Press Release

26/04/2024

Handpump Hijack: CAMRA urges Business Secretary to act over ‘Fresh Ale’ misleading dispense method

Leading UK consumer group asks Kemi Badenoch to intervene to allow National Trading Standards to investigate

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has written to the Business Secretary as part of their campaign to raise awareness of misleading consumer practices.

In the letter, the Campaign explains that National Trading Standards have said that they don’t have the powers to investigate the ‘Fresh Ale’ concept launched by Carlsberg Marton’s Brewing Company, which involves serving filtered and kegged beer through handpumps that are usually used exclusively for cask-conditioned beer.

National Trading Standards reported that they are unable to investigate ‘Fresh Ale’ at a national level, despite their predecessor agency, the Local Authority Co-ordinating Body on Trading Standards (LACOTS), carrying out a similar investigation in the 1980s.

The investigation by LACOTS found that using handpumps to dispense kegged beer was misleading to consumers, and they issued advice to all local Trading Standards officers.

The Campaign has also submitted a formal complaint to West Northamptonshire Trading Standards, who are believed to have a ‘primary authority’ agreement in place with Carlsberg Ltd, the global brewer forming just over half of the CMBC Joint Venture.

In the letter to the Business Secretary, CAMRA Real Ale, Cider and Perry Campaigns Director Gillian Hough said:

“The impact of this perniciously misleading form of dispense will affect the reputation and availability of cask-conditioned beer in all pubs and social clubs – an integral part of British heritage and pub culture.

“It is a self-evident fact that consumers should be as fully informed as possible about the product they are buying at the point of dispense. CAMRA is deeply concerned because, for beer drinkers, the use of a handpump to dispense beer is an indication that the beer is cask-conditioned, which these products are not. “

Nik Antona, CAMRA Chairman said:

“We are now asking the Business Secretary to step in and allow National Trading Standards to investigate Carlsberg Marston’s misleading ‘Fresh Ale’ dispense method at a national level.

“Of course, if Carlsberg Marston’s were interested in being transparent, they could simply serve their ‘Fresh Ales’ from keg fonts, and be proud and clear about the characteristics of the beers.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

CAMRA has written to Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch and West Northamptonshire Trading Standards.

The full text of the letters read:

Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP

Secretary of State for Business and Trade

Old Admiralty Building

Admiralty Place

LONDON. SW1A 2DY

By email

25 April 2024

Dear Secretary of State,

Re: CMBC ‘Fresh Ale’ and safeguarding the future of British cask ale

I am writing on behalf of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale. We are a consumer organisation with around 150,000 members representing the interests of pub goers and beer drinkers.

We are writing to raise our serious concerns about the decision in March 2024 by Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC) to launch their ‘Fresh Ale’ concept and for your help to protect the reputation and future of traditional British cask ale from the unacceptable threat that this new ‘Fresh Ale’ product poses.

At present, the ‘Fresh Ale’ range of beers consists of three of CMBC’s cask beers – Wainwright Amber, Wainwright Gold and Hobgoblin IPA – which have been filtered and put into sealed barrels or kegs. These are then served to consumers via handpumps on the bar, in a way that is virtually indistinguishable from the dispense method for cask-conditioned beer. CMBC have stated that they intend to increase the number of ‘Fresh Ale’ versions from their portfolio of cask beers.

Bar top handpumps, and the use of handpumps more generally, are associated worldwide with cask-conditioned beer and British pubs. We believe that CMBC’s attempts to hijack the handpump to serve filtered and kegged beer will only lead to consumer confusion.

The impact of this perniciously misleading form of dispense will affect the reputation and availability of cask-conditioned beer in all pubs and social clubs – an integral part of British heritage and pub culture.

As a traditional product synonymous with British brewing and pubs, we believe it is imperative that cask conditioned beer served through traditional handpumps– or from Scottish tall fonts – at the bar is protected so that consumers know that when they are choosing a beer from a handpump they will be getting a quality, cask-conditioned beer.

It is a self-evident fact that consumers should be as fully informed as possible about the product they are buying at the point of dispense. CAMRA is deeply concerned because, for beer drinkers, the use of a handpump to dispense beer is an indication that the beer is cask-conditioned, which these products are not.

This is also evident through CMBC’s general marketing of these products, and the alterations required to the handpump mechanism, to enable the serving of the beer.

We have contacted National Trading Standards and Trading Standards Scotland about this matter and are pursuing the matter through a complaint to West Northamptonshire Council as Carlsberg Ltd have a Primary Authority agreement with that authority.

National Trading Standards have stated that they are unable to assist as it responds to specified Trading Standards related work based on grants provided by the Government. Trading Standards Scotland have responded to say that they are UK Government funded to undertake investigations into fair trading matters that are causing harm across local authority borders.

