"Drinkers are now discovering how bland and monotonous nitrokegs are and sales are dropping" renowned beer writer Andrew Jefford wrote recently in the London Evening Standard. No longer the preserve, if indeed it ever was, of anorak-ed aficionados, real ale is emerging from the cask in a variety of cool new guises which are signalling a significant regeneration of fortune.

The 60,000-member, real ale fan-club CAMRA (Campaign For Real Ale) has shaved off its beard, swapped its sandals for designer trainers and modernised its image. A snappy new website at www.camra.org.uk offers an informative and entertaining look at the world of real ale, including details of the Good Beer Guide 2001 and links to accredited brewers.

John Holland of CAMRA's Club Committee welcomes the recent upturn in interest. "Getting people to try real ale is the important thing" he says. "It's a big help that supermarkets now stock a good range of ales - people can try a bottle at home and then drink it in their club."

George Wortley of St. Peters Brewery in Suffolk is one of the major movers and shakers in the revival movement. "It's ironic that it is now the small regional brewers are thriving" he says. "The big nationals have never achieved true brand loyalty for keg beer - it's just fizzy stuff that all tastes the same, anyway!"

He cites the Daniel Thwaites brewery in Blackburn, Lancashire and London-based Fullers as national brewers with a positive attitude to real ale. "Fullers London Pride is a very strong brand and Thwaites has vastly increased its production of cask ales" says Wortley, who now sees an opportunity for these and similar products to make inroads into additional markets, such as nightclubs and trendy bars. He also names Brakspear's vegan-friendly Ted & Ben's and Fullers Honeydew as two seductive cask brands.

"Offering real ale can attract members" says John Holland. "While I'm not suggesting that everyone should stock a range like Peter Russell does at Somers, committees and stewards should put their toes in the water and offer one or two brands. With clubs not having hard-loan ties, they have much more freedom to buy what they want."

Recent CAMRA initiatives include the 'Ask If It's Cask' campaign, the staging of real-ale festivals and tastings around the UK and a leaflet-drop targeted at social-club members to direct them to real ale outlets just a hop away. Brands lauded by Holland as his personal favourites are Scottish Courage's Theakston's Old Peculier, Draught Bass and Tetley Mild.

Ian Lowe of 'What's Brewing', CAMRA's membership magazine, names Theakston's Cool Cask and Youngs Triple A as strong cask brands that are penetrating the youth end of the ale market and beers on offer in student union bars are now seen to be playing a major role. "The youth market is getting ever more demanding and sophisticated and, as new-generation drinkers leave college and become club and pub customers, they are taking with them the desire to drink real ale, as they did in their students days" says George Wortley.

"Bitter represents just under 5% of our overall beer sales and is down year on year" comments Victoria Gunter, Head of Purchasing for major nightclub chain First Leisure. "Bitter doesn't sell well in nightclubs, due to our customers moving away from pints and towards bottles, and to the length of python runs that make it extremely difficult to offer a good-quality pint."

St. Peters Brewery spotted the opportunities to penetrate the youth market some five years ago, when it trademarked the oval green bottle in which it packages a range of 16 real ales. Pints make prizes and St. Peters' has won a raft of awards for brands including Cream Stout, Golden Ale (described as "lager with flavour"), Honey Porter and two organic beers. "The younger market won't entertain a bottle that says 'cloth caps and brown ale'!" Wortley says. A favourite with operators, who like its premium price, Golden Ale can be found in stylish bars and nightclubs all over Britain.

The industry generally agrees that the upsurge in real-ale sales is partly due to an improvement in knowledge of how to keep cask ales. The Caskmarque scheme, funded jointly by brewers and retailers, awards plaques to licensees that meet strict criteria for quality at the point of dispense and who recognise that cask ale is a living, breathing entity. Chilled cellerage is essential and club stewards are widely hailed by brewers for their skill in maintaining a suitable cellar temperature.

As brewers work closely with distributors to market real ales to discerning drinkers, there is vast opportunity for clubs to maximise member loyalty and profits by taking on board the ever-growing interest in cask ales, both draught and packaged. There is no doubt that a club's reputation can be made or broken by the beer it stocks, as drinkers of all ages discover that traditional British beer can be a true taste experience.

Sidebar - brands

St. Peter's Spiced Ale (Lemon and Ginger) - ABV 4.7% A traditional English ale with a light citrus aroma and a delicate ginger taste - a unique and refreshingly different drink.

Brakspear Old Ale - ABV 4.3% A distinctively full bodied real ale with a red/brown colour and a strong fruity nose. Its pronounced taste of malt, hops and roast caramel gives way to the fruitiness. The aftertaste is of a bitter-sweet chocolate.

Burtonwood Top Hat Premium Bitter - ABV 4.8% A top quality, richly flavoured bitter which is a product of long and careful conditioning. Top Hat drinkers like its style and unique character. A firm favourite with discerning customers for many years.

Shepherd Neame Spitfire - ABV 4.5% Originally produced in 1990 as a Battle Of Britain commemorative brew, Spitfire is now a permanent feature on the Shepherd Neame cask conditioned ale portfolio. It has a full malt and hop flavour with a well balanced and lasting aftertaste. Their poster campaign for the beer mocking the Germans was recently banned by London Underground.

Theakston's Old Peculier - ABV 5.7% A dark, strong beer, Old Peculier is justifiably famous for its rich and complete character and its sheer strength - Old Peculier is not to be messed with! Its initial sweetness is, apparently, "of roasted and vinous notes with a subtle bitter aftertaste". Strong fruitiness, often with "banana notes" standing out, is derived from the fermentation process.