Will Fullers transfer leave cask facing relegation battle?

"Well we never saw that coming" was the comment that many made after Fullers announced they were selling their beer business to Japanese multinational company Asahi. Indeed, it was quite a shock, but for Fullers an understandable move. The majority of their profit is contributed from its pub and hotel sector, in the order of 85% apparently. Inside knowledge from working in the industry for many years I know this to be a fact, brewing and selling beer is not as profitable as running pubs and hotels. So for Fullers, on the surface the right decision, but for the cask ale sector it could be yet another nail in the coffin.

For many years Fullers have been one of the major players in championing the cask sector. They understood that cask ale not only needs to leave the brewery in pristine condition but furthermore, ensuring it's quality on its path to being finally served in the pub is just as important. Fullers have been one of cask ales major lynch pins in recent years, demanding quality and consistent beers and showcasing their ales at their best where-ever possible.

I might use an analogy of a football team. Cask AFC playing in the Premier League - Fullers were the solid dependable centre half and captain of the team, successfully defending all attacks and leading from the front, setting an example to the rest of Cask AFC. Now Fullers has been transferred to PubCo Rovers and a new player, Asahi has been signed from abroad as a replacement. As with all new players Asahi will need to adapt quickly if Cask AFC is not to be relegated from the Premier League, he can't afford too many errors. He has some strong fellow team members, the spine of the side; Marston's another centre half, Greene King, the much disliked midfield player who never gets the plaudits but when he's not in the team they often lose; gifted playmaker St Austell Brewery, much maligned centre forward Doombar (Molson Coors), fast and tricky winger Thornbridge and experienced goalkeeper Shepherd Neame.

Ok, its a bit of fun, but the point I'm making is if Fullers were a top player in Cask AFC, without them and their commitment to maintaining quality and a desire to sell cask ale, the future for Cask AFC could be threatened with relegation from the Premier League! Lose one of your best players and many teams have faltered as a result.

How new boy Asahi does in the number five shirt remains to be seen. One has to have doubts. Will he really take the long term view on cask, nurture London Pride on hand-pull with a desire to build the brand so it's cask format can challenge for the top honours in the world of beer, or will London Pride be re-focused on export markets and UK keg format allowing its cask brother to slowly sink down the leagues? If one has to have hope then looking at how Japanese companies have established themselves in the UK Car market and their commitment to the long term is commendable. If Asahi can follow this lead and become the next Honda or Nissan of the UK beer market then perhaps there is hope. Only time will tell.

乾杯 which is  pronounced Kanpai, cheers in Japanese (according to google).