We are therefore asking for your support for the Department to ask National Trading Standards, Trading Standards Scotland and any other relevant national bodies to urgently investigate whether CMBC’s Fresh Ale concept, sold across Great Britain, across local authority boundaries and via misleading use of cask handpumps thereby presenting as a version of cask beer, is confusing to customers.

CAMRA believes that these practices come under the scope of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, as the average consumer may choose to buy the product on the basis that they believe it to be cask conditioned beer, which in this case it is not.

We believe that this falls foul of the Order’s provisions in Part 2 to protect consumers from presentation which is likely to deceive the average consumer or cause the average consumer to take a transactional decision he would not have taken otherwise.

There is also a precedent for action in this area, notably the Local Authority Co-ordinating Body on Trading Standards (LACOTS) inquiry into misleading methods of dispensing beer in 1988, which led to LACOTS agreeing that the use of a handpump to serve keg beers was misleading, with this advice being passed to all local Trading Standards departments at the time. The emergence of ‘Fresh Ale’ requires similarly coordinated action across the country, as the products may quickly begin to appear in licensed venues across England, Scotland and Wales.

I am sure you will agree with us that the traditional British handpump should continue to be used exclusively to dispense cask-conditioned beer or their traditional cider and perry equivalents.

We would be delighted to meet with you or your officials to discuss what action can be taken, following the previous LACOTS precedent, to protect consumers from products which unfairly imitate or present themselves as cask-conditioned beer, so we can preserve the heritage and quality of traditional British cask ale.

Thank you in advance for your assistance. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely,

Gillian Hough

Chair – CAMRA Real Ale, Cider & Perry Campaigns Committee

________________

Trading Standards

West Northamptonshire Council

The Abbey Centre

St John’s Square

DAVENTRY

NN11 4XG

By email

25 April 2024

Complaint: Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company ‘Fresh Ale’ dispense method

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing on behalf of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale. We are a consumer organisation with around 150,000 members representing the interests of pub goers and beer drinkers.

We are writing to register a formal complaint about the ‘Fresh Ale’ concept recently launched by Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC), and specifically the use of a cask handpump to serve the beer.

We have addressed this complaint to West Northamptonshire Trading Standards as we understand that Carlsberg Ltd have a Primary Authority agreement with West Northamptonshire Council and that you are the appropriate authority to give the company assured advice on their sales practices.

At present, the ‘Fresh Ale’ range of beers consists of three of CMBC’s cask beers – Wainwright Amber, Wainwright Gold and Hobgoblin IPA – which have been filtered and put into sealed barrels or kegs. These are then served to consumers via handpump on the bar, in a way that is virtually indistinguishable from the dispense method used for cask-conditioned beer. CMBC have stated that they intend to increase the number of ‘Fresh Ale’ versions from their portfolio of cask beers.

It is a self-evident fact that consumers should be as fully informed as possible about the product they are buying, at the point of dispense. CAMRA is deeply concerned because, for beer drinkers, the use of a handpump to dispense beer is an indication that the beer is cask-conditioned, which these products are not.

Serving filtered ‘Fresh Ale’ from a keg, or any other container, through a handpump constitutes an attempt to mislead the consumer. This is also evident through CMBC’s general marketing of these products, and the alterations required to the handpump mechanism, to enable the serving of the beer.

Bar top handpumps, and use of handpumps more generally, are associated worldwide with cask-conditioned beer and British pubs. We believe that CMBC’s attempts to hijack this to serve filtered and kegged beer will only lead to consumer confusion. The impact of this perniciously misleading form of dispense will affect the reputation and availability of cask-conditioned beer in all pubs and social clubs.

We would like West Northamptonshire Trading Standards to urgently investigate whether CMBC’s Fresh Ale concept constitutes misleading use of the handpump, to misrepresent the nature of these beers to consumers.

CAMRA believes that these practices come under the scope of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, as the average consumer may choose to buy the product on the basis that they believe it to be cask conditioned beer, which in this case it is not.

We believe that this falls foul of the Order’s provisions in Part 2 to protect consumers from presentation which is likely to deceive the average consumer or cause the average consumer to take a transactional decision he would not have taken otherwise.

There is also a precedent for action in this area, notably the Local Authority Co-ordinating Body on Trading Standards (LACOTS) inquiry into misleading methods of dispensing beer in 1988, which led to LACOTS agreeing that the use of a handpump to serve keg beers was misleading, with this advice being passed to all local Trading Standards departments at the time.

CAMRA firmly believes that the traditional British handpump should continue to be used exclusively to dispense cask-conditioned beer or their traditional cider and perry equivalents.

We would be delighted to meet with you to discuss what action can be taken to protect consumers from the promulgation of products which unfairly imitate or present themselves as cask-conditioned beer.