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Campaign to help cask ale gain UNESCO recognition underway
The Craft Beer Channel has launched a government petition to protect cask ale and help it gain UNESCO status. The post Campaign to help cask ale gain UNESCO recognition underway appeared first on The Drinks Business.
The Craft Beer Channel has launched a government petition to protect cask ale and help it gain UNESCO status.
The move follows The Craft Beer Channel’s seven-part documentary series Keep Cask Alive which recently came to a close, is set to protect the sector amid spiralling costs for brewers and publicans.
The campaign sees Craft Beer Channel founders Jonny Garrett and Brad Evans teaming up with nine industry partners to make a Youtube documentary series championing traditional British brewing and farming.
Over seven 30-minute episodes, Keep Cask Alive Two sees the pair visit breweries, pubs, festivals, factories and farms to tell stories of cask beer’s history and future, while documenting Garrett and Evans attempts to help stop its decline. Key to their goal is the recognition of cask ale as UNESCO Intangible Heritage.
This week, the final episode, detailing the campaign’s progress so far, went live alongside a petition to the UK government. The duo outlined that because cask ale is a production process and serving format, rather than a specific style or product, it is ineligible for Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status. However, in June 2024 the UK government ratified the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which aims to protect traditional craftsmanship, oral traditions, social practices, events, and knowledge. Examples of this recognised in other countries include: Belgian beer culture, Arabic coffee, sake production and the French baguette.
According to Garrett and Evans, the first step will be recognition of cask ale as “Living Heritage” by the UK government, which is the subject of the petition. From there, an application to UNESCO must include academic research, industry and government support, and swathes of evidence.
Speaking to the drinks business, Garrett said: "It feels like, for successive governments now, no one in power has really understood the importance of our hospitality industry. Costs just keep going up, while demand is still dropping."
Garrett pointed out that this is exactly why he and Evans are setting this course and looking to navigate a new path towards recognition for cask ale.
He explained: "Essentially, our UNESCO campaign and petition is an attempt to look elsewhere for support, to someone else who might understand the significance of what we have in our pubs and brewers. UNESCO status would be another tool for the industry to use to make their point, and to resist decisions that aren't in its interest".
Shepherd Neame recently reaffirmed its commitment to cask while Thornbridge has recently been brewing beers on its newly-acquired Union set to keep cask ‘relevant’ and some of its traditions alive.
Garrett reminded: "Our traditional pubs and cask ales are the envy of the world - it's one of the things people first think of when they think of Britain, and always on their list for when they visit. It's hard to overestimate the impact that beer has had and will have on our nation, nor the impact that further decline would have. Our pubs are the hearts of our communities, whether in a village or London, and fundamental to bringing this country together in times like these."
Added to this, he highlighted how little credit the sector was ever given for what it puts into the economy and also the way it corresponds with people's wellbeing.
He noted: "The industry employs millions of people and contributes incredible amounts to our economy – that's not opinion, it's an academically proven fact that the government knows but still underplays. If this government wants to see genuine growth and get people in sustainable jobs and work, then it needs to invest in the industries that don't just employ millions, but give them job satisfaction and joy – that improve their wellbeing and social lives and ambitions."
Garrett told db: "Our initial aim is 10,000 signatures, which will force the government to make a statement about our petition. But the reality is with the opening of submissions in a few months, they could just point to that. I hope they genuinely engage with it, but really we want to hit 100,000 and get a debate at Parliament, where the MPs who understand what we're trying to achieve and the importance of it might be able to get their voices heard for more than just a quick question in commons."
Garrett said: “The second series of Keep Cask Alive is the most ambitious thing we’ve ever done. It’s been incredible to visit so many parts of the UK, learning the remarkable stories of Britain’s brewing heritage and how some wonderful people are fighting to keep it not just alive but thriving. Despite the dark headlines, from Leeds’ Tetley Building to Brighton’s Amex stadium, cask ale is still vibrant and exciting. We hope our stories can show that.”
Garrett explained: “Brad and I believe cask is the lifeblood of British pubs. While there are many reasons for its struggles, it’s clear that support from the top is desperately needed. We hope that recognition of its impact on British culture and the economy will give the industry more tools and justifications to protect our pubs, breweries and farms, and to push back against duty, VAT and business rate rises that are crippling UK hospitality.”
Evans added: “Cask is such a brilliant and unique thing to the UK, so wouldn’t it be wonderful for it to be the first example of Intangible Heritage to be recognised in the UK? A pint in the pub is a thing that unites us, and brings us together despite our differences.”
The Craft Beer Channel has stated that it will use the films in the final submission to UNESCO and to encourage the government to back the campaign which is already being sponsored by: CAMRA, Timothy Taylor’s, Five Points Brewery, Kirkstall Brewery, Shepherd Neame, Fuller’s Griffin Brewery, Crisp Malt, Charles Faram & Co and Lallemand UK.
