A Marginal Existance

I was talking to a local pub landlord recently and during the conversation, was disappointed, but not surprised, how in winter particularly, when it is pissing down as it often has been in recent months, just how many times he had to make recourse to his reserves to pay the bills as the pub was so empty.  Now you might liken this a bit like when you pay your monthly ransom to the power companies, using the excess built up in the so called warm months, to offset the cost in the chilly winter months, which if you are like me, you'll consider that is most of them. But you'd be wrong. it isn't really like that. Let's have a look at it. 

It’s Friday night, the local is packed. The place is going like a fair and the atmosphere is just what you want on a good night out. To the casual observer, it looks like a gold mine. You’d be forgiven for thinking the landlord is currently scouting for a second home in Marbella. But talk to anyone behind the pumps, and you’ll find a much grimmer reality. The "busy pub" is becoming a bit of a mathematical mirage. Here is the sobering truth about why that bustling atmosphere isn’t making the boss a fortune.

Input Costs

While the price of a pint has crept up toward the £6 or £7 mark (and beyond in that there London), the landlord isn’t seeing the benefit of that extra few quid. He or she has to think about the fixed costs of the operation. That is the things that can't be avoided, or discarded: 

Energy: It’s not just the lights. Cellar cooling, glass-washers, heating, kitchen appliances are all energy-hungry beasts. For many, standing charges and unit rates have doubled or tripled since 2022. And nobody wants a cold pub, though you like me, will have noticed plenty of times when the pub isn't as warm as it should be. If your pub is cold, it is likely that cost which makes it so.

The Beer: Barley, hops, wages and more suffer from inflation too. Brewers have had to pass on their own rising costs, meaning the "wet rent" (the price the pub pays for the cask or keg of beer has continually increased to its present high level..  

The Chancellor's Cut: This is where things really bite. The UK has some of the highest Beer Duty rates in Europe. When you buy a pint, you’re effectively paying a stealth tax. and unlike the supermarket where you buy your cans of lager, pubs have to pay 20% VAT on every pint, snack and plate of chips sold. 

Business Rates: The system is archaic. Pubs are often taxed based on their "fair maintainable trade" (basically, how much they could make), which penalises successful, busy locals.  It also makes the somewhat unrealistic assumption of how much of turnover is profit.

Dry Rent: What you pay to occupy the building. Typically, there will be an initial deposit then a monthly rent, agreed for (say) a three to five year term.

The Minimum Wage & Staffing Costs: Nobody should grudge hardworking bar staff a decent wage, but it all costs. A busy pub needs bodies. With the National Living Wage rightly increasing to support workers, the wage bill for a fully-staffed shift has ballooned and of course, that doesn't just apply to busy Fridays. The irony is that to serve the crowd that makes the pub feel alive, you have to hire more staff, which often eats the very profit those customers are generating.

Back to my landlord friend. Everything costs more he tells me and people need to be enticed out of their homes to come to the pub. A musician for example, will often attract customers and fill the pub, but the £300/£400 bill for that needs a hell of lot more drinks to be sold, just to break even. It is done though to make the pub more attractive,  and in the hope the customer will like it and come again at other times, but ......

Supermarkets- the elephant in the room: One of Tim Martin of Wetherspoon's pet hates, this is where the "pre-drink" or "instead of" culture is the enemy of margin. In the 90s, the gap between a supermarket beer and a pub pint was a manageable jump. Being very old, I can remember when that gap was tiny and hardly game changing. Today, it’s a veritable chasm.   If a customer stays for two pints instead of four, either because they can't afford more, or because they drank a cheap few cans at home first (or intend to after) to offset high pub prices, the pub still has to pay the same fixed costs for the heating, the live band and everything else.  

And then there is food. Pubs often rely heavily on food sales to survive, but food carries additional and  higher overheads  - chefs, wastage, supply chains with their own struggles - and of course VAT. No wonder so many have decided that game isn't worth the candle, but maybe, looking on the bright side, the pub snack may make a comeback as seems to be happening in some cases? Filled rolls and Scotch eggs anyone?

Margins in the hospitality industry used to hover around 10% to 15%. Now, many independent publicans are operating on a knife-edge of 3% to 5%. One broken glass-washer or gas boiler, or a quiet rainy midweek is enough to wipe out the profit from a successful weekend.  While brewery owned pubs and national chains have different issues, it all is very costly for them too. Debt is everywhere in the pub trade since the Beer Orders.

These are just some of the issues which vary from pub to pub depending on size, location, local authority, type (managed/ leased/free or whatever) and so much more, but fixed costs are a killer. 

The type of beer sold has different costs and margins, so that affects things too. It all boils down to margins being squeezed and viability on a knife edge. If you can just about come down on the right side, then you are surviving at least.

So, next time you see your local packed to the rafters, don't begrudge them that extra 40p+ on a pint. Most of them aren't getting rich; they’re just trying to keep the lights on, preserve tradition and hopefully make a few bob so we all have somewhere to go when want a bit of conviviality rather than drinking alone in the house.

 

This is just a brief dip into what is a very complex area.  Price of a pint? You tell me. It varies so much, as there are so many factors to take into account.

What is also for sure is that the drinker has to get value out of their experience too and that isn't helped by pricing them into the supermarket.  The government has to make its mind up here. Do they want to preside over more and more closures? Chances are they will continue to screw hospitality and just hope for the best, so probably.

Apologies too for the Ai photo use, but I felt the Mr Macawber definition needed suitable illustration. 

