How many of you have?

[Arcs]

Given that alot of you here have mastered the dark arts of brewing your own beer - much to the chagrin of your local landlord and his less than full till. How many of you here have actually sacked the pub off and will never step foot in a pub again.

You hear so much about hospitality these days, ie can't get the staff etc. But all of them have inflated their prices rather excessively.

Having been to the pub on a few occasions to meet friends. I am seriously thinking ...f' that. I am not paying £9.50 for two pints of lager in a not so swanky wine bar. Nor £8 (I am not a lager drinker btw) in my local. I am getting the feeling that I don't need them any more and the only reason I still go is to keep in contact with friends. So have you sacked the pub off? If so why? Or even, why not! =) 3..2..1 Go!

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Ironically really only go to the pub once a month for our homebrew meeting. Have some food and we all bring some of our homebrew to share around. Small "corkage fee" of five dollars for the beer tasting glass for the evening and sometimes another pint or two from the bar at the end. Average price here for an imperial pint ( some places call a 425 or 450 ml a pint here !! ) is about 12 dollars so about 6 pounds.
Not ready to sack those visits yet. But less inclined to pop in for a pint when for the cost of 2 pints I can make 20 litres of bitter. Recent bargain purchases helped this when a microbrewer nearby closed down for health reasons.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I haven't been in a pub other than for the occasional family do in years I cannot see that changing.

 

[Redwulf]

I go much less then I used too. at £4.50 for a pint of Moretti, it doesn't take many of them for me to be thinking I could have brewed something nice with the money.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

What made my blood boil last week was finding that my local is now charging £5.50 for a pint of lager shandy - same as for a pint of lager. Given that there is no duty on the lemonade, I’d call that absolute ruddy daylight robbery.

 

[marshbrewer]

Nope. Still go down the local. Obviously, with two children it's not at frequently as I used to, but it's still an important part of the community.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

and the cost of the bar snacks as well. Can't get pork scratchings down here anymore, I notice they have been rebranded. Which corresponds to the originals?

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Nope. Still go down the local. Obviously, with two children it's not at frequently as I used to, but it's still an important part of the community.

I agree - a good local is a real asset. I can’t really say I hold much affection for the big chains though: too interested in serving ‘formula’ food and overpriced fizzy lager :-)

 

[marshbrewer]

Aye, we're lucky in that both the pubs in the village are independent, locally owned free houses.

 

[An Ankoù]

I dearly wish we had a pub so that I could grumpily refuse to visit it!

 

[foxy]

Only when we are having a family do, and I don't drink more than 1 pint. Gave up the bottle shops years ago. I have some price breakdown of the cost of brewing beer in the 50's. I will post it up, pretty sure the cost of the coal used was a penny per pint. In the era of publican brewers customs and excise must have had one hell of a job keeping tabs on them. So easy to get away without paying the govt loadings and pocketing it.

 

[alfajerry]

I will still be going to the pubs for nights out with friends, it's not all about the cost.

Plus, I don't want them round here drinking all my beer!

 

[Binkei Huckaback]

So many comments from people who seem to know the price of everything and the value of nothing

 

[MartinF]

I still go to pubs, and will continue to do so until they're all owned by pubcos - heaven forbid. I'm very selective about which pubs I go to.

People here are mentioning the price of a pint: in our locality, you'll be paying between £4 and £5.50 for a real ale, more for keg "craft" beers and tasteless, allegedly foreign lagers that are nothing of the sort! Yes, prices have gone up: quite a lot in some cases, but so has everything else; food and dining out included. But I haven't heard anyone say they're going to boycott shops & supermarkets!

It's not about the price, as far as I'm concerned. Yes, I can brew beers at least as good as many commercial beers, and at much less cost, but I can't brew them in the array of varieties available in the pubs. Or rather, I can't have as many homebrews available at any one time as the pubs. I also can't meet those requirements for my friends, who I meet up with at the pubs.

 

[bobukbrewer]

I love going to a good pub- but there are not many good pubs around. Beer often less than good, toilets smell bad - are the glasses clean ( before they are picked up with 2 fingers down the inside of the glass.... I choose B&Bs based on CAMRA guide and trip advisor reviews of pubs in the target area. The White Bear at Masham is superb on all counts..........

 

[StJayJay]

I don’t go too often for just a drink due to having young kids. I tend to go to pubs which do food and have a kids menu!! I still like the “being out” feeling though, especially after the last 18 months. I suppose I think of it like food, I am quite handy in the kitchen but I still like going out to a restaurant where someone else has cooked, same with beer.

 

[Hop_it]

I'm not a frequent pub goer. I normally have a lunch in a pub once a month at the end of one of my "old farts" walking group's country walks, and occasionally visit a local pub in between when the opportunity arises, e.g. with friends and/or relatives.
Yes, the prices are a bit rich sometimes, but are actually not far off what you might pay in a typical German pub - and you frequently get a smaller measure of beer as well. However, whatever the price I still enjoy the atmosphere of a good English pub, and opportunity to try out both classic and new beers (cask and keg) - not least because they are often a source of inspiration for what I might (attempt to) brew at home

 

[Rodcx500z]

I tend to only go when on holiday these days which is 3 or 4 times a year, in my younger days i was never out of them, being 68 i think i have paid my dues also i have no time for most pubs these most are full of kids running wild most days now it used be only on sundays so i am quite happy sitting in yard supping my own

 

[roboto]

I go every couple of weeks for a pub quiz, the beer is usually too warm but tbh I mostly go for the company rather than a decent pint. Since covid the half-time buffet has been dire too.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

I don’t see the two as mutually exclusive, I love my brews in my garden, I love the pub.