Barrels of profit

Which beer and cider varieties can make a difference to drinks menus in pubs and restaurants? John Porter weighs up the choices.

On the face of it, beer's struggle to maintain its place as Britain's national drink continues. Not only has the total amount of beer we drink declined over a generation but where we drink it has changed.

The latest figures from the British Beer & Pub Association show that just 50.9% of beer was drunk in out of home venues by the end of 2010, compared to more than 90% in the 1970s. By the end of this year, it's likely that more beer will be bought for home consumption than in the on trade.

The change is due to a combination of factors, including the decline in numbers of traditional drinking venues such as social clubs and community pubs, as well as low prices charged for beer by supermarkets to drive customer traffic.

However, underneath the headline figures there's better news to be found. Customers may be drinking less beer but they're drinking better beer, especially when they go out, and there are two categories in growth in the out of home market – cask beer and world lager.

Cask beer has been growing in popularity for several years alongside wider consumer appreciation of local, traditional food and drink. The newly published Cask Report 2011 shows that 2,500 new pubs and clubs started to sell cask ale last year, a 4% increase in distribution. A total of 7.8 million people drink cask beer in the UK, an 11% increase since 2007, and cask drinkers are precisely the sort of customers pubs and restaurants are looking for as cask goes upmarket – 69% are in social class ABC1, 1.6 million are under 35, while the number of 18-25 year olds and women drinking cask beer is growing. Cask Report author Pete Brown says: "Cask is attracting an increasingly upmarket set of customers who enjoy visiting pubs and spend more money – on other drinks and food as well as beer – when they visit, and as cask ale is unique to the pub, they can't switch to off trade purchase."

The world lager trend is a more recent phenomenon. As overall lager sales in the UK decline, sales figures compiled by Nielsen and CGA strategy show that the brands in growth are those with authentic roots. These include Peroni and Pilsner Urquell from Miller Brands, Tiger and Birra Moretti from Heineken, and San Miguel and Staropramen from Carlsberg UK.

These brand owners are increasingly offering additional support such as recipes to link beer to food and branded glassware. With a change in the law from this month (October) allowing beer to be sold in two-thirds of a pint measures, Heineken and Carlsberg have launched glassware for key brands in the new size, which is seen as very food friendly.

For UK brewers, the investment in linking beer and food throws down a challenge. The Cask Report shows that cask drinkers tend to enjoy a range of drinks, and so are likely to enjoy a pint before their meal and then switch to wine with the food. Regional brewer Wadsworth has responded by developing a range with clear links to food. Branded the Beer Kitchen, it includes wheat beer to be served with white fish or a salad, citrusy orange peel beer to complement rich dishes such as game, and espresso stout to go with a chocolate or toffee dessert. "While wine has traditionally owned the 'drink with dinner' space, beer has an amazing ability to complement a wide range of food, thanks to the myriad of flavour profiles available," says marketing product manager Christine Evers.

"The Beer Kitchen beer has the ability to flow through a meal – from light aperitif through to heavy pudding ale. Each, in their unique way, adds to the experience of a meal; some lift the flavours to a higher place while others mellow the palate."

Gastro pubs already stocking the range include The Hinds Head at Bray, Berkshire, owned by Heston Blumenthal, while The Bath Priory restaurant has also added it to its drinks menu. "Some of the recommended matchers are superb, such as IPA with chilli squid and stout with chocolate," says head chef Sam Moody. "We should match British cooking with our traditional drink. It will definitely help to have a range of beer that has been developed to serve with food. Consumers will respond if beers are recommended. Our biggest challenge as an industry will be persuading sommeliers to think about beer as well as wine."

Paul Wells, chairman of the Independent Family Brewers of Britain, adds that restaurants often miss a trick by only serving global lager brands. "Britain is known for having the richest variety of beer in the world due to our excellent malting barley growing regions. This has allowed brewers to create an amazing range, from ruby red bitter beer and lighter pale ale, to dark winter beer and rich stout, which are a massive improvement on ordinary lager beer.

"I think restaurateurs will be surprised how a few British bottled ales can really freshen up a drinks offering. Start with two to three ales and aim to source regional beer local to you; it's a great way to support businesses in your community. If the guest beer proves popular, there is always the option to move up to selling draught cask conditioned beer."

In contrast to beer, cider has been through something of a renaissance, with UK sales up by 60% in value between 2005 and 2010.

Cider has a long tradition of being served with food, which has helped Suffolk cider maker Aspall gain listings this year in PizzaExpress for draught Suffolk Cyder, and in City wine bar chain Corney & Barrow for Aspall Premier Cru.

Aspall has also recently launched Aspall Imperial Cyder at 8.2% abv and Aspall Lady Jennifer's at 4%, the lowest abv in the range, and seen as a lighter, more female friendly drink. "Premium cider is a good accompaniment and ingredient for a range of dishes, hence the trend for more food led outlets looking to stock such products," says joint managing director Geoff Bradman.

"The huge success of the category has also inevitably helped increase its presence in restaurants. As more people drink cider, an increasing number will expect to have the option of drinking it with food. It's therefore a natural progression for more upmarket, food led environments to want to stock premium cider, to provide consumers with what they are after and therefore encourage repeat visits."