 

Rammed

We returned to London for the first time this year last Thursday afternoon. We should have been there earlier the week before, but we had overlooked the revamping of signals and track at Manchester Piccadilly, resulting in its effective closure and trains starting at Stockport. Bugger that, so we came a bit later, but as always after checking the flat, sorting out mail and whatnot, off we set for our usual first night venues. We are nothing if not creatures of habit, so first stop - the Aldgate Tap. We know the manager and the owner - both Johns - the latter of whom E had oddly bumped into the previous day in the Oxford Road Tap where she partook of refreshment before Priscilla Queen of the Desert. 

Alas, it was not to be. Thursday is the new Friday for office workers in post Covid London, and despite the large outdoor drinking area (which we always avoid anyway due to smokers), the inside was bedlam. It isn't that big and with a long queue - yes a queue - at the very small bar and every inch of space taken, we decided to abandon ship. It wouldn't have been pleasant, though no doubt it was very remunerative for the various Johns.

Plan B. Just across the road is the Three Tuns. This is a nice little boozer, with from experience, a very friendly landlady and a pretty acceptable pint of Harvey's Best. My main complaint about the place is that the seating is completely of the poseur table variety, which with high stools is uncomfortable at the best of times and more so when busy. But we needn't have worried. Outside was a merry throng of office worker types and a peer through the window rewarded us with a sea of backs and no visibility of the bar whatever.  Another hasty retreat was beaten.

What now? Well, one of the most attractive pubs in the area was just a few moments away. Craft Beer Co St Mary Axe is more or less under the Gherkin and internally a very appealing pub. Large windows, exposed brickwork, some lovely breweriana including both mirrors and enamels, the sort of lighting that just makes you want to stay. A good customer mix and decent mixed seating all help make for an attractive visit. What can possibly go wrong?  Well, try the usually odd selection of cask beers at your peril. They are in my experience, invariably from breweries that could do with taking a serious objective look at their offerings and served poorly at top dollar. So why go at all?  The ambience is just fine, and they do have London Black, albeit at a price.

The pub as always in London had quite a few standing outside, but there was a bit of room inside. We squeezed onto a table by invitation and I nipped to the bar for a London Black and a half of German pilsner for E. I then returned the bar to correct severe overcharging which I hadn't noticed at the time. As an aside, the cashless move often means a card machine being quickly thrust under your nose in a busy pub, in a way that means you often can't readily see what the charge is. The other side of the coin is it shows up instantly on my banking app, so my £15 charge for a pint and a half resulted in a £3.50 refund. Still about the priciest drinks of the weekend I believe.

Does that tale end there? Alas, no.  My nitro poured London Black looked suitably Guinness like at first, but within minutes, the head had all but disappeared, leaving a flat black liquid with a thin scum of head.  The gas was clearly in need of a fresh bottle or the regulator needed re-calibrating, but my heart wasn't in another complaint, so I endured, and we left as soon as we could. No amount of visual and sensory appeal can overcome poor beer. 

Now one poor pint in a three pub visit isn't a good outcome, so we went back towards our flat to the pub I mentioned in my last (long ago) blog. Ye Three Lords was busy with a decent crowd, and again we were invited to share a booth. The London unfriendliness myth was being shattered and while I still didn't trust the cask, Budweiser Budvar was very tasty and provided suitable refreshment in a very pleasant and comfortable atmosphere, which when you boil it down, is the name of the game.

So, what do I conclude?  Beer in London is still variable in quality. Some pubs are better than others - much like anywhere - and Londoners aren't that miserable, a theme that was repeated and confirmed throughout the weekend. Prices are ouchy and Thursday is indeed the new Friday.  With that settled we scuttled off for our usual first night in London Pizza Union evening meal.

I remarked to E while in Cask and looking at the Dryborough's mirror on the wall, that I'd bet the flat that I was the only one present that had ever drank Dryborough's beer. Hell, apart from E, probably the only one who's ever drunk Draught Bass, also represented on the brickwork. But I wouldn't have bet the flat on that!

Next up - yes there will be more, as London inspires me. Tales from Poshley aka Maida Vale coming soon.

You'll have to do without photos. I didn't take any. 

How Much for a Pint of Cask?

We are, it seems, back with the same stuck old record that some trade observers think is still a whizz idea, even though, all things considered, it most likely isn't. Yes, Folks, to solve the problem - more of which in a moment - of how to sell more cask beer - aka real ale.  You know, that stuff - dispensed from a handpump - that is often served badly, being variously too warm, too flat, too vinegary-  and just plain not as the brewer intended. That stuff that experienced advocates of the style rarely purchase in an area or pub they don't know well, for fear of disappointing quality. That's the one. And their solution to declining volumes and poorly presented pints? Charge more for the real ale lottery, but keep the likelihood of winning a prize just the same.

We are told by advocates of this theory, the hoary old myth, that it is so difficult to keep cask beer that it needs the skill of the landlord to be recognised by charging more for it. We are also asked to think that there is little point in selling the stuff when you can make more from other products on the bar - a somewhat unsophisticated argument given the variables involved.  Selling in scale - although specialisms exist - is generally a diverse business, and those selling "things" generally take the view that you can't make the same profit margin on everything you sell, but need to have as broad an offer as possible to attract the widest customer base you can.

In cask beer, the elephant in the room, which is actually as big as the room itself, is that if you cannot guarantee the quality of the product, then you cannot charge more for it.  If you can and your customers will stand for it in these straightened times - then maybe you can up the price a bit, but be aware that even the best have to be careful not to overprice such a short-lived product. Every pint lost, will eat into your profit, so it has to be a careful balancing act.

