Birmingham based independent brewery Attic is putting drinkers at the heart of its approach to cask, combining new consumer research with a 65-venue Cask Ale Trail designed to get more people discovering and talking about cask beer.

Running from 17–27 September in support of Cask Ale Week 2026, the Attic Cask Ale Trail brings together 65 pubs and bars across the Midlands and as far as Oxford, encouraging drinkers to explore independent venues and try cask along the way.

Drinkers can pick up a trail card from participating venues and collect a stamp each time they purchase an Attic cask beer. Six stamps can then be exchanged for a limited-edition pin badge, subject to availability.

But alongside getting more people to the handpull, Attic wanted to better understand what drinkers actually think about cask and what influences their choices at the bar.

The research explored attitudes towards cask, including how frequently people drink it and what style they prefer. The findings highlighted the importance of quality, flavour, freshness and choice, while also identifying an appetite for locally brewed independent beer and a broader range of modern cask styles.

Attic is using those insights to shape its approach to the category, including the launch of Gleam, a new Session IPA developed for cask.

Gleam joins Attic's established cask range of Clasp Pale Ale, Ingot Golden Ale and Quarter Amber Ale, giving the brewery three permanent and a limited-time special style designed to offer different entry points into cask.

The research also reinforced the role pubs play in people's experience of cask beer, something Attic wanted to put at the centre of this year's Cask Ale Week activity.

Rather than focusing the campaign solely on its own taproom, the brewery has partnered with 65 venues to create a trail stretching from Birmingham and the wider Midlands to Oxford, supporting the pubs and bars that continue to champion cask on their handpulls.

The Attic Cask Ale Trail runs until 27 September 2026, with participating venues located across Birmingham, the wider Midlands and Oxford. For the full list of participating venues, head to Attic’s website atticbrewco.com. They are also hosting a special cask ale tasting and brewery tour on Saturday 26th September in Stirchley.