Monday 6 April 2009

National Cask Ale Week

I've had my reservations about Cask Ale Week. Mainly due to the fact that it is dominated by the bigger breweries and pub chains. I was unhappy to pay for the POS kit and also it was difficult for me to see how taking part was going to make any difference to the number of people visiting my pub.

However, the principle behind the idea can't be bad. As we are a real ale pub it would be churlish to ignore the celebration.

The web site for the event has got the graphics on it so I downloaded them and did a bit of playing around. First I made a poster which included the picture of the young sexy people on it. My customers thought that it was inappropriate. "You're not that type of place Dave". OK, let's just use the logo then.

I made some "Try before you Buy" stickers for the pump clips and a few cheeky tent cards for the tables. It seems to be raising awareness of the principle of asking for a taster. This is something I approve of. Letting a customer try the beer before purchase makes the customer feel more confident about parting with his hard earned cash. No bad thing.

4 comments:

Paul Garrard said...

I would suggest that Cask Ale Week is working for you already if people are being made aware of tasters. Result?

Sat In A Pub said...

From what I saw of it today, I have to agree that it's far from ideal. Nice idea but it needs much more thought put into it.

Brewers Union Local 180 said...

I have all six engines pumping this week - still trying to do my part despite the eight time zone offset.

Unknown said...

Paul, yes a result. I think it's taken me time to work out what I'm doing for the event. What I am doing seems to be having a positive effect.

Tyson, I think the idea is good. Perhaps it's just a case of working through the best approach. I guess we won't get there without trying I guess.

BUL180 - go for it. You are the Oregon cask ale champion.