Liberation Group Hits The Cask Marque

The largest pub chain in the Channel Islands, The Liberation Group, has received national recognition for championing the great British real ale renaissance.

Less than a year after the first pint of Liberation Ale was pulled, the group’s Jersey Brewery has been accepted as a corporate member of Cask Marque - giving it equal prominence in British brewing circles alongside Fuller’s, St Austell Brewery, Shepherd Neame, Timothy Taylor and Carlsberg UK.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Liberation Group, Mark Crowther, said: ‘Being accepted as a corporate member of Cask Marque is a fantastic achievement and good news for real ale connoisseurs in both Bailiwicks. Cask beer is bucking the decline in the pub trade in the UK by steadily growing in popularity which is why we are not only brewing ales, we are also aiming this year to introduce at least two casks beers - including guests ales - in our pubs.’

Following on from the success of Liberation Ale, the Jersey Brewery is producing four new seasonal cask beers. Starting with ‘Ambrée’ for the spring, ‘Blonde’ for summer, ‘Rouge’ in autumn and ‘Noire’ as winter draws on.

Cask Marque is committed to ensuring that cask ales served in public houses the length and breadth of the British Isles qualify as the ‘perfect pint’ in terms of temperature, appearance, aroma and tatse. It also sets industry training standards in association with the British Institute of Innkeeping and sponsors the UK’s best selling pub guide, CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide. Since its foundation in 1997, Cask Marque has inspected more than 250,000 pints of beer and accredited over 6,000 of the 36,500 pubs in the British Isles which serve one or more cask conditioned ales. Pubs that gain the award display the distinctive Cask Marque plaque.

Paul Nunny director of Cask Marque said: ‘We welcome the Liberation Group as corporate members of Cask Marque and their commitment to champion cask ale in the Channel Islands. Their investment in training and beer quality will ensure that customers in their pubs will be drinking great beer.’

Cask Marque accreditation is recognised nationwide as an independent guarantee of quality for customers and is only awarded to licensees whose ales pass a series of rigorous independent quality audits. Many of the Liberation Group pub tenants and managers will shortly undergo specialist training so individual islands’ pubs can be assessed for the quality of the cask ales served.

Cask Marque also supports Cask Ale Week which is being celebrated from 29 March to 5 April to toast everything that is great about British real ale. The Liberation Group will mark this national event by launching "Ambrée" - the first of the seasonal beers.