New YouGov research commissioned by CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, has found that nearly 70% of consumers in the UK believe that having a draught beer or cider in a pub is the greenest way of enjoying a tipple.
Draught beer or cider served in a licensed premise such as a pub, social club or taproom is seen as the greenest option above and beyond consuming bottled or canned beer, cider, wine or spirits bought either in a licensed premises or in a supermarket or off-licence.
Alongside being stored and served in reusable containers from barrel to glass, cask beer is usually brewed locally and served locally – cutting down on beer miles and helping drinkers discover new flavours with a local provenance.
The survey comes as CAMRA releases the 50th edition of its Good Beer Guide, which celebrates the very best pubs serving cask beer across the UK. This year’s Guide highlights the environmental benefits of choosing to drink cask beer and outlines how CAMRA aims to support sustainability initiatives across the sector.
Writing in the Guide, Campaigns Assistant Cam Waddell said:
“Cask forms the ultimate circular economy with almost every part of the supply chain – from grain to glass – being reused countless times. As a further benefit, much of this equipment is made from material that can be fully recycled at the end of its lifespan.”
She adds: “Stocking locally produced beers has a huge range of benefits for consumers in the trade: pub-goers get to enjoy distinctive local beer styles, it improves consumer choice and supports brewers with increased sales, which in turn creates more local jobs, and increasing the resilience of the local economy with more money being generated and spent in the area.”
The Campaigning organisation is throwing its weight behind initiatives to improve sustainability throughout the sector, such as calling for technology exemptions in Business Rates to allow businesses to invest in innovative energy generation and storage, supporting a ban on single-use plastic pints and campaigning for minimum juice content in cider to highlight the role orchards play in biodiversity.
CAMRA Chairman Nik Antona says:
“Enjoying a pint of cask in your local is one of the most environmentally friendly ways to enjoy a drink and boasts a huge range of social and wellbeing benefits. It’s great to see that 69% of drinkers recognise that it is the best way to drink greener too – especially when you choose a local brewery or cider maker to cut down on carbon emissions when compared to imported products.”
“Traditional cask beer is a no-waste option with every element of the process from brewery to bar being able to be reused. That’s one of the many reasons beer drinkers can feel excited to use their Good Beer Guide to find their next pint – it’s the only Guide that showcases the very best in cask across the UK!”