Beer is such a broad church, and cask beer is one of the most diverse parts of it.  All beer relies on turnover, but cask much more so, as it is fresh and very perishable.  At its best you will get 3 days out of it, so those in the know don't overprice cask beer, as the chances are you won't be able to sell it in good condition.  Cask beer has to be priced to go. Even if you have a more affluent clientèle, paying more than average, you can't overprice it for the reasons stated. That results in poor quality and declining demand as trust goes.

It is odd, too, that while cask volumes may be down, there is still plenty of cask beer in top form available. Specialist pubs, the tied houses of Family Brewers and many more, all supply reliable quality cask beer, often at remarkably competitive prices. In areas that have such competition, you will often find the non-mainstream sellers of cask, have better quality too. They have to compete. There isn't one size fits all where cask is concerned.

This does not even take into account some of the other variables, such as the current cost of living crisis.  Can we really believe those who would tell you that cask ale drinkers will pay more for cask beer as an occasional treat, in the full knowledge if the beer is only occasionally drunk, then it will likely not be a treat at all?  

A final point. Cask ale still costs, on average, less to produce than keg, which relies much more than cask on expensive CO2 in both production and dispense.  The margins aren't likely to be decisive if you turn beer over quickly. Not exactly "Pile it high and sell it cheap", but certainly it needs to shift much more quickly than other draught stock.

Of course, everyone from brewer to publican deserves a decent return on investment, but forget this at your peril. Cask, as a fresh and perishable product, must be priced to go.

I commend to you also recent posts by Pub Curmudgeon on this subject.  He has gone into the figures much more deeply than this dashed off piece allows.

And let's stop this idea that cask is hard to keep. It isn't, as I (and Greene King) point out here, but it does need a little (easy to learn) knowledge.  There isn't in most cases any reasonable reason to sell poor cask beer, but a bit of pride in what you sell wouldn't harm either.

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Two Bad Ideas

 There's a lot of doom and gloom about cask around these days. "It's all being cut back as nobody is drinking it" type of thing and amid that a suspicion - told me by a very reliable source that "fings aint what they used to be" in a rather unexpected way. My source tells me that some cask beer from some larger independent brewers is actually brewery conditioned, such is the fizz and clarity of the beer, combined with the complete absence of sediment.  There is a suspicion that some who have switched to bottling and canning, now that the pubs have re-opened, and cask demand has returned, to meet this demand, beer held in tank and set aside for canning but no longer needed for such, is put into cask without that bothersome business of cask conditioning it. Now this is all too possible, but hopefully if so, was only to use up stocks. If you know any more about this, do let me know. This is not a clever thing to do at all, for many reasons.

In these all too troubling times, another thing you get from those who should know a lot better, is that cask beer should be saved by premiumising it.  Yes Folks, a perishable product, often kept badly and served in appalling condition, should cost more to save it. Such logic would make a cat laugh.  For the umpteenth time, what you need to do with cask beer is keep it well and turn lots of it over. This increases quality and confidence, which then means more sales. A virtuous circle. Maybe when everyone does that, then we can talk about price. Until this happens, then charging more to make it better, just isn't on. 

And while I'm about it, it isn't more difficult to keep cask beer than any other beer. You just need to know what you are doing, and that can be learned very quickly indeed. Time we stopped pretending on that one too.

I know big brewers have been sending out re-seeded more or less brewery conditioned beer for years, but at least they do ensure a live yeast count.

In my next post, I'll talk about a real ale nirvana.

The Codger Dividend

 Now that I have a bus pass, I've resolved to get out a bit more. It is very handy and indeed very pleasant, to go to my locals - all four of them - where people know me, call me by my name and buy me lots of drinks - well not the last bit, sadly, but I'm sure you get my drift.

My old pal Graham suggested, to celebrate my bus pass, that we should hop on the luxurious X43 and meet another old pal in Rawtenstall, a neat little town along the M66, that I've by passed countless times, but never set foot in. Easy peasy. Go North West 18 to Chorlton Bus Station and then on the excellent X43 service to Burnley, via Rawtenstall, all satisfyingly gratis and picking up Graham, somewhat appropriately, at Strangeways.

We met at Casked, a Beer and Gin micro bar, where the only other customers at around 13.15, were other folks of a retired nature.  The beer was excellent and varied, and we all enjoyed Brewsmith Pale and Bowland Hen Harrier, before moving on to the Buffer Stops, a station buffet on the East Lancs Railway, which is, as you will gather, a preserved railway. Now this place was buzzing, so much so that we had our drinks at the bar, while chatting to the very knowledgable barman, about this and that. The doors were wide open, so we all felt safe enough. Looking round, we saw retired couples, older lads out for a convivial meeting, all laughing happily and with us adding a few years to the double vaccinated scene, it was all very jolly. As the saying goes, we left with considerable reluctance.

A slightly more JDW setup in terms of customers, if not atmosphere, met us at our next stop, the absolutely rammed, BoHo Ale House. Now this, though small,  had a wide open frontage and was to be honest, ventilated as much as the outside, Despite its name, it only offered us Old Speckled Hen on the sole handpump, but two of us chose beers for the now very common, but nonetheless excellent, ABK Brewery from Bavaria and enjoyed chatting to locals -  even the one who seemed to find it odd that we three consisted of a Scouser living in Salford, a Scot living in Rochdale and a Geordie living fairly locally in Edenfield. I guess they don't travel far here and to be honest, in this neat little town, why would you?  I jest, but the welcome was warm and genuine from the largely mature clientele and, it was standing room only.

