Cask Ale: Intangible Cultural Heritage

Desmond Swayne Excerpts

Tuesday 27th October 2026 Westminster Hall

[Sir Desmond Swayne (in the Chair)]

Hon. Members should rise in their places repeatedly if they wish to catch my eye.

[Jacob Collier (Burton and Uttoxeter) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the potential merits of recognising the production and serving of cask ale as Intangible Cultural Heritage.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Derby South (Baggy Shanker) for originally securing this debate. He has now reached the dizzy heights of Parliamentary Private Secretary, so is unable to open the debate. I believe it started as an idea in the Brunswick Inn in Derby, an excellent pub combining my interests of railways and beer, and one that I have frequented. I also thank hon. Members who supported the application, and Brad Evans and Jonny Garrett for their tireless work through the Keep Cask Alive campaign.

It is worth reminding ourselves what cask or real ale is. It is ale that, once brewed, is put straight into the barrel. That distinguishes it from most other beers, which tend to be filtered, pasteurised or carbonated before being put in the barrel. The shape of the cask barrel is different from that of the kegs that other beers are put into, to allow a natural, secondary fermentation process to occur within the barrel, allowing more flavour to develop after the barrel has left the brewery. Cask ale is a living product, a live beer, drawn out of the barrel using a hand pump—which is always a popular photo op for politicians.

Cask ale is uniquely British—indeed, uniquely English. The cask method started here and, until the arrival of lager in the 20th century, cask ale was the main choice of drink for people across Britain. Cask is part of who we are, our heritage and British culture.

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[Chris Kane (Stirling and Strathallan) (Lab)]

It is great to hear my hon. Friend mention the titans of the brewing industry; I have enjoyed a few pints from his constituency in my lifetime. In my constituency, traditional brewing skills are being kept alive by small, independent businesses, often driven as much by a love of the product as commercial considerations. Brewers such as the Allanwater Brewhouse in Bridge of Allan, Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing Brewery in Dunblane and Brewing at the Fintry Inn all bring their own character and creativity to a local brewing tradition. I must also mention what went on in Alloa, my neighbouring constituency, over many years. Does my hon. Friend agree that preserving that cultural heritage is about protecting not just traditional skills, but the diversity, innovation and passion that smaller producers bring to the industry?

[Sir Desmond Swayne (in the Chair)]

Order. Can interventions be a little shorter?

[Jacob Collier]

My hon. Friend the Member for Stirling and Strathallan (Chris Kane) is absolutely right. The independent brewery sector has a real pride in and love for what it does. I think we are moving to a place where perhaps larger brewers are falling out of love with cask ale. It is smaller, independent brewers, which he spoke about, that have that real love for the craft and pride in what they do.

If you look around Burton today, Sir Desmond, you will find our brewing past and present everywhere. Our football team are nicknamed the Brewers, the smell of hops permeates the air, and our pubs tell the stories of days gone by. As a Burtonian, it fills me with immense pride to see the words “Burton Ales” on the side of a pub or the No. 1 trademark of the Bass red triangle in a place where you are not looking for it. Many of my constituents worked for the breweries, or their ancestors did, and so feel a strong connection to this, which is why the news from Carlsberg about the closure of Marston’s brewery was such a hammer blow for our town. Burton’s brewing heritage might not matter to some, but it matters to us, and it really matters to me.

Heritage is our link to the past. It gives us pride in place and a sense of identity. If places like Burton lose their distinct heritage, they lose a sense of identity and everywhere starts to feel the same. In an increasingly globalised world, place matters now more than ever.

Burton is just one example of the heritage value of cask ale. More broadly, we must recognise how British agriculture and farming have been shaped by cask ale. The pub itself is there historically because of cask ale; they are cask ale’s umbilical cord. From farmer to brewer, to publican, to pint in the pub, that process is a piece of living British history. Cask ale is an essential fabric within the tapestry of British heritage and identity.

This debate is about the specific status of intangible cultural heritage, in relation to which there has been a campaign to get cask ale recognised by UNESCO. That status was created by UNESCO’s convention for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage in 2003, and in 2024 the UK signed up to that convention. Since 2024, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and UNESCO in the UK have begun to collect an inventory of living heritage in the UK. Cask ale should be included in that inventory.

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[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Sir Desmond Swayne (in the Chair)]

Order. May I suggest five minutes for speeches?

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[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Sir Desmond Swayne (in the Chair)]

Order. I am imposing a formal five-minute limit.