Carlsberg UK has extended its portfolio by partnering with eight additional breweries to introduce new beers to its 2015 Tapster’s Cask Ale range, each available to order this month. The new partnerships will broaden the variety of beers available to its UK on-trade customers.
New for 2015 are beers including Business As Usual from Derby Brewing Company, Double Dragon from Felinfoel Brewery, Gower Gold from Gower Brewery, Rivet Catcher from Jarrow Brewing Company, and Jaipur IPA from Thornbridge Brewery.
55 ales available nationwide, all-year-round
The Tapster’s ‘permanent’ range consists of 55 ales available nationwide, all year-round. The 30 brewers featured in the 2015 range include Tetley’s, Adnams, Camerons, Fuller’s, Greene King, Hook Norton, Marston’s, Robinsons, St Austell and Thwaites, amongst others.
The Tapster’s ‘Extra Choice’ range comprises nearly 100 additional ales available on bi-monthly rotation and catering to experienced cask ale drinkers looking for something different. This is a range of lesser-known ales, often seasonal and handpicked from breweries across the UK, available through Carlsberg UK’s monthly Deals brochure.
The 2015 brochure provides a profile of all partner breweries, highlighting the latest newcomers as well as a list of products available through Carlsberg UK. It includes an overview of the cask ale category and looks at the trends and opinions from key industry experts. It also provides valuable advice to help licensees ensure they achieve the maximum benefit from stocking the beers; by engaging cask drinkers using social media all the way through to serving them the perfect pint every time.
The Tapster’s guide
Commenting on the new range and brochure, Paul Waller, Director of Customer Service and Third Party Brands at Carlsberg UK, said: “The beer category in the UK flourished in 2014 with new breweries and ales coming onto the market all the time. We are proud that so many additional breweries have chosen to partner with us and we are confident that our new brochure will be a valuable tool for boosting cask ale sales.
“As well as providing useful insight into what’s important to cask ale drinkers, how to choose a range that’s right for your outlet and how best to promote it, the guide also looks at beer and food matching and the growing importance of female ale drinkers in the market. It’s a comprehensive guide that readers can dip in and out of as required, and reflects our commitment to truly supporting our customers in all aspects of their business.”
The Tapster’s guide was named ‘Best Beer Writer in Corporate Communications’ at the 2014 British Guild of Beer Writers Annual Awards, an accolade given to an individual or organisation for the best communication about beer in an in-house or customer magazine, internal or external website, corporate film or podcast. Carlsberg UK has now scooped this accolade for two years out of the past three.
More than 20% of all cask ale in the UK passes through Carlsberg UK’s 12 depots, all of which have been awarded Cask Marque accreditation, and the brewer is the only national brewer to retain its own logistics operation.
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