It was the same in yet another micro, the excellent Hop. Again a warm welcome, lots of chat and a choice of cask beer in tip-top condition was enjoyed by the regulars and us, all in more advanced years. If you ever go there, a word of warning. The stairs down to the spotless toilets are vertiginous. Care is needed after a few. These stairs are the steepest I’ve encountered, since the ladder like ones in the much lamented Villiers in Central Liverpool. We did also visit Northern Whisper's almost empty Tap Room, which none of us cared for, either beer or atmosphere wise; and so back to the bus station, to be whisked home.

A grand day out, and one thing is for sure. These little boozers - with caveats that this was a one off visit -  is that there is little doubt that the grey pound was contributing hugely to keeping these businesses going. Good for us!

There is no sarcasm about the X43 being luxurious. It genuinely is. Wifi, all leather seats, some with facing tables, charging points for your phone and video route and stop maps make for a very pleasant experience.

 I think we missed some other pubs on this visit, but I'll be back. Maybe visit the Temperance Bar for a quick Dandelion
and Burdock?

Don't Make It Hard for Customers

Pubs don't have it easy at all these days. Covid-19 has had a devastating effect on most, if not all pubs. Many have not yet opened again yet and some, sadly may never open again. Those that have opened have been successful or not in varying degrees.  Now that things have settled down I reckon it is time to chip in a few observations.

Now I haven't been going mad. Most of my pub visits have been to places I know well and where I know both the people who run them and, in varying degrees, particularly at the times we visit, I also know most of the customers. In that respect, some things don't change, whereby you have different sets of customers visiting the pub at different times of the day. If you are part of that picture, restrictions are a lot easier to deal with. So do I feel safe in the Tandle Hill Tavern, the Ring O' Bells and the Rose of Lancaster? Well, yes, as far as one can be in these awkward times, I do. Names are taken, sanitising and availability of sanitising stations are ample, social distancing applies and either table service or distanced queuing, as well as being safe,  makes life relatively normal. Everyone, with varying degrees of internal acceptance, goes along with it. Whatever they think and indeed say, they want to be there and don't want to muck it up.

Of course, it isn't that way everywhere I readily accept, though I haven't really encountered it. In the Tavern yesterday, it was little different despite local restrictions being applied. Tables are around a metre and half away from each other and despite the Government, who clearly know cock all about pubs, saying you can go with your family, but don't interact with other people, interaction did take place. Of course it did. We all know each other. No shouting was involved and while guidance - not law - may say no interacting, well, we did. It was done just as safely as it had been the week before. Social distancing was as good as it could be in a small pub and sunny weather meant many were outside, so all was well.

What though, when you don't know everyone? On Friday, with my mate Mike, I had my first trip into Manchester since March.  It was hot and outside areas beckoned.  Our first visit to the Abel Heywood was fine. We sat outside, had arrangements explained to us, as well as the one way system and fetched our own pints from the bar. Those inside we served at the table. We paid by card and it was all sensible, distanced and easy.  Not so at Common.  Outside drinking here, and we had to download an app which took ages. It didn't like iPhone at all and when I finally got it onto my Android phone, it suggested that as I was 22 metres away, did I really want to order? It didn't give any options to say yes or no! Our host was called and looked perplexed, then shrugged and served us anyway, the worst and most expensive drinks of the day in a plastic mug. Not a great experience at all and frankly 20 odd minutes wasted. Plus another 20 drinking the warmish IPAs.

Our next stop Mackie Mayor had similar issues. If you wanted to only have a drink, you had to sit outside - fine - and use the app - not so fine. This time it wouldn't download on Android, but it liked Mike's iPhone. Details required were of the intrusive nature. This took 20 minutes or so again and this time, after a ten-minute wait, decent pints of cask, in proper glasses, were brought. Overall though much more bearable. But not that great.

Our last port of call was Cask in Ancoats. Here we were greeted, details taken, the rules explained quickly and professionally and a seat allocated. Waiter service was prompt and payment contactless. It was just as good as you'd expect from manager, Warren, who really knows his stuff.  Beer was in glasses and the cask beer we had from Pictish and Roosters, in excellent nick.  This was more like it and here we stayed.

My conclusions? Apps are great in theory - and good ones are great, but can be both crap, lazy and frustrating when  in operation. Difficult even for the willing such as us - both former IT bods - so not resistant.  As always, pubs are only as good, in whatever situation, as those who run them. Simple is best and given that, drinking local is likely to be a better experience. But it can be done well in cities too as exemplified by the Abel Heywood and Cask. 

As a pub, you really need (after safety) to put your customers first, or they will sup elsewhere. Covid or not, customers always have other options. Best not forget that customers still pay the money and they still have a choice. 

Now I have little doubt that that all pubs think they are doing their best, but when technology is unreliable, wise not to rely on it.  The resultant waits were pretty well unacceptable.

I think I'll stay local in places I mention above and, say, the Flying Horse in Rochdale, where they really have it all done well.

Wet Led Pubs Lose Out in Largesse

So, the Chancellor, having discovered the Magic Money Tree, gave it another shake yesterday. I'll pass on some of the stuff, but what did he do for pubs? Well, at first glance, quite a lot.  Quite a lot that is for food led or mixed chains; offering VAT reductions and subsidised dining out. The big companies will be pleased, but what of the rest?  The sort of pubs that just sell beer, got nothing - or to be fair - nothing additional over what had been announced. Is this a surprise? Probably not.

Already the pubs that are most likely to close are the small, traditional, beer forward pubs, that not just us old codgers like, but are favoured by locals. The mid-terrace or street corner small boozer. The sort of pub where if you go, everybody probably knows you. I think the word used most often for them is "community pubs". Yes community.  A word that is, to this writer at least, important.  Many of these haven't yet opened up again despite restrictions being lifted. With social distancing, it just isn't worth it for them. Reduced capacity isn't much good to pubs that already are pretty small indeed, despite the reasons for restrictions being both  understandable and understood.

