Brewer and pub giant, Marston’s is to remove cask ales from all but one of its twenty-one managed pubs in Scotland, and will replace them with keg beer.
The move is due to what the company describes as “poor throughput” of cask, and means that the only pub in the group's Scottish managed estate offering cask ales will be Lockards Farm in Dumfries.
The cask lines in all other outlets will be taken out and replaced with keg versions of Marston’s Pedigree and Hobgoblin IPA. Marston’s has said it will continue to supply cask beer to its Scottish free trade customers.
A company spokesman said the decision had been taken “with a heavy heart” but that the company’s policy on cask ale in Scotland “is no different to anywhere else in the UK”.
Mark Carter, who is head of the drinks management category at Marston's, said, “Our criteria is set by throughput to ensure we maintain the quality control expected by our customers.
“We will continue to sell cask ale in those pubs where there is a demand which matches this. Unfortunately a recent review identified that a number of pubs do not sell sufficient volumes to support the sale of cask ale, therefore ensuring that the beer on sale is not of a quality that we deem suitable for our customers.”