tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post3113408746101048785..comments2024-03-23T04:23:48.076+00:00Comments on Tandleman's Beer Blog: Small but Perfectly FormedUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-9719953577033885842015-03-13T17:11:14.223+00:002015-03-13T17:11:14.223+00:00The Magazine on the seafront was pretty middle-cla...The Magazine on the seafront was pretty middle-class by my reckoning Birkonian - isn't that Liscard ?<br /><br />I agree that the micros attract a wide spectrum of middle-aged society.Martin, Cambridgenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-48255276600778852412015-03-11T22:42:21.827+00:002015-03-11T22:42:21.827+00:00What's the difference between a micro-pub and ...What's the difference between a micro-pub and old fashioned small boozer? A lack of a proper cellar usually.<br /><br />One has opened in Liscard, Wirral. I can promise you that it isn't middle class. In fact nothing in Liscard is middle class.Birkonianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02797631050700297107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-56185744804028217072015-03-11T21:18:27.685+00:002015-03-11T21:18:27.685+00:00Back in October I wrote two posts about micro-pubs...Back in October I wrote two posts about micro-pubs. The first described a tour of some of Thanet’s finest micro-pubs, which included visits to the Yard of Ale and the Four Candles. Our party of 15 found pretty much the same as you and your friend did, Tandleman; namely good, mainly locally-brewed ale, pleasant surroundings and a friendly welcome.<br /><br />The second post, which was about micropubs in general, attracted a lot of negative comments, in particular about micro’s being the haunt of white, middle-class and middle-aged men, whilst serving terrible beer to boot!<br /><br />Talk about prejudice, but I see from some of the comments here that age has now been thrown into the mix, due to a lack of youngsters amongst the typical micro-pub clientele. <br /><br />“Yoof” prefers its own company, and I for one don’t blame young people for wanting to be where the action is. However, don’t criticise micro-pubs for not appealing to the younger generation, as they were never supposed to in the first place. Horses for courses, anyone?<br /><br />http://baileysbeerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/down-to-margate.html<br /><br />http://baileysbeerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/micro-pubs.html<br /><br /><br />Paul Baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09678639237696546268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-86673475355982126512015-03-11T10:38:35.522+00:002015-03-11T10:38:35.522+00:00I won't be. At least the bastards aren't b...I won't be. At least the bastards aren't bothering me. I'm too old to worry about the future of pubs really. There will still be plenty of the sort I like around - and that is actually pretty broad - by the time I turn up my toes.<br /><br />There is only now for us oldies when you think about it.<br /><br />Tandlemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06804499573827044693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-50284953420970510832015-03-11T10:19:50.074+00:002015-03-11T10:19:50.074+00:00And there is a consumer campaign extrolling the vi...And there is a consumer campaign extrolling the virtues of the Savoy Grill Tand?<br /><br />It's sad that whilst CAMRA has always been inclusive on the basis of race & sexuality (long before many other drinking clubs and for reasons of sincerity rather than simply trying to be modern and relevant) and is taking positive steps to be more inclusive to women by knocking on the head sexist crap it accepts unquestionably pubs for the middle aged and middle class (most of it's membership) and sees nothing wrong with a lack of welcome for young working class men in a soccer shirt.<br /><br />Don't be complaining when you read how the kids prefer Starbucks to pubs.<br />Cooking Lagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02830924433230427226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-42785227916455028552015-03-11T09:07:52.503+00:002015-03-11T09:07:52.503+00:00Young people are indeed relatively unwanted to thi...Young people are indeed relatively unwanted to this niche. That's the nature of your niche Cookie. Pick a niche, get those that are the target demographic of the niche in, put others off.<br /><br />Bit like Louis Vuitton or the Savoy Grill. Wouldn't prefer a ragarse like you showing up would they?Tandlemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06804499573827044693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-54053404565369452522015-03-11T09:06:29.155+00:002015-03-11T09:06:29.155+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.Tandlemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06804499573827044693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-62359284177908676462015-03-11T08:36:17.447+00:002015-03-11T08:36:17.447+00:00Well, a micro sized niche, Tand, that will last as...Well, a micro sized niche, Tand, that will last as long as current punters breathe & considers young people to be unwanted yobs and sadly magnifies the twattery elements to a pint of brown pong.Cooking Lagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02830924433230427226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-15103170253190148642015-03-10T23:13:20.426+00:002015-03-10T23:13:20.426+00:00Sat here in a right proper old Sandwich pub, I'...Sat here in a right proper old Sandwich pub, I'd just written a lovely, thoughtful reply, only to have it LOST when the Android internet browser crashed. Will attempt to recreate it later, but Mrs awaits. (That's her & doggie in the photo, for those keeping score at home.) Erlangernickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09564871714656285737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-29566695049430045102015-03-10T20:26:58.082+00:002015-03-10T20:26:58.082+00:00So you agree in a long winded way that they have a...So you agree in a long winded way that they have a niche market in some cases. Excellent. Tandlemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06804499573827044693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-78890666349815651972015-03-10T19:02:14.652+00:002015-03-10T19:02:14.652+00:00Because micropubs fit the CAMRA mindset of real al...Because micropubs fit the CAMRA mindset of real ale and no lager (both equally important to the more strident CAMRAman) they seem to enjoy a narrative of being the future or at least some sort of pub resurgence.<br /><br />If you take away the fact that CAMRA types like them and are inclined towards a positive view, what is left?<br /><br />You have pubs no longer being for everyone but only for middle aged ale drinking types and pubs becoming a cottage industry rather than an important part of the local and national economy. Really?<br /><br />More a last dying gasp of a pub industry than a resurgence.<br /><br />A micropub is little more than one of mudgies "smokey drinky" garden shed pubs on a firmer legal footing and with RATS rather than emphysemic old codgers.