I could go on and on about this, but I think it is pretty well covered here by the Campaign for Pubs and here by the Campaign for Real Ale, who say much the same thing, but with commendable brevity.

Would it have hurt that much to allow those pubs that  only got the £10,000 grant to have been given a cut in VAT for, say, six months. In the great scheme of things, probably not and it would certainly have saved some community locals which are otherwise doomed to immediate closure or a slow, lingering death.

Now of course, government subsidising pubs is in itself novel, but only to subsidise those that already have the best chance of survival, seems shall we say hard to justify?

Or do you take the view that the shake out in pubs is just a consequence of something beyond everyone's control and just tough? 

Image from http://clipart-library.com/ - Non Commercial use.

One Reason Why CAMRA Hated Whitbread

When I was interviewed recently by Laura Hadland, who is researching and writing the official biography of CAMRA, ready for their 50th anniversary in 2021, she asked me the question - and I paraphrase - "Why does CAMRA hate Whitbread?"  I sort of stumbled through an answer, pointing out its record of taking over and closing breweries, its poor commitment to real ale and a general feeling that they didn't really give a monkey's chuff about beer and pubs, just about making money - which while fair enough - was generally perceived as being done in a more than somewhat uncaring and contemptuous manner.

Whitbread was founded in 1742 and was once the largest brewery company in the world. It was a very acquisitive brewery and among others, it took over and closed leading regional breweries such as Lacons, Rhymney, Threlfalls Chesters, Strong, Brickwood, Higsons and Boddingtons.  Quite the record.  There were plenty others besides, but these were the big ones. The ones with lots of lovely tied houses.  CAMRA once sold a T Shirt with the names of the deceased breweries listed. It was entitled "Whitbread Tour of Destruction" I remember having one.

When it came to Merseyside, Whitbread weren't thought of highly. They had many pubs, often large, acquired from the Threlfalls takeover. Threllies was much loved and I believe that this sentimental regard for them didn't stand Whitbread in good stead to say the least. They closed the Truman St Brewery in Liverpool in my time there (1982). This was the old Threlfalls Brewery and while it rarely produced real ale, it was a well esteemed link with the past. As we shall see, Liverpudlians don't like to lose their breweries.

Now, one of the things I've been doing in lockdown, is to publish a piece of breweriana each day on Twitter, chosen from my modest collection of papers and artefacts.  I have plenty stuff from my Liverpool days, so I had this particular subject in mind, but felt it needed a bit more than a Twitter post. This piece is it.

One of the many unseen and unwanted outcomes  of the Beer Orders saw the Higsons Brewery in Liverpool, fall into the clutches of Whitbread.  It didn't survive that experience for long, but CAMRA in Liverpool had plenty to say about it. Scathing would be an understated and piffling description of their feelings.

(As a major aside, the Beer Orders had many unexpected consequences for the British brewing industry, many of which reverberate through time to this very day.  If you want a prime example of the law of unintended consequences, look no further than what happened next and is still happening.)

The closure of Higsons was just after I left Liverpool for Manchester. Many of those listed in the Mersey Drinker attached (1990 but undated dammit) were my colleagues in Liverpool CAMRA. The magazine excoriates Whitbread in no uncertain terms and is a paean of contempt for the company and all it stood for. The whole issue is devoted to putting into action the words of the editor with a massive call to arms. Boycott them! Don't drink fake Higsons brewed in Sheffield! Avoid their pubs and beers (including Boddingtons and the Boddington Pub Company too, who owned the former Higson's pubs) and much more.  Thousands signed an anti Whitbread petition. It was campaigning in the old-fashioned way and maybe the last hurrah for such direct action

All to no avail of course. History doesn't work that way, but when you need to know why CAMRA hate Whitbread, start by asking in Liverpool. They'll tell you.

Higsons was briefly brewed in Sheffield. I recall it was blended with Liverpool brewed beer, then the Liverpool content removed. A shadow of its former self, it ended up in Castle Eden in Durham, where all pretence was abandoned. It was now  just a beer called Higsons. It wasn't Higsons at all. 


In the same issue it was noted that Whitbread would also close The Fremlins Brewery in Faversham. Whitbread exited brewing in 2001 and are still going.

Click images to read in full.

Is Something Going On Here?

Three things struck me last week, two of which were writings about beer and the other, more superficially, but much more satisfying - well part of it anyway - was an evening supping the stuff in two contrasting locations.

First of all was Paul Jones of Cloudwater revealing what the brewery will be doing in Autumn and Winter this year.  All very insightful stuff where Paul, in his usual way of seeking to explain (and maybe justify) why his brewery does what it does, tells us a few very notable things he has observed about the craft scene he is undoubtedly immersed in. His are deep observations, which have attracted as far as I know, little real attention or comment, but which made me think a bit more about them.  First of all and I remember this, was that Cloudwater when it was founded, set out deliberately not to have a core beer range. The reasoning if I recall was that would enable them to follow the seasons and produce what seemed suitable at the time.  Seems reading what Paul says, is that while it may have happened at first, it "morphed" to quote the man himself, into a succession of beer styles, the most notable of which was a DIPA series.

