why a new generation of drinkers are choosing cask beer

Beer is hard to predict. In an industry where trends have been a major driver for change and growth, consumer desire for new and exciting variations has slowed. In its place remains traditional real ale where it always has been – steadfastly holding up the scene as the foundation on which every other innovation sits.

Even if you don’t drink real ale, it’s unwise to underappreciate the impact it has on the beer sector. After all, it has been brewed and sold in Britain for more than a thousand years, quenching the thirsts of peasants, industrialists and nobility alike. Its presence is a constant and, while its popularity may waver, it has never been abandoned. The closest it came was in the 1970s, when mass-produced beer was a new and all-encompassing threat to the independent craftsmanship of cask beer. This spurred a group of like minded beer fans to create the action group Camra (the Campaign for Real Ale), to lobby the government over important beer-related issues like brewery monopolies and trading standards.

The Society of Independent Breweries Association 2025 Independent Beer Report shows cask ale’s popularity has taken a slight dip, with 35% of beer drinkers choosing it compared to 37% in the 2024 report. However, this isn’t the whole picture. If you part the stats, you see that some interesting inter-generational shifts are occurring. Within that 35% is a smaller group of ale drinkers. A total of 25% of 18 to 24-year-old beer lovers are choosing cask over keg – almost a 10% increase on 2024’s numbers.

SIBA concludes that cost and value have a lot to do with the findings. “This is likely to be the result of the cheaper price of cask compared to other formats,” the report says, with SIBA’s You Gov poll showing “a growing number of 18 to 24-year-olds – 59% compared to 51% last year – saying price is important when deciding what beer to buy.”

Premium choice

Real ale has always been an affordable option in a wet-led pub. For many drinkers, the price of a pint denotes not only the quality of a pub but the status of society in general – make beer too expensive and you’re pricing out the everyman. You’re also denying the right to a well-earned pint. For some time however, trends have led drinkers in a different direction, choosing premium lagers and bottled beers over cask for their experiential branding and sense of everyday luxury. Since the first stemmed Stella pint glasses came to England, keg beer has been on a mission to change its image to one of escapism and continental sophistication.

These pseudo-luxury brands created by AB InBev, Carlsberg, Asahi and their peers are still going great guns, but the micro-growth of real ale within the 18 to 24-year-old demographic is a fascinating look at a potential fight back.

“The younger audience are great at buying into local, well-made, niche and scarcer products, that they can then educate themselves on and share that passion with friends,” says Fay Parrish, pub operations director at Thornbridge Taps. “They will actively search out places which have a variety of products they’d like to try and return to try more, which is great to see.”

Key to selling

While Parrish’s comment on “niche and scarcer” might seem to fly in the face of cask beer’s reputation as a ubiquitous forever friend, the truth is that independent cask beer has become a rare sight in many pubs and bars. Pub ties, popularity and the beer’s short sell-by dates all account for the loss of many real ale pumps. Keg beer is pasteurised and sold under carbonation, so it stays fresher for longer.

Real ale is a ‘live’ product and goes stale within a matter of days, creating wastage many places can’t afford. The key to selling great cask is not only to choose good quality beer in the first place, but to be able to turn it around fast enough to keep it fresh. It’s also, as our 10-ish% of young drinkers have found to their delight, less expensive than keg beer by around £1 per pint. Those who care to delve deeper into the lore also learn that cask beer is made with the same attention to detail as sourdough bread or artisanal coffee. Cheaper, tastier, local and made by skilled brewers using quality ingredients? What a bargain!

Many pubs that do serve cask beer are seeing a gradual increase in younger patrons, as memories of the pandemic fade. “Students are definitely returning to their local for society meet-ups, pub quizzes, darts and snooker,” says Parrish. “It’s great to see them enjoying themselves and returning.”

This puts an interesting anecdotal spin on SIBA’s figures. Cask beer is rising in popularity with younger people because it’s a great product, but also because it represents something every generation has loved it for – connection, socialisation and the good old British pub.