Beer fans from across the world are now reading and signing the petition in the hope that they can also contribute to the campaign's success and make a difference to preserving cask ale for the future.
The move follows The Craft Beer Channel’s seven-part documentary series Keep Cask Alive which recently came to a close, is set to protect the sector amid spiralling costs for brewers and publicans.
The campaign sees Craft Beer Channel founders Jonny Garrett and Brad Evans teaming up with nine industry partners to make a Youtube documentary series championing traditional British brewing and farming.
Over seven 30-minute episodes, Keep Cask Alive Two sees the pair visit breweries, pubs, festivals, factories and farms to tell stories of cask beer’s history and future, while documenting Garrett and Evans attempts to help stop its decline. Key to their goal is the recognition of cask ale as UNESCO Intangible Heritage.
This week, the final episode, detailing the campaign’s progress so far, went live alongside a petition to the UK government. The duo outlined that because cask ale is a production process and serving format, rather than a specific style or product, it is ineligible for Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status. However, in June 2024 the UK government ratified the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which aims to protect traditional craftsmanship, oral traditions, social practices, events, and knowledge. Examples of this recognised in other countries include: Belgian beer culture, Arabic coffee, sake production and the French baguette.
According to Garrett and Evans, the first step will be recognition of cask ale as “Living Heritage” by the UK government, which is the subject of the petition. From there, an application to UNESCO must include academic research, industry and government support, and swathes of evidence.
Speaking to the drinks business, Garrett said: "It feels like, for successive governments now, no one in power has really understood the importance of our hospitality industry. Costs just keep going up, while demand is still dropping."
Garrett pointed out that this is exactly why he and Evans are setting this course and looking to navigate a new path towards recognition for cask ale.
He explained: "Essentially, our UNESCO campaign and petition is an attempt to look elsewhere for support, to someone else who might understand the significance of what we have in our pubs and brewers. UNESCO status would be another tool for the industry to use to make their point, and to resist decisions that aren't in its interest".
Shepherd Neame recently reaffirmed its commitment to cask while Thornbridge has recently been brewing beers on its newly-acquired Union set to keep cask ‘relevant’ and some of its traditions alive.
Garrett reminded: "Our traditional pubs and cask ales are the envy of the world - it's one of the things people first think of when they think of Britain, and always on their list for when they visit. It's hard to overestimate the impact that beer has had and will have on our nation, nor the impact that further decline would have. Our pubs are the hearts of our communities, whether in a village or London, and fundamental to bringing this country together in times like these."
Added to this, he highlighted how little credit the sector was ever given for what it puts into the economy and also the way it corresponds with people's wellbeing.
He noted: "The industry employs millions of people and contributes incredible amounts to our economy – that's not opinion, it's an academically proven fact that the government knows but still underplays. If this government wants to see genuine growth and get people in sustainable jobs and work, then it needs to invest in the industries that don't just employ millions, but give them job satisfaction and joy – that improve their wellbeing and social lives and ambitions."
Garrett told db: "Our initial aim is 10,000 signatures, which will force the government to make a statement about our petition. But the reality is with the opening of submissions in a few months, they could just point to that. I hope they genuinely engage with it, but really we want to hit 100,000 and get a debate at Parliament, where the MPs who understand what we're trying to achieve and the importance of it might be able to get their voices heard for more than just a quick question in commons."
Garrett said: “The second series of Keep Cask Alive is the most ambitious thing we’ve ever done. It’s been incredible to visit so many parts of the UK, learning the remarkable stories of Britain’s brewing heritage and how some wonderful people are fighting to keep it not just alive but thriving. Despite the dark headlines, from Leeds’ Tetley Building to Brighton’s Amex stadium, cask ale is still vibrant and exciting. We hope our stories can show that.”
Garrett explained: “Brad and I believe cask is the lifeblood of British pubs. While there are many reasons for its struggles, it’s clear that support from the top is desperately needed. We hope that recognition of its impact on British culture and the economy will give the industry more tools and justifications to protect our pubs, breweries and farms, and to push back against duty, VAT and business rate rises that are crippling UK hospitality.”
Evans added: “Cask is such a brilliant and unique thing to the UK, so wouldn’t it be wonderful for it to be the first example of Intangible Heritage to be recognised in the UK? A pint in the pub is a thing that unites us, and brings us together despite our differences.”
The Craft Beer Channel has stated that it will use the films in the final submission to UNESCO and to encourage the government to back the campaign which is already being sponsored by: CAMRA, Timothy Taylor’s, Five Points Brewery, Kirkstall Brewery, Shepherd Neame, Fuller’s Griffin Brewery, Crisp Malt, Charles Faram & Co and Lallemand UK.
Beer fans from across the world are now reading and signing the petition in the hope that they can also contribute to the campaign's success and make a difference to preserving cask ale for the future. 