The drawback Paul has realised and I paraphrase now, is that every other bugger and his dog have jumped on this bandwagon and crowded the market.  To add to this problem, innovative replacements have limited appeal too as the market follows along. To quote Paul, first of all speaking about DIPA, the about the sheer numbers of breweries and products seeking shelf space "Not every cover song hits the high notes of the originals. The same sense of saturation can be felt in the vast number of one-off beers, whether imported for a ‘one time only’ event, or brewed to appeal to the UK’s most fervent and exploratory beer geeks. This is actually quite damning stuff.  Paul then goes on to postulate " I fear the UK brewing industry may be on course to burn out and fatigue drinkers." warning that "For every beer geek there are 10-15 non-modern beer drinkers". Building up to the reveal, Paul affirms on a wider observation that - and I assume he means beer in its widest British sense - that "Our tradition, and its longevity thus far, is built on supremely drinkable everyday beers, and each brewery setting out its own stall."

These are interesting and profound thoughts as far as they go and they actually go quite far. I think what he is saying and I'm surmising rather than quoting here, is that craft beer is getting a bit samey on one hand and a bit too desperate to produce oddities (geek forward) on the other.  So Cloudwater will actually produce what is effectively a core range of well made beers, building on successful beers of the past and will not discard the successful and well-liked, just to attract the one-off brigade.  There is a lot more explanation, so have a read of what Paul says yourself.  Now Cloudwater aren't abandoning one-offs or experimentation, or barrel ageing, or indeed anything, but are taking a somewhat wider and perhaps less geeky view of the future, given that the real enemy "big beer" is starting to breathe hotly down their neck.

Oh and the announcement that everyone jumped on, ignoring the rather deeper and more analytical stuff?  They are bringing back cask beer to selected outlets which will look after it properly.  Yes, real cask beer.  Good news, as they used to be quite good at it, but perhaps a little unexpected.

Moving on, the good old Morning Advertiser had an article which was also quite profound, related to the above topic but approaching it from a different angle.  In this case, Sophie Atherton, Freelance Journalist & Accredited Beer Sommelier - so she should know a bit about tasting beer - observes that in busy craft beer bars, nobody is really drinking the stuff. She reckons she knows why; "the beer is too awful to drink". She blames excessive hopping rates which she reckon have the taste equivalent of carpet burn in the mouth. Her description of beer looking like "beaten eggs" may well ring a bell too.Her solution is also to consider and return to more nuanced (my words) cask beer. Interesting stuff and worth a read too.

On Saturday afternoon I attended a birthday "do" in a keg only brewery tap in Manchester. Drinking pints of supping keg beer (under 5% stuff) rather than stronger sipping beer, was a tad disappointing. The beer was quite thin and the carbonation was high, not being helped at all by the polycarbonate drinking vessels.  In short, to my mind, paying around £4.50 a pint to drink keg beer in a brewery shed isn't to me that much fun, but maybe not so to others. The experience was recalled when I read Boak and Bailey's piece about the decline of bottled Guinness drinking and the rise of CAMRA. The article has this quote: "Although it became linked by CAMRA mainly with flavour and body, the main original source of displeasure (about keg beer) was probably in the level of carbonation. Bitter has traditionally been flattish, thinnish liquid which can be drunk in prodigious quantity. People simply found that drinking a lot of keg beer blew them out and gave them stomach ache." 

While I have enjoyed many small measures of strong dark keg beers, to my mind, while the quality of ingredients may well have changed, excess carbonation will usually preclude drinking keg bitters - now of course conveniently re-imagined as Session IPAs - in any great quantity. Back to Saturday night, when chucked out of the brewery, a few of us repaired to the Angel, a freehouse which seems to have lost a bit of its cachet to some minds.  Top quality cask ale, a pleasant pubby atmosphere and beer at around £3.40 a pint made me wonder why.

Seems like a few more people than the Cask Report would have you believe, are thinking the same.

It will be intertesting to see which outlets will be deemed good enough for Cloudwater cask.  I do drink a bit of supping keg. Lager. Somehow that seems fine. 

Don't you observe that in craft beer bars, once inside you could be in any place in the world given the samey beer, stainless steel beer walls and similar decor and customers? 

Nice Lot in the East Riding

When it comes to how you best increase the viability of pubs and to a lesser extent how you make your venue more attractive to the diminishing number of pub devotees, one aspect that is overlooked when suggesting themed evenings, upping the food offer, serving cream teas, breakfasts, or using it as a venue for the local slimming club or the like, is simply getting the staff to smile, or even, horror of horrors actually talk to customers.

I may have mentioned this before - of course I have - I'm always banging on about it - but as someone who was trained properly in how to act behind the bar it always amazes me that this simple and cheap aspect is largely overlooked.  Last week three of us were served (separately and at different times) by the same "Shift Leader" in a local JDW without the server actually looking any of us in the eye. She did though manage to conduct, simultaneously and not without a deal of dexterity, an apparently more satisfactory and enjoyable conversation with her colleagues standing at the drinking side of the bar, who had just finished their own stint on the staff side of it. So, on the bright side, she did know how to do it, just it seems, not in the context of her job.

Simple things like "Hello" when you arrive and "Thanks" when you leave, an assuring "I'll be with you in a minute" if the bar is busy, are easy to do, but make a massive difference to how the customer perceives the place. It can literally can be money in the bank. If somehow staff can be taught to parrot annoyingly  "Is there anything else?" as if dealing with a chronic amnesiac, then surely the odd greeting and goodbye can't be beyond them?  As for the meaningless "You all right there?" well, I covered that one here years ago when it was in its infancy, but it goes on still, and still grates as much.  Try unambiguous "Can I help you?" or "What can I get you?" Trust me it will annoy the customers a lot less, especially grumpy old bastards like me, though of course like all customer facing jobs, you need to adapt your approach according to the situation.

