Vocation Brewery is aiming to help drive on-trade traffic this Christmas with the launch of a range of cask and keg beers.

The Yorkshire-based independent brewery has unveiled a Christmas line-up designed to help operators cater for “wide-ranging tastes and festive drinking occasions”, while creating opportunities for discovery and trade-up.

Vocation Brewery’s Beer Census* found that almost 70% of drinkers had discovered a new favourite beer or beer style within the previous 12 months, while 44% of 25–34-year-olds said they would visit pubs more often if they could try new and distinctive beers.

“Christmas is one of the biggest commercial opportunities of the year for pubs and bars, and the best festive beer offering balances trusted favourites with something new and seasonal,” said Chris Mitchell, head of marketing at Vocation Brewery.

“It’s a time when customers are often more open to treating themselves and trying something different, giving operators an opportunity to create a sense of occasion while encouraging trade-up.”

Vocation’s new festive draught range includes four keg releases: White Gold Panettone White Stout (6.0% ABV); Office Party Hazy IPA (5.0% ABV); Winter Sun Limoncello IPA (6.5% ABV) and First Pick Chocolate & Creamy Hazelnut Praline Stout (4.6% ABV).

The cask line-up includes: Huddle Up Galaxy Blonde (4.2% ABV);  Panic Buy Session Pale (3.4% ABV) and Dark Delights Dark Cocoa Stout (4.5% ABV).

“Different occasions call for different beers, so rather than focusing on one style of festive beer, we’ve created a range that moves from bright, hop-forward and sessionable beers through to richer stouts inspired by flavours such as panettone, dark cocoa and hazelnut praline,” added Rob Beck, head brewer at Vocation Brewery.