Cask ale brewers are calling for the beer to be given a ‘cultural heritage’ status in an attempt to stop its decline.

With Gen-Z routinely drinking cocktails, lagers or spirits, ale is continuing to be considered an ‘old man’s’ tipple. 

In an eight year period between 2015 and 2023, sales of traditional British ales such as Greene King IPA or Sharp’s Doom Bar nearly halved. 

And in 2021, cask beer accounted for just 4.3% of overall beer sales. 

Evidently, despite a host of small regional breweries across the country keeping the tradition alive, cask ale is suffering a sharp decline. 

But ale brewers are now trying to save the much-loved beverage by attempting to have it considered a part of ‘cultural heritage’.

A grassroots petition nominating cask ale for Unesco’s Intangible Cultural Heritage status has so far gained more than 12,000 signatures from supporters who want the drink, and the pub culture that comes with it, protected.

The campaign comes a little over a year after the UK ratified the Unesco convention, meaning the British beverage could become the first recognised under the scheme. 

Ash Corbett-Collins, chairman of the campaign, told The Times: ‘We are fully backing the campaign to see cask beer recognised as Intangible Cultural Heritage and urge all pubgoers and beer lovers across the UK to sign this petition.

‘Cask beer has been part of our pub culture for centuries and should be protected and respected as part of the UK’s heritage. If the French baguette is recognised by Unesco, then the UK’s world-renowned cask beer must be too.

‘Despite our independent brewers working hard to make world-class beers, customers can struggle to see local and independent drinks at the bar, because global companies dominate the UK beer market. 

‘If the petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be debated in parliament and will make MPs rethink how best to support independent cask beer producers and increase customer choice of diverse beers in locals up and down the country.’

One of the most obvious reasons for cask beer’s decline is thought to be the pandemic’s damaging effect on the hospitality industry. 

With less people visiting boozers and many choosing to drink lager, ales are no longer the priority of the most popular breweries. 

Greene King, for instance, told the Daily Telegraph in 2023 that its focus was on moving away from cask towards keg beers such as Icebreaker Pale Ale. 

And towards the end of 2024, Carlsberg was accused of ‘wiping out’ British brewing heritage after it axed 11 classics beers including Bombardier and Banks’s Mild. 

In total, Carlsberg’s Marston’s Brewing Company delisted three cask ales and three kegged beers. 

The announcement dealt a fresh blow to British brewing, with The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) warning the cuts would massively impact consumer choice and industry jobs.  

Gillian Hough, vice chairman of Camra, said: ‘This is another example of a globally owned business wiping out UK brewing heritage.

‘I hope that this change will mean space on the bar for licensees to stock guest beers from local independent breweries, but realistically, I suspect this isn’t what CMBC plans.

‘This loss of consumer choice is the inevitable outcome of a brewing conglomerate run by accountants and the bottom line. This is a sad and disappointing decision that puts both the history and the future of British brewing in jeopardy.’