Ladies - time to hug some ale for your country

These days it seems there’s a ‘national week’ set aside for just about everything from trees to tiddlywinks. I don’t know who first came up with the idea of these ‘hugger weeks’ or, indeed, if they make any difference. And the beer industry has been a bit behind the door in latching onto the concept.

But it’s here at last. What we have all been waiting for. From Monday the 6th April there will seven days dedicated to hugging Britian’s unique drinking heritage – so we can all drink cask beer with abandon.

Yes, it’s the first National Cask Ale Week at a time when overall beer sales are falling but SIBA –the craft brewers’ group – predict its members’ cask sales are set to grow by 15 per cent this year.

Of course, this is no surprise to forward thinking pub operators like Brunning & Price, who have sold scores of cask beers week-in-and-week-out for many years.

Nevertheless, all credit to organisers Cask Marque for putting it together and bringing national attention to bear on the fantastic range of ales available these days.

So from next Monday it’s a case of ‘England expects every beer drinker to do their duty’. Throughout the week we can all utter the bold words: ‘just popping out for a pint dear – doing my bit for Cask Ale Week y’know’. Now what could be more worthy and straight-forward than that? But whoa, wait just a minute, maybe it is not that simple; surely this is not meant to be just a week of blokey fun?

Oh no, no, no. In fact, in these wonderfully inclusive PC days, there is even a special day on Wednesday dubbed FemAle day - geddit? - when women are encouraged to put their Pinot Grig aside and try a proper drink; 'Women of Britain Your Country Needs You in the Alehouse' sort of thing. And this, I guess, is for the good.

There is no reason these days why women have to wear dungarees and crew cuts just to enjoy a drop of cask. But, oh dear, like all things involving the fairer sex - some might say - now it gets more complicated.
Women's issues
Apparently there are ‘issues’, according to pundits, that the industry must tackle to attract more women to ale. First of all we must offer the right sort of tipple - not just any old quaffing bitter. Then we must take a fresh look at the macho (but sometimes humorous eh?) marketing. And, oh, that rubbish glassware - handled jar glasses, pah - has to be sorted if we hope to improve upon the miserable 13 per cent of UK beer sales made to women (in the Irish Republic, you may like to know, it’s 36 per cent – must be the Guinness glasses eh?).

Oh blimey. So this popping out for a pint with the missus on a Wednesday night is fraught with problems, it seems. But surely with so many different styles of beer on offer through the ever burgeoning micros finding a fem-friendly beer, if that is what is required, should not be too difficult?


You may say that but hey, hang on; I’ve just read that brewing monolith Coors has set up a ‘Bitter Sweet Partnership’ to change the image of beer among women and find out what women want on the ale front (other fronts now presumably being sorted) .

It’s an all women crew and they’ve put the fiercely vociferous (aka big-mouthed) journalist Janet Street Porter in the high command. Blinkin’ heck lads – now we’re really going to cop it.

In fact, a fem-ale was ‘invented’ not long ago by a young student drinker called Harriet Eastman following intensive research and brewed by Jack Hanby in Wem, Shropshire. It turned out that women like light citrus beers – now that’s a surprise!! Somewhat sort of ambiguously it was named Harry’s Ale and then came with its own girlie glasses.

But it received a mixed reception, with a guarded welcome by some women but slammed by others for marketing tactics that aped the old laddish ways.* I’ve no idea how it’s doing. Some female-tipplers argued that it was condescending to assume they want to drink different ale differently to the boys, but they do want it ‘marketed’ differently. Crikey, this is testing stuff. Are you keeping up?

It seems we have a long way to go to bring ladies into the beer tent. When we do crack it, the ever changing landscape of the Great British Pub will see even further tweaking for better or for worse. You will be the judge.

So where do I stand amongst all this blather during Cask Ale Week? Well, I think I’ll adjourn to the bar and hug a pint while I ponder the matter. With the boys, of course.

*For a more considered view on this Harry’s Ale see the piece from beer writer Melissa Cole’s at http://girlsguidetobeer.blogspot.com/2008/01/wb-article-for-reference.html

Footnote: Saturday night (April 11) will see an attempt on the World Record for the Largest Toast. At 7pm pubs registered with organisers Cask Marque will ask their punters – men or women - to raise their glasses, whether filled with cask ale or not, to tackle the toast. Let’s go for it eh?