So, is it time for us to call last orders on the pubs?

[bobukbrewer]

Forgetting the virus, people will visit an excellent pub, they will not visit a "bad" pub. What makes a bad pub ! Choose from Pubcos, staff quality, beer quality, clientele quality, cleanliness etc. Bad pubs should go out of business, thus strengthening the excellent pubs.

 

[Galena]

now I know how beers served up anywhere during or just after a long tromp through countryside will always be considered through "rose tinted" beer-goggles,

 

[PhilBrew]

... yep, I definitely had a fair few "Ice Cold in Alex" experiences last week ... maybe my journeys to them weren't quite as extreme as theirs (or @Drunkula's for that matter) ... but Black Sheep's Twilighter "Fresh" IPA in Askrigg (maybe we should go all style-Nazi on them, as it is more like an APA, on cask, after all, but does it really matter?), Black Sheep Best Bitter in Muker and Tan Hill Ale up at the Tan Hill Inn all had similar effects on me as that ice-cold Carlsberg did in the film

But my point really was, all the pubs I visited were well organised with one-way systems in, around and out, lots of hand-sanitisers and perspex screens and sensible mechanisms put in place to keep you well away from any idiots ... all sensible precautions that gave a good pub experience. I just hope those pubs can get enough throughput to cover their overheads, with some left over for themselves

Cheers, PhilB

 

[Druncan]

Sadly most of the cute and weird pubs I used to frequent will be like us and unable to put plastic screens or reduce spacing as the layout has too many choke points, or restricted toilet space. Outside service is also chancy in the UK as sitting in a beer garden in the cold pishing rain and wind is not much fun no matter how good the beer is,,

I see our main business plan is to concentrate on the brewing/brewery and do more bag in the box take-aways. Many pubs just won't have that option though.

I really feel sorry for the pub trade and hope some breweries will be able to take over at least a few viable pubs. It looks like COVID will change forever our economy and SME business makeup.

I would love to see some innovation and clever thinking on how things could work. I just won't expect the current Government to be the instigators.

 

[terrym]

I would love to see some innovation and clever thinking on how things could work. I just won't expect the current Government to be the instigators.

It's not the job of the government to think up innovative ideas to assist in business development, whichever lot are in the power at the time, unless in a balanced way it's in the national interest. If they did, every man and his dog would be banging at their door. So the onus for business development lies squarely with the business itself, its up to an individual business to look at itself, how it operates, who its customers are and what they want, and to then respond accordingly. You have looked sideways and changed how you work, and to stay on topic I am aware of a few small breweries who extended their click and collect service to keep going during lockdown. No doubt there were and are and will be many others. We live in unusual times, with a change in business operations literally happening overnight for some, some businesses will just survive, others will blossom, and some will inevitably fail, perhaps through no fault of their own just due to the market they are in.

 

[PhilBrew]

I feel for you @Druncan and I hope you're able to keep innovating enough to get through, at least till some form of "normality" can return ... but the question the OP raised was ...

Is it time we as homebrewers called time on the pubs ...

... and my point was that I see no reason not to return to those that have been able to re-open

Yes, there are places full of drunken idiots, just out for a fight ... but chances are, we (each independently) knew which ones were like that before COVID, and if we didn't (just) want to get pished and fight, we didn't go there, anyway. So why would we choose to go there now? ... but there are places worth going to that are now open, who have put all sorts of safety measures and procedures in place ... and so if people want to go out for a drink, I think they should get out there and support those businesses

Cheers, PhilB

 

[user 22245]

Our local pub hasn’t reopened, I presume because it has no back door. Only one way in and out makes life difficult. It means that I have to drink my own beer which means more brewing effort needed!