From warm cellars to greasy glassware, pubs are being urged to ensure their hygiene is up to scratch ahead of a major consumer beer quality awareness campaign next year.
Around 7,000 UK pubs currently have a 4-star or 5-star beer and cellar hygiene rating, which measures 11 key markers from the cellar to the beer glass, awarding one to five stars, similarly to food hygiene ratings.
Industry accreditation body Cask Marque, which oversees the scheme, aims to have at least 30,000 4 or 5-star-rated pubs by the end of the decade.
The consumer campaign, launching in early 2027, will encourage beer drinkers to check the pub’s rating before their visit, online at
perfectpintpromise.co.uk/pub-cellar-ratings/. Cask Marque will also raise consumer awareness of star ratings displayed outside pubs. The Campaign for Real Ale, CAMRA, is also including pubs’ hygiene ratings on its pub search website.
“Beer quality should be at the heart of every pub’s offer, but that’s not always the reality,” said Paul Nunny, director Cask Marque. “The initial trial for our Perfect Pint Promise beer quality scheme showed that nearly half of pints served in UK pubs fail to meet basic standards, and that customers who are disappointed either switch brands or switch pubs.
“That, in itself, should make both pub operators and brewers sit up and take notice. However, as well as customers voting with their feet after a disappointing pint, high cellar and dispense standards have a direct impact on yields and beer quality.
“Our analysis shows that improved cellar practices improve beer yields by 10%. With the budget adding more cost on pubs, including the minimum wage increase, this is a way that pubs can directly improve the bottom line. Quite simply, pubs with a 4/5-star cellar rating are making more profit from beer sales.”
He added: “Just as many customers wouldn’t go out for a pizza or burger without checking the business’ food hygiene, once the consumer awareness campaign gets under way, many will make similar decisions based on the beer and cellar hygiene rating.”
The four main area where pubs fall short of the standards required are:
- Cellar temperature;
- Glassware condition and cleanliness;
- Line and coupler cleanliness;
- Cleanliness of glasswashers.
