Cask 2021 — Our plan.

Hello Cask fans! Hope you’re all doing well in this year of all years.

We were the last big festival to take place before the devastating pandemic which has changed all our lives, and we now expect to be one of the first to take place in the new, challenging world in which we find ourselves. In amongst the tragedy and struggle, we’re determined to remain upbeat and identify opportunities to make the best of where we are, support breweries that have been clobbered by 2020 and hopefully spread a bit of happiness. Remember happiness?

We have a plan for Cask ’21 that’s adaptable and guarantees the same great value for money that we’ve always offered. Because of the uncertainty of the coming months, it’s impossible for us to definitively state the location and structure of the festival, but what we can promise is this: Between May 14–16, we will hold a world-class festival with the best cask beer it’s possible to get hold of. Preferably in a venue as vast and inspiring as last year’s Copeland Park. We’ve chosen this date, an extension from the previously announced one, because we want to give ourselves plenty of time and space to create the safest possible experience; the good weather which normally accompanies May will be a huge help.

By buying a ticket, you’re trusting that we’ll continue the year on year improvement which has made us the number one cask festival on the circuit, with breweries and beers you simply can’t find elsewhere. We are passionately committed to giving you value for money, and paying the producers a fair price for every brew they send us. It’s only this approach that gives cask the prestige it deserves, and will help ensure its future.

Because of these unique times, we are reducing the numbers of beers and breweries showcasing at this year’s festival. Fifteen breweries will be operating this time, some old favourites and some new to this unique event. This strikes us as a sensible and necessary move, and really allows us to drill down on the huge success stories of previous years whilst introducing a couple of very exciting, industry-leading new names to the bill.

Each brewery will be sending one beer, to represent the very best of what they offer in cask format, and there’ll also be a very special, one-off collaborative beer to mark each session. Past attendees will know that when we say special beer: we mean it.

These three collabs will only ever be available at Cask ’21 — a real, unique moment in beer time.

So, to clarify:

· Your ticket purchase buys you access to one of the sessions, either 14, 15 or 16 May.

· The plan is 100% to hold a physical festival. If it’s safe to do so, we will hold these sessions in a yet to be confirmed venue in London. Your safety is our number one priority, and we will announce the venue as soon as it’s practical to do so.

· If it’s not safe at this time, or if you feel more comfortable taking part in the festival from the comfort of your own home, we’ll package and send the festival beers out to you using our usual innovative technology designed to give you a perfect cask pour, just as if you were at the venue.

· Virtual content will be exclusive to ticket holders, will be pioneering and multi-faceted and will include live links to tastings, entertainment and communal areas to share experiences with other virtual festival goers.

Many more details, including more breweries to add to those already announced, will be added over the coming weeks but for now we’re very excited to release the tickets for sale, on December 17th at 12pm, as we look forward to the relaunch of the beer festival calendar. We’ve all enjoyed special times at these and similar events over the years, and our community needs a lift right now.

Because the festival has sold out for the past two years, and there will be less capacity this time around, we advise purchasing tickets sooner rather than later if you wish to attend. If we suspect any attempts at profiteering from resale of tickets, we will cancel and refund those tickets immediately.

Come along on this brand new journey with us for 2021 — we take our responsibilities very seriously. We promise you a well-considered experience to remember and most importantly, we won’t cut corners, take liberties or let you down in any way!

Take care, stay safe and have lovely breaks with the ones you love. We’ll see you soon.