Cask Marque, the industry watchdog responsible for assessing the quality of cask ale in pubs nationwide has reached a milestone by awarding the accreditation to the 9000’th pub.
The Court Inn in Durham was nominated for Cask Marque by Timothy Taylors, and received two unannounced visits from Cask Marque inspector Jim Kerr in May and June. All beers on the bar were sampled for temperature, clarity, aroma and taste, and were scored out of a maximum of 20 marks.
Trevor Davies, the owner of the Court Inn said “It’s been really useful to have Jim visiting the pub and sampling our beers. He picked up on some issues with our equipment which were causing the beer to come out a little warm. He resolved these and on his next visit all our beers were absolutely spot on. I’m very proud to have gained the Cask Marque Award as it reiterates the quality of beer to our local drinkers, but will also bring in other customers who haven’t yet tasted the great beers we have on sale”.
Paul Nunny, Executive Director at Cask Marque said “In 1997 when Cask Marque was founded, just 250 pubs in the UK displayed the Cask Marque plaque at the end of the first year. To reach 9000 accredited pubs in 2014 demonstrates the great improvement in the quality of cask ale today, and how important Cask Marque is in helping to promote the importance of quality to drinkers. Congratulations to Trevor and his team at The Court Inn and I extend my thanks to all the breweries, and pub groups who have supported pubs through the Cask Marque scheme over the years”
Andy Whitehead, Sales Manager at Timothy Taylors added, “We are always delighted to support pubs that serve our beer in perfect condition. Quality is at the heart of what we do and is very important our customers feel the same. Well done to the Court Inn on achieving this milestone!”
The award will generate increased footfall in pubs as 56% of cask ale drinkers recognise the Cask Marque plaque (NOP survey) and through the Caskfinder app over 200,000 visits have been made to pubs to scan the QR code on the Cask Marque certificate for the Ale Trail programme.
Editor Notes
Cask Marque Scheme
Cask Marque is a not for profit organisation. Its accredited pubs are subject to two unannounced inspections a year by a qualified assessor who will test up to 6 cask ales on the bar checking the temperature, appearance, aroma and taste. The award is made to the licensee not the pub as it his skill and passion that delivers the perfect pint. Our assessors make over 20,000 visits a year to pubs to check cask beer quality.
We also undertake cellar inspections for Mitchells and Butlers, Stonegate, JW Lees and a number of other pub groups and brewers as well as being the leading provider of cellar management in the UK delivered through 11 centres of excellence.
Caskfinder App
This free app has been downloaded over 110000 times and can be used on iphones and Android mobile phones. In June the app was used 67472 time. The QR code on the certificate displayed in the pub was scanned 15261 during the month (over 3500 times a week). Find out more about the app and the prizes on the Cask Marque website www.cask-marque.co.uk and download the app from the iPhone App Store or for android phone, Play Store.
For more information contact
Paul Nunny 07768 614065 email Paul@nunny.fsbusiness.co.uk
Annabel Smith 07920 058500 email Annabel@cask-marque.co.uk
More can be found on Cask Marque by visiting www.cask-marque.co.uk
Other contacts:
Trevor Davies Court Inn Durham www.courtinn.co.uk 0191 384 7350
Grant Simpson, Sales Director Timothy Taylor 01535 603139
Photograph left to right
Ben Davies, Manager of The Court Inn
Annabel Smith, Cask Marque
Andy Whitehead, Sales Manager Timothy Taylor
Jim Kerr, Cask Marque Assessor