I have to say that I'm not a big fan of Cains. As part of the CAMRA Members' Investment Club I saw a large sum of our money go down the drain when Cains went into administration not that long after offering a share issue. Surprise, surprise the owners purchased the company for a knock-down price and started up again. Nothing illegal, it happens all the time, but it cost me money. Also, their beers are pretty rubbish in my opinion. Bland throughout the range the Mild was the one beer of theirs that I liked so they promptly scrapped it. They were the obvious future beneficiary in Liverpool of the Locale campaign but took their eye off the ball and the likes of Liverpool Organic stepped in. You'd be hard pressed to find their beers in any of Liverpool's better real ale ale pubs.
Their real problem is the size of the brewery. It is a huge site and operates at a fraction of capacity. I doubt if it was fully utilised when its predecessor Higsons was at the height of its powers. I very much doubt that Cains will ever be successful in the cask or craft market.