But it wasn't last weeks JDW encounter that prompts this. On last weekend's trip to Hull and Beverley, it was noticeable how the staff in that neck of the woods, despite hoards of people - including our busload arriving more or less at once at one or two places - all seemed to be pleasant, interested and helpful - often unpromptedly suggesting pubs, or joining in conversations to give directions, or asking where we came from.  I don't recall one "You all right there?"  Well done to all.

Unless of course it was the sunshine that made them smile? Can't see it being that though surely. They were stuck inside.

Got a couple more tales to tell from that weekend of unbroken sunshine and indeed fairly unbroken boozing.

I also went to Nellies in Beverley. A Sam's gem. You'll all know it of course?

 

The Few, not the Many

At the recent Manchester Beer and Cider Festival, I had the enviable (no I don't mean unenviable - it was great) task of chairing our annual Great Manchester Beer Debate. It attracted a fairly decent sized and very enthusiastic audience and together with our excellent panel resulted in a lively and interesting session. My dulcet tones, a fab top table and free beer along with beer talk? What's not to like? The subject, very loosely - though in the end it was maintained throughout without too many meanderings down side streets - was "The Price of Beer". Ironically the attraction of free beer to keep the buggers there and listening was a positive plus. Even those that argued for higher prices didn't mind that!

Our panel was Jo Whalley – Wigan Central's Bar Manager, Connor Murphy – Organiser, Manchester Beer Week, Brad Cummings – Tiny Rebel co-owner and now CAMRA NE candidate and Sue"the Brew" Hayward from Waen and Hopcraft Breweries. I'm not going to bore you with all the details, but our panellists had forthright views on the issue of price, but perhaps surprisingly, no real agreement. In particular the two brewers had quite divergent views on many aspects, which goes to show that perhaps there isn't really an exact and universally accepted conclusion to the question of price. Different businesses and owners take different approaches, both as sellers of beer and more surprisingly perhaps, when they are customers buying beer for themselves. The audience too was split with some accepting that price wasn't a great inhibitor and others saying it is. The conversation ranged across costs, poor brewing and too many breweries, great brewing costing more, price of ingredients, cask v keg, hard times, low wages and much and more. It was fascinating to chair and when we finished after around an hour and 20 minutes, there were still hands up trying to make further points.

I was prompted to recall this when I read a piece yesterday about the price of craft beer in the good old Morning Advertiser. You can read it here. The argument - and it isn't new or original - is that poorer members of the drinking public are being priced out of the craft beer revolution, especially in the push by some, for the £5 pint. (Of course many craft beers cost way beyond that.)  I could of course regurgitate the usual facile guff that some brewers trot out about the high cost of producing top quality beer with the best ingredients. That is fine and dandy and even to some extent true. But  the use of quality ingredients doesn't remotely tell the whole story of mark ups, location, staffing, size, efficiency, overheads, rental costs etc. etc.  Price is a very complex business indeed. Comparative price even more so. There is no one answer.

It is fashionable among some to present craft as a bottom up movement of the people sticking it to the man - BrewDog comes to mind, though they aren't alone - but wouldn't it just be a lot more honest to say "Well, we make expensive beer for people with plenty of disposable income and if those who don't have that income want to drink our beer, it's too bad. They'll just have to do without - or maybe have the odd glass as a treat". After all makers of other high end goods generally don't make excuses for their prices, or portray the product as something for everyone. Why should brewers?  Reflecting on price, I know that locally here in Greater Manchester, I can get excellent beer for (well) under £3.50 a pint even in Manchester City Centre.  Equally I can pay a lot more, even for the same beer. There is though, price points to suit most pockets and for those that can't afford to drink in pubs, there is a huge choice of cheap beer to drink at home. The truth is that somewhere in the market, no matter where you live in the UK, there is beer at an affordable price for you. We should be glad about that.

Craft beer isn't beer for the people, it is beer for some people - people with a few bob - so shouldn't those making it and selling it should be honest enough to say so? After all, not so deep down, we all know that already.

I think the main conclusion of the beer debate was just that. There is beer for everyone, but not everyone can have some beers. Some beer will always be a treat. We should just accept that. 

Prices around the country will obviously vary without changing my main point.

Vote, Vote, Vote for Bradley Cummings?

In what might be seen as a major intervention in CAMRA's Revitalisation Project, Bradley Cummings, co-founder and co-owner  of Tiny Rebel Brewing has thrown his hat into the ring and will stand as a CAMRA National Executive member.  What might this mean if he is successful in his attempt? Is it a good or a bad thing? Let's have a look.

Well we don't need to guess at his intentions as he lays out his plans in a short and succinct 23 page manifesto. Let's have a look at it.

On the (perhaps) positive side Brad :

• points out the lack of member involvement in the Campaign
• puts forward a number of ideas to increase that involvement
• wants to "drive shit and get things done"
• wishes to get the best out of the potential of nearly 200,000 members
• agrees CAMRA should widen its remit to include the wider beer community
• recognises that unprofitable pubs must close
• thinks that pubs must adapt or die
• agrees that CAMRA should establish an Industry Committee or suchlike
• thinks we should have a focus on membership education though disagrees with proposed methodology
• points out CAMRA isn't very cool
• reminds us that a 300% increase in members has brought little by way of increased involvement
• suggests a much better use of technology and direct membership involvement
• reminds us that better choice not real ale was the CAMRA founding principle
• states that poor quality cask ale is the biggest risk to the future of cask ale
• urges us to vote with our feet when encountering poor real ale

I could go on but have picked these out for you. I'd urge you to read the whole thing here and make your own list.

