Ale could become a £900m take-home category - if it could achieve the same popularity it enjoys in the on trade, a new report has claimed.

Ale currently accounts for a quarter of on-trade beer sales but just 13% of the £3.5bn take-home beer market [Brand Index 52w/e 26 November & Nielsen 52w/e 24 December] - giving the category huge potential, according to a report on premium ale issued this week by brewer Hall & Woodhouse.

Just 21.5% of UK households currently bought bottled ale [Nielsen Homescan] compared with the 33% penetration of premium bottled lager - matching this alone would add £119m to the £455m ale category, claimed the report.

The impulse market was a major opportunity for growth as some stores currently stocked only one or two premium bottled ales, said Hall & Woodhouse.

All retailers, regardless of size, should ensure availability of core national brands, it added.

“Regional and speciality ales add interest but stocking these sometimes comes at the expense of core brands,” said category manager Melinda Bowles.

The report also suggested blocking ales by brewer or brand, and recommended flagging up the flavour characteristics of a beer, indicating whether it was easy-drinking or full-bodied, for instance.

The report said the bottled ale market continued to be dominated by single 500ml bottles - and efforts to expand into four-packs and different bottle sizes had been largely unsuccessful.

It criticised the shift of some canned ales from 500ml to 440ml, stating that most canned ale was drunk at home as an alternative to going to the pub, making the one-pint format important. It also claimed the reduction in can size did not bring an increase in the number of units sold.

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