UK pub numbers rise for the first time in a decade

[Cwrw666]

I have 2 `locals' that we go to regularly. One is 9 miles away, the other is 15.

There are nearer pubs of course. Nearest is 3 miles, but I'm not a fan of Worthington creamflow...

 

[DavieC]

No details yet -

Penrith Wetherspoon's The Dog Beck CLOSED A sign has been placed on the door advising customers the pub is closed until further notice and that your nearest Wetherspoon's pub is in Carlisle and Keswick

There seems to be a collapsed drain.

 

[nige]

I don't think witherspoon is much of advocate for real ale personality, I work away alot so use them to keep it worthwhile however many times I've been told off staff real ale is not supposed to have a head on it!!!, now I just walk out instead of asking the manager to train staff as many a time the manager is 19 and just stares into space.
Camara doesn't always help promoting anything real ale wise as standards are (any real ale is great) when clearly the likes of award winning ales like timy Taylor, moorhouses, theakstons and many more should be held as an aspiration for the smaller brewers. Anyone walking in trying real ales for the first time will be put off for life in many cases. Cheap food though OK but rarely good beer.

 

[Guybrush Threepwood]

I don't think witherspoon is much of advocate for real ale personality, I work away alot so use them to keep it worthwhile however many times I've been told off staff real ale is not supposed to have a head on it!!!, now I just walk out instead of asking the manager to train staff as many a time the manager is 19 and just stares into space.
Camara doesn't always help promoting anything real ale wise as standards are (any real ale is great) when clearly the likes of award winning ales like timy Taylor, moorhouses, theakstons and many more should be held as an aspiration for the smaller brewers. Anyone walking in trying real ales for the first time will be put off for life in many cases. Cheap food though OK but rarely good beer.

Round my way (Renfrewshire) Wetherspoons is your best bet on getting real ales on cask. Not the only supplier but not far from it. Most pubs only really sell lagers, token IPA or Guinness on keg

 

[Dave 666]

I don't think witherspoon is much of advocate for real ale personality, I work away alot so use them to keep it worthwhile however many times I've been told off staff real ale is not supposed to have a head on it!!!, now I just walk out instead of asking the manager to train staff as many a time the manager is 19 and just stares into space.
Camara doesn't always help promoting anything real ale wise as standards are (any real ale is great) when clearly the likes of award winning ales like timy Taylor, moorhouses, theakstons and many more should be held as an aspiration for the smaller brewers. Anyone walking in trying real ales for the first time will be put off for life in many cases. Cheap food though OK but rarely good beer.

Yep, I've had dealings and heard about major problems with CAMRA. 1 being that I once spoke to a young woman at a beer festival who was a member of CAMRA and on the local board . Yet offering her a drink she points out she doesn't drink ale!!!!. Asking her why on earth is she a member of CAMRA for she informs me "CAMRA are trying to recruit younger members on local committees in order to recruit younger members as a whole". That to me speaks volumes for where CAMRA sees its future and focus, the younger crowd. And another issue I have is the self righteous feeling that CAMRA has to dictate what constitutes a "real ale".

And I'll also agree that the Spoons might not be the total advocate of real ales that they promote to be as the staff as said are not well informed to promote what a real ale is or how to correctly serve it. But more they can at least see where customers tastes are heading and catering for that whilst licking CAMRA's ring piece and promoting each other via their mutual membership\promotion "arrangements" .

 

[Hanglow]

Round my way (Renfrewshire) Wetherspoons is your best bet on getting real ales on cask. Not the only supplier but not far from it. Most pubs only really sell lagers, token IPA or Guinness on keg

It annoys me how many places still sell Tennents/Guinness/Best or slight variation on tap in Scotland. So many good breweries about and that's the pish we have to put up with in so many pubs and hotels.

Not that I have anything against people who like those beers and drink them all the time, but it would be nice to have a bit more variation. Also seeing the likes of Deuchars go down the ******* a couple of decades ago doesn't help

 

[Guybrush Threepwood]

It annoys me how many places still sell Tennents/Guinness/Best or slight variation on tap in Scotland. So many good breweries about and that's the pish we have to put up with in so many pubs and hotels.

Not that I have anything against people who like those beers and drink them all the time, but it would be nice to have a bit more variation. Also seeing the likes of Deuchars go down the ******* a couple of decades ago doesn't help

Exactly mate. Whenever we go on a family holiday to the Lake District or somewhere similar, I'm like a kid in a candy store in the small local pubs. Not all the ales are great but all are a darn sight better than Belhaven Best

 

[Chippy_Tea]

There seems to be a collapsed drain.

That'll be good news for the locals.

 

[Dave 666]

At least here we still seem to have some decent independent pubs, as whilst they have the genetic lagers, Guinness & John Smith's etc, they also have a load of real ales from small\independent breweries.

