Cask ale revival driven by ‘quality’ not ‘nostalgia’
Wells & Co’s new permanent cask ale named Double Star Bedford Bitter has been launched to mark 150 years of its brewing heritage. But the beer also responds to another step change for the sector – the plight for quality. Jessica Mason reports.
The 3.4% ABV ale has been described by the family brewery as “balanced, sessionable, and proudly traditional” but it also fulfils another remit – it answers a need for beers that are both “familiar” and “well-made”.
‘A small but meaningful revival’
The beer, which Wells & Co insisted “showcases the art of cask ale, a style at the heart of English pubs for generations, and one that is seeing a small but meaningful revival” has a name that “carries history forward”. Double Star was originally brewed in the 1960s, and unites the two stars now used across the Wells & Co business. The name also represents the alignment of the company’s original starfish logo with the star that forms the centre of its Brewpoint Brewery logo. This symbol links Wells & Co’s heritage with its future vision, making Double Star a beer that is both “familiar and forward-looking,” the brewer insisted.
Speaking to the drinks business, Wells & Co commercial director Tom Foddy said: “Cask ale is a fundamental part of British pub culture and it’s something Wells & Co has championed since the days of Charles Wells. What’s interesting now is that we’re seeing renewed interest in well-kept, well-made cask — not as a trend driven by nostalgia, but by quality.”
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Foddy told db: “With Double Star, we’ve taken the cask brewing knowledge built over 150 years and combined it with the skill, precision and modern capability of our brewers at Brewpoint. As a business, Wells & Co has always adapted to the times while staying true to what we do best, and this beer reflects that approach perfectly: heritage-led, quality-focused, and designed to be relevant to today’s drinkers.”
‘Cask ale is far from fading away’
According to Foddy: “Cask ale is what Wells & Co has been known for since the very beginning — it’s at the heart of our pubs and part of the soul of English pub culture. With Double Star, we’ve revived a classic favourite from our history, carefully reimagined for today’s drinkers. It’s traditional in style but completely relevant now, showing that cask ale is far from fading away.”
Since the sale of the Havelock Street Brewery in 2017, Foody highlighted how Wells & Co has been without a permanent cask ale to anchor its heartland pubs. Now, Double Star Bedford Bitter fills that space.
Double Star Bedford Bitter will be available in all Wells & Co managed houses and marks the first chapter of Wells & Co.’s 150th anniversary celebrations as well as the beginning of a series of special beers that have been brewed to honour the family business’s heritage while embracing its future.
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