Comedy rapper Jester Jacobs shoots rap video at Leeds pub Foleys for Black Sheep Brewery cask ale campaign

Unlike anything seen before in the cask industry, Black Sheep have commissioned Jester Jacobs to write and perform an honest, light-hearted rap about all things cask beer – filmed at Leeds pub Foleys.

Located on Leeds Headrow, Foleys reopened earlier this year following a two year closure during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The rap details everything from the amazing qualities of the drink, to the unique brewing process, as well as the wider issues facing the cask beer industry and British pubs.

It’s part of Black Sheep’s year-long ‘Drink Cask Beer’ awareness campaign, is a bold attempt to attract younger drinkers to the category and help to reposition cask beer as a diverse, progressive and relevant drink in today’s broad market. In turn, Black Sheep hopes to help stabilise the decline of this most iconic British drink.

Despite being the ‘original craft beer’, data from Cask Ale Week shows that the volume of cask is down 25 per cent this year, compared with 2019.

Charlene Lyons, Chief Executive at Black Sheep Brewery, commented: “Cask beer is facing unprecedented challenges right now. As a drink that can only be enjoyed at the pub, the cost-of-living crisis is having a double impact on cask beer – not only are increasing energy prices making it more expensive to brew, but the cost-of-living crisis also means people have less disposable income to spend on evenings at their local.

“At Black Sheep, cask beer is, and always has been, our passion. We firmly believe the cask category needs genuinely disruptive campaigns like these to help it back into growth.

"We know that younger repertoire drinkers are key to the future of cask, but these drinkers need cask brands to be more visible, vibrant and relevant – both at the bar and away from it too. So we’re hoping that through our partnership with Jester Jacobs, we can help broaden the appeal of cask beer to a younger and more diverse audience.”

Discussing the partnership with the brewery, Jester Jacobs added: “It's easy to forget how much we missed pubs when we couldn't visit them. They are often a place of sanctuary and need our support more than ever.

“It's my pleasure and privilege to write a rap for Black Sheep Brewery, go to the pub with my pals and for this to be considered a positive contribution to a struggling industry.”

Charlene continued: “We want to see the new government support pubs and we want drinkers to get out to support their local too. To quote Jester Jacobs… ‘Liz Truss should discuss saving pubs as a priority. You can do your part by drinking beer of high quality!’.”

The Drink Cask Beer campaign has previously seen the brewery partner with comedian Maisie Adam to address the haters of cask beer directly, as well as opening a pop-up pub ‘The Breathe Inn’, beneath Yorkshire’s iconic Ribblehead Viaduct, serving its carbon-neutral cask beer, Respire.