 

[Alex.mc]

I wonder what's the definition of a "pub"?
It would be interesting to know the ONS's definition. But it's good news anyway. The old-school smoke filled pub with an entirely male clientele with no food served other than a packet of old crisps and some Pork Scratchings is dead as a concept, and rightly so in my view. Drinking out is expensive these days, so nobody's going to accept crappy beer and a unfriendly, sticky carpeted atmosphere in which to have a drink. So... you either have to sell excellent beer for the money(which has to be good) or add value in the form of food(usually). Some of the pubs I foolishly stepped into in my late teens don't bear thinking about now! Landlords who looked just like Al Murray's caricature but without a hint of comedy selling appalling beer, other pubs where instant, open, and violence-threatening racism had us leaving immediately because one of our group was black or Asian. Pubs filled with acrid cigarette smoke and lino floors with sawdust on and cheese cubes on the bar in bowls(I kid you not!). People forget how rubbish a lot of pubs were, and are looking back through Rose-tinted glasses etc.
The other argument about alcohol duty doesn't wash either, reducing it will make zero difference to Pubs. All that will happen is that the supermarkets will sell it even cheaper. Pubs will still be seen as more expensive than drinking at home.
The main problem is ground rents for pubs. Some of the rents for free houses and so on are utterly insane! I knew of a pub in Camberwell with a good clientele from King's hospital whose lease ran out. The landlord took the opportunity to TRIPLE the rent to nearly a 1/4 million a year. the Pub had to close as a result, and the property was empty for several years. Eventually after being unable to change the usage coding the owner eventually leased it out again at a reasonable rent, and it's a Pub again. His greediness destroyed a business. Is that attitude likely to change with landlords anytime soon? Nope!

 

[Dave 666]

I wonder what's the definition of a "pub"?
It would be interesting to know the ONS's definition. But it's good news anyway. The old-school smoke filled pub with an entirely male clientele with no food served other than a packet of old crisps and some Pork Scratchings is dead as a concept, and rightly so in my view. Drinking out is expensive these days, so nobody's going to accept crappy beer and a unfriendly, sticky carpeted atmosphere in which to have a drink. So... you either have to sell excellent beer for the money(which has to be good) or add value in the form of food(usually). Some of the pubs I foolishly stepped into in my late teens don't bear thinking about now! Landlords who looked just like Al Murray's caricature but without a hint of comedy selling appalling beer, other pubs where instant, open, and violence-threatening racism had us leaving immediately because one of our group was black or Asian. Pubs filled with acrid cigarette smoke and lino floors with sawdust on and cheese cubes on the bar in bowls(I kid you not!). People forget how rubbish a lot of pubs were, and are looking back through Rose-tinted glasses etc.
The other argument about alcohol duty doesn't wash either, reducing it will make zero difference to Pubs. All that will happen is that the supermarkets will sell it even cheaper. Pubs will still be seen as more expensive than drinking at home.
The main problem is ground rents for pubs. Some of the rents for free houses and so on are utterly insane! I knew of a pub in Camberwell with a good clientele from King's hospital whose lease ran out. The landlord took the opportunity to TRIPLE the rent to nearly a 1/4 million a year. the Pub had to close as a result, and the property was empty for several years. Eventually after being unable to change the usage coding the owner eventually leased it out again at a reasonable rent, and it's a Pub again. His greediness destroyed a business. Is that attitude likely to change with landlords anytime soon? Nope!

Yeah, for the best part but before sky tv got a strangle hold on football & tv sports in general and started charging big pubs a fortune and taking a major chunk of most pubs profits to screen said sport based on estimated feet through the door drinking out was far cheaper and more profitable for pubs. I'd say the "entertainment" licence is the reason for the cost of a pint these days!. That's why go to a smaller pub, far cheaper, to go even a big pub that don't have sky or BT, far cheaper.

 

[Leon103]

No details yet -

Penrith Wetherspoon's The Dog Beck CLOSED A sign has been placed on the door advising customers the pub is closed until further notice and that your nearest Wetherspoon's pub is in Carlisle and Keswick

Wetherspoons are closing loads of pubs. Is the dog near Sainsbury's? Go to Penrith a couple of times a year but never go in spoons. It's usually a Mexican and then several beers in the fell tap room.

 

[Leon103]

I have 2 `locals' that we go to regularly. One is 9 miles away, the other is 15.

There are nearer pubs of course. Nearest is 3 miles, but I'm not a fan of Worthington creamflow...

What are your locals?

 

[Cwrw666]

What are your locals?

Tafarn Sinc in Rosebush and The Plash in Llanfallteg.

 

[Leon103]

Tafarn Sinc in Rosebush and The Plash in Llanfallteg.

I thought tafarn sinc would be one of them

 

[Cwrw666]

I thought tafarn sinc would be one of them

I run a fortnightly folk music session there.

 

[Leon103]

I run a fortnightly folk music session there.View attachment 22521

Excellent.