There has been much debate lately on the state of cask beer around the world. Some sources saying cask beer is in great decline, while others are heralding its comeback. But regardless of where you stand, this should come as good news:
Greene King, the well-known English retailer & brewery, is piloting a new premium chilled cask beer called St. Edmunds to target men and women who are exploring new styles of beer, other than lager. The new chilled beer, served below six degrees Celsius (about 43° Fahrenheit), is being rolled out across 100 selected pubs in south east England over a three month trial period, beginning this November.
Greene King managing director Justin Adams said the new product aimed to reinvigorate the declining casked ale market by creating an ale with a “gold, fresh, crisp finish” and “provide a great consumer experience by giving more theatre”.
The taps are at bar level to make more of a feature and give customers the choice of either having a ‘southern’ pour (with a head) or a ‘northern’ pour (without a head) – terms used to describe pouring styles across the UK.
Sarah Brindley, portfolio and innovation controller at Greene King, said:
“St Edmunds was chosen to marry contemporary with traditional heritage.”
She explained the brewer chose to name the beer after where it is brewed in Bury, St Edmunds to “root its provenance” and “credibility for the brand”.
The launch of St Edmunds will be marketed with point of sale activity and extensive training support (needed to properly dispense complicated cask ales).
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Comments
“a ‘southern’ pour (with a head) or a ‘northern’ pour (without a head)”
That’ll be (a) the wrong way round and (b) not quite accurate anyway – the “Northern” pour means a big, long-lasting, tight head, through a sparkler, the “Southern” pour means a much smaller head, without a sparkler device on the end of the tap, which typically disappears quite fast.
huh, thanks. I got all the information in the article from a press release (from a British website, no less), so they must have gotten it wrong. But thanks for the head’s up!