вЂњIf itвЂ™s too cold it can warm up, but if it starts warm it can't get colder,вЂќ Tom says. Nik adds that beer festivals are looking at serving temperatures to see if cask beer can be served colder. If your first pint of cask beer is not good you wonвЂ™t got back for a second. We have to avoid old-fashioned and sexist images вЂ“ some breweries are very old fashioned. We have to improve the marketing and the quality of cask. вЂњThey say craft beer is booming вЂ“ but what is craft? Real ale is craft beer! вЂњThe stats are not always helpful,вЂќ Tom says. Both BrewDog and Cloudwater are returning to cask production and Shepherd Neame has launched a cask club promotion for its beers. They agree that cask beer had a bad time in 2018, with sales in sharp decline, but they say there are signs of a revival. If thereвЂ™s no gas in contact with the beer, then itвЂ™s real ale,вЂќ Nik adds. The annual conference last year approved cask breathers. Nik stressed that the campaign has approved key kegs and eco kegs and similar containers. What, I asked, would they call this type of beer?

'On the thorny question of craft beer, I said when I visited the Beavertown Brewery I found the beers were stored in key kegs, they were not filtered or pasteurised, contained yeast and were served by low gas pressure вЂ“ two pounds per square inch, identical to the natural CO2 in a cask. Roger Protz interview with the new CAMRA leadership.

Home brew cask ale