It’s being reported that younger beer drinkers are increasingly ordering the cask ales they remember their parents and grandparents drinking at the pub.
Gen Z and younger millennials — broadly those aged 18 to 35 — are as likely to enjoy a pint of Old Peculier as they are a craft beer.
New research ahead of this year’s Cask Ale Week (17th to 27th September), shows that the fastest growing ales are beers which have been on the bar for decades, if not centuries.
The fastest growing cask ale is the Bass brand. The famous Bass red triangle was Britain’s first registered trademark, and the beer was first brewed in Britain’s beer ‘capital’ Burton-upon-Trent, almost 250 years ago in 1777.
Bass owner Budweiser Brewing Group has worked with hospitality industry insight company The Oxford Partnership to track the changing age demographics of Bass drinkers.
Warren White, Bass brand manager, said: “Bass has always been a cask ale with broad appeal to beer drinkers. What this research shows is that since 2024/25 the age mix in pubs serving Bass has changed, with more under-35s, and particularly more in the 18-24 and 25-29 age groups, drinking in Bass pubs.”
Adam Russell, commercial director of Wiltshire-based brewer Wadworth, whose 6X ale is also seeing strong growth, said: “There’s definitely a trend amongst younger drinkers to look for cask ales with provenance and heritage. They know Wadworth 6X as a brand their dad — or maybe even their granddad — drank, and they want to revive and continue that family tradition.”
Millennial cask ale drinker Beth Dean (pictured above), 34, of Parkstone, Dorset, said: “We have a great taproom near us, the Barking Cat Ale House, which regularly wins CAMRA awards. My Dad has been a cask ale drinker for as long as I can remember, and it’s great to see his favourite beers still on the bar, and to carry on the family tradition with a pint.
“During the long hot summer we’ve had, I’ve preferred pale ales and cooler-served beers, but hopefully there’ll be a few interesting darker beers on the bar by the time Cask Ale Week comes around.”
Phillip Montgomery, business unit director at CGA by NIQ, which measures drinks sales in pubs, said: “For the past five years, really since the end of the Covid lockdown, cask ale has felt a bit like a beer style that was being left behind, especially by younger drinkers.
“However, in the same way that stout has seen a revival in fortunes, we’re also starting to see an upturn in interest in cask ale amongst younger drinkers, and it’s often traditional brands and well-established regional favourites that bring them into the cask category.”
The figures also show that cask ale retains a strong regional following, with Timothy Taylor Landord the top seller in Scotland and the North, Greene King IPA in East Anglia, and Fuller’s London Pride in London and the South East.
Top 5 fastest-growing cask ale brands by value
- Bass
- Timothy Taylor Landlord
- Wadworth 6X
- St Austell Tribute
- Theakstons XB
(Source: CGA by NIQ)
