Cask Marque

The Cask Marque scheme is operated by an independent body called Cask Marque Trust and a non-profit organisation. The members who pay a subscription include representatives from brewers, retailers, trade bodies and consumer groups.

Pubs that join the scheme are visited unannounced by an independent assessor at least twice a year. In the first year, they are visited twice in the first three months, and in subsequent years they are visited once in the summer and once in the winter.

The assessor checks all cask ales on sale for – temperature, appearance, aroma and taste.

All the beers must reach the required standard for the pub to pass and it then receives a plaque, framed certificate and merchandising material to inform its customers of the award and their rights.

The Cask Marque app allows you to scan a unique code on each of these plaques, ‘ticking off’ each pub on the ale trail as you visit there. Simple!

How does the World’s Biggest Ale Trail Work?

1. Download the CaskFinder app
2. Click on ‘ale trail’
3. Register – you only have to do this once and your details will never be passed to any 3rd parties
4. Scan QR codes on Cask Marque certificates in Cask Marque pubs to win prizes

If, for any reason, there is no Cask Marque certificate showing in the pub please ask the bar staff where it is. All Cask Marque pubs will have been sent one.

WHAT PRIZES CAN I WIN?

Scan 25 barcodes and receive a Cask Marque fridge magnet bottle opener
Scan 50 barcodes and receive a Cask Marque t-shirt
Scan 100 barcodes and becomes a Cask Marque Ambassador. As well as appearing on our website and being invited to any regional events we may run, get a free place on our Beer Appreciation course:

This will be a morning course covering:

• How to taste beer
• How beer is brewed
• How beer is looked after in the pub
• Brewery tour
• Matching beer & food and more
• How can you help us do our job?

followed by an afternoon course:

Beer Tasting Session

To enable you to learn more about beer than you could in a whistle stop tour of a few pubs with an assessor, in the afternoon we will be explaining:

• What it is we look for in a beer and what the common off-flavours are
• What are the causes of these off-flavours
• The assessment process we go through and some of the most common reasons for pubs to fail the test
• Testing 10 different beer samples which have been doctored to replicate real issues experienced in pubs.
• And giving you a free Cask Marque thermometer

Scan 300 barcodes and win 4 17oz breughel glasses (see picture)

Scan 600 barcodes and win a Cask Marque Fleece.

Scan 1000 barcodes and receive a signed certificate. Yes, we know that isn’t the most exciting prospect, but we are a non profit making company and have so many people participating in this that if we gave away expensive prizes we would go bust! And also, most people are doing the ale trail because it is fun, not because they can win prizes.

As of 23 September 2015, I have visited 42 cask marque pubs!