SA Brain’s Brewery in Cardiff is now a Cask Marque Centre of Excellence for Cellar Management Training

Cask Marque, the UK’s foremost provider of cellar and bar management training has partnered with SA Brains to offer training courses at the Welsh brewery’s state-of-the-art facility.

From September 2025 Cask Marque will deliver a schedule of Cellar and Bar Management Courses at the newly designated Centre of Excellence at Brains’ Dragon brewery.

Facilitated by one of Cask Marque’s expert trainers, the centre will offer hands-on training in a fully operational cellar and bar environment within the Cardiff brewery’s head offices. The course is designed to improve operational excellence, beer quality, and customer experience in pubs, bars, and hospitality venues.

“We are delighted to become a Cask Marque Centre of Excellence for training. At Brains we are dedicated to equipping individuals at all levels of the profession—from entry-level staff to experienced managers—with the necessary resources to ensure outstanding beer quality and maintaining the highest standards in both cellar and bar management,” stated Nick Payne, Managing Director at SA Brain.

Brains joins Cask Marque’s five other regional Centres of Excellence and is the first to become a designated training facility for Wales and the Southwest.

The Cask Marque Cellar Management course was trialled at the brewery in July and was attended by the SA Brains management team.

Annabel Smith, Head of Training at Cask Marque said “There was no hesitation in assigning Centre of Excellence status to the facility at the Dragon brewery. The training amenities and resources are exceptional and will be conducive to a positive learning experience”.

Three course dates have been scheduled for 2025 on

• Weds 10^th September

• Weds 22^nd October

• Weds 3^rd December

Places are now available and can be booked by publicans, managers, and hospitality staff.

Visit Cellar Management Course - Cask Marque or contact 01206 984470 to book a place.

For more information or enquiries please contact:

Annabel Smith at annabel@cask-marque.co.uk or call 07920 058500

For press enquiries please contact info@cask-marque.co.uk

About SA Brains

S A Brain & Co Ltd is one of Wales’s leading independent brewers. Founded in 1882 the company has remained in family ownership ever since.

Brains moved into Dragon Brewery in Cardiff Bay in 2019. This multi-million-pound investment is a clear sign of the company’s commitment to both continue brewing and to remain rooted in the heart of Cardiff.

About Cask Marque

Cask Marque is an independent company funded by brewers, pub groups and trade bodies with the aim of improving beer quality through an accreditation scheme and education.

Qualified assessors make over 16,000 visits a year to over 8,000 pubs which hold the award.

Accredited pubs are then promoted through the CaskFinder App and through the plaque and point of sale at the pub. Recent independent research for the Cask Report 2019-20 identified that 77% of beer drinkers recognised the Cask Marque plaque as a badge of quality.

The Cask Marque training department delivers over 100 cellar management training courses and visits per year.

For press enquiries please contact info@cask-marque.co.uk

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