<br /><br />Cooking Lagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02830924433230427226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-15841207749477859762015-03-10T18:53:20.033+00:002015-03-10T18:53:20.033+00:00Obviously not aimed at you then!Obviously not aimed at you then!Tandlemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06804499573827044693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-7814816342260510842015-03-10T18:31:44.703+00:002015-03-10T18:31:44.703+00:00I've been in several self-styled "micropu...I've been in several self-styled "micropubs" around the country. I've also been in lots of normal pubs that just happened to be quite small.<br /><br />I can't honestly say I could tell the difference.pynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-16789732012688589892015-03-10T17:02:52.976+00:002015-03-10T17:02:52.976+00:00What comes around goes around, time was when most ...What comes around goes around, time was when most pubs were a room in someones home with the beer brewed out the back in the brewhouse, the differences now being that the beer is bought in and they neatly sidestep environmental health & any convenants banning the cooking of food by simply not have the space to do it. <br />That said, if I'd had a pint for every mate I've taken to a micropub who's turned around & said "So where do they brew the beer then......." <br />WestBromELnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-51786400153671797792015-03-10T15:42:11.673+00:002015-03-10T15:42:11.673+00:00Sat here in a right proper old Sandwich pub, I'...Sat here in a right proper old Sandwich pub, I'd just written a lovely, thoughtful reply, only to have it LOST when the Android internet browser crashed. Will attempt to recreate it later, but Mrs awaits. (That's her & doggie in the photo, for those keeping score at home.) Erlangernickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09564871714656285737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-56620985537890470472015-03-10T14:55:11.123+00:002015-03-10T14:55:11.123+00:00@DaveS - Very many of the small wet-led pubs that ...@DaveS - Very many of the small wet-led pubs that used to exist have either closed some time ago, or, if they're lucky, been extended out of all recognition.<br /><br />@Arthur Scargill - as ever, London is a law unto itself, but micropubs don't seem to find it a problem getting planning permission elsewhere. Near me we have three combined bar and bottle shops either already open, or about to open, plus a "proper" micropub ready to go.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-78780891800310067232015-03-10T14:49:01.640+00:002015-03-10T14:49:01.640+00:00I imagine current local authority planning practic...I imagine current local authority planning practice will be a hurdle for micropubs in a lot of places. Councils on the whole aren’t that keen on A1 or A2 spaces being converted into licensed premises, which appears to be the basic model for these things. For example, I used to live in Camden and applications like this were almost always turned down.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15467262249489479969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-55809006129068837612015-03-10T14:38:04.784+00:002015-03-10T14:38:04.784+00:00Middle-aged rather than middle-class I'd say. ...Middle-aged rather than middle-class I'd say. 2 observations; they're very samey - the one on Crosby looks like the one in Warrington etc etc, and ale quality isn't as great as you'd expect. They've pushed some really great beer pubs out of the Guide e.g. the Great Tree in Ramsgate.<br /><br />All the customers in micros in Thanet would, of course, fit in one Wetherspoons.Martin, Cambridgenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-71769504194368588692015-03-10T14:18:24.983+00:002015-03-10T14:18:24.983+00:00I did ask one owner about riff raff. That's in...I did ask one owner about riff raff. That's indeed how he makes the place unattractive to them.Tandlemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06804499573827044693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-35349299495927201952015-03-10T14:06:32.352+00:002015-03-10T14:06:32.352+00:00I'd always assumed that the pubs that were shu...I'd always assumed that the pubs that were shutting were a lot bigger than most micropubs? Around here it mostly seems to be bigger suburban and rural places that are really against the wall, largely because you can fit a lot more executive apartments or Tesco Metros into the space.<br /><br />In any case, yeah, at its most basic level it seems like simple business sense: don't try to overcater for the size of the market and don't incur big overheads trying to do stuff that doesn't add much to your basic offer. Presumably the same principle can and will apply to places that don't follow the "official" definition - in fact arguably places like The Rake or The Euston Tap are already playing the same game with a different offer.<br /><br />The "no lager" and "no electronic entertainment" things do sound suspiciously like code for "no riff-raff", though...DaveSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-13218036272837475372015-03-10T14:05:42.605+00:002015-03-10T14:05:42.605+00:00I blogged about this recently here, and have to sa...I blogged about this recently <a href="http://pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/micro-to-macro.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>, and have to say that, while in principle the idea is great, there must be a question-mark as to whether it is possible to stand the received wisdom of the past thirty years of pub retailing on its head.<br /><br />Py asks a very valid question, although I suspect the answer is "middle-class customers".Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-26336279941332805092015-03-10T13:28:28.068+00:002015-03-10T13:28:28.068+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.Tandlemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06804499573827044693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-63801177972065914802015-03-10T13:28:09.350+00:002015-03-10T13:28:09.350+00:00GeordieManc.
Any term can be hijacked I suppose.GeordieManc.<br /><br />Any term can be hijacked I suppose.Tandlemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06804499573827044693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-6956415513886693062015-03-10T13:27:08.792+00:002015-03-10T13:27:08.792+00:00Py. I'd guess the financial structure, the ris...Py. I'd guess the financial structure, the risk and the lack of debt and tie.<br /><br />For a start. What's your take?Tandlemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06804499573827044693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629758183547510158.post-36626277043649946112015-03-10T13:18:55.255+00:002015-03-10T13:18:55.255+00:00What's the difference between all these microp...What's the difference between all these micropubs that are opening and all the small, one room, traditional, real ale focussed pubs that are shutting?pynoreply@blogger.com