On the (perhaps) less positive side Brad:

• seems to disregard cider and perry as irrelevant
• thinks brewers, not the beer drinking public know best about beer quality
• supports the on trade as a way into pubs for drinkers
• poo-poos cask conditioned ale as the pinnacle of the brewer's art
• wants members to be distanced from breweries by allowing brewers to represent themselves, rather than though liaison officers 
• wants industry representation at all levels of CAMRA including direction and policy
• postulates that quality comes at a cost

Now really with all this, you pays your money and you takes your choice. You can pick and choose the elements you like and dislike and while there isn't an awful lot that is entirely new, except perhaps that one of the brightest stars of brewing, in one of the most enterprising companies, actually wants to get involved with CAMRA and sees CAMRA still has potential. He wants to motivate members and get them directly involved in CAMRA's democracy and is willing to stand for election to rummle things up a bit, which many (including me) will see as a positive.

On the other hand, personally, I am very wary and can't really concur with (possibly inadvertently) repositioning  CAMRA as a kind of offshoot of industry, though some closer involvement would be sensible. CAMRA must continue to be an independent consumer champion and the very idea that brewers know best about everything beer-wise certainly causes me to raise my eyebrows somewhat. After all brewers rarely speak with a common voice. Just look at hazy versus clear, not to mention many other subjective arguments about hopping rates, carbonation, pricing, packaging and like as not, a million things more.

So vote for Brad? Up to you really, but having chaired the Great Manchester Beer Debate at Manchester Beer and Cider Festival, where Brad was a panel member, I was impressed with many of his points of view. Revitalisation is something very different and maybe it is time for someone new to the Campaign, with an unconventional and non traditional background, to become a member of the Executive that will steer the changes through. There's lots you can add on the plus side and I for one reckon it might just be a good thing - assuming if elected - he sees his term to its end.

After all, cometh the hour, cometh the man.

The Great Manchester Beer Debate was interesting. Subject was loosely "The Price of Beer". I'll try and deal with this in a later post. Yes, on the whole, most brewers, despite the fact they say little comes their way, favour higher prices.

Brad would also knock the JDW tokens on the head. He isn't alone in this.

Remember, all members will have a vote for both the National Executive and for Revitalisation. Use it.

Returning to Roots

I think it fair to say that I was as surprised as anyone by the announcements that Charles Wells had decided to sell the majority of its brewing interests to Marstons.  Looking at the press release it can be summed up as selling all its major brands, including the flagship Bombardier, as well as the brewery and its free trade accounts to Marstons, but importantly, not the pubs or the John Bull brand, used mainly overseas. There will be a supply and licensing arrangement for Martons to sell into the Charles Wells estate, controlled one assumes by Wells themselves as far as what the pubs can buy.  The deal includes UK distribution and brewing under licence of Kirin and Founders and distribution of Erdinger (the blandest wheat beer ever) and Estrella Damm products.  It includes the brewing and supply of Young's beers as well as the moribund McEwan's range and the more or less dead in the water, Courage brand. So quite a portfolio, but maybe not so shiny when you look at it closely.  £55 million of your UK pounds is probably as good a price as could be had for it.  On the other side of the deal, Charles Wells will be building a new smaller brewery to supply its 200 or so pubs with its own branded beer. That's a good thing.

While I was mildly surprised by this move - after all who, these days,  can get too taken aback by breweries being sold - but what did surprise me more than a little was the reaction from some. "Sellout" cried Roger Protz, the doyen of British beer writing, along with several inaccuracies which he later corrected:

1. Shocked and saddened to hear that @WellsBrewery have sold to @MarstonsBrewery . Another family brewer sells out.

— Roger Protz (@RogerProtzBeer) May 18, 2017

J Mark Dodds, a well known - pub campaigner wrote grumpily in response to comments:

@MelissaCole @RogerProtzBeer @petedrinks @BoakandBailey For the edification of the ignorant could you please outline under what circumstances a sell OUT is NOT a sell out? Thanks in anticipation.

— J Mark Dodds FRSA (@JMarkDodds) May 19, 2017

You will also see a pertinent and useful quote from Melissa Cole.  More of which later.

So why did Charles Wells sell a large part of their business?  The most likely explanation is a low margin volume business of declining brands, a cut throat market where the company was too small a player against others such as Marstons, Greene King, Carlsberg and Heineken who can cut margins to the bone to get business.  If you look at what is being sold, Young's is relatively small beer - pun intended - and in Scotland, most people won't touch McEwan's products with a bargepole. The Courage brands are more or less dead in the water and even the mighty Bombardier is hardly the legend it used to be. That leaves supermarkets and the free trade, both of which are low margin and highly competitive. I'm guessing the family looked at it all and judged that the real, lasting and tangible value of the business is in the pubs they own. The value of a portfolio of brands which they likely saw as decreasing value assets, was something they could and should sell while the going was good.  In a dog eat dog world, they decided to rationalise for a more secure future.

Despite what people reckon, most family brewers who are still in the game know their onions.   They haven't survived this long without knowing what is what and understanding their place in the brewing world.  In their heart of hearts that they know they can't compete any more on a nationwide basis. The future of family brewing, to a large extent, relies on doing what you do best - local pubs and local beer. To survive hard headed decisions have to be made. We have seen McMullens and Thwaites retrenching and this, to me, seems almost like a mirror of the Thwaites situation and Thwaites are doing very nicely at the moment, with their new brewery, servicing only their pubs, being built as I write. If Melissa is to be believed and I have no reason to doubt it, the Wells brewery itself may need, shall we say, considerable attention.  That's another other reason to think about a different business model, but sadly, it does cast considerable doubt about the long term future of brewing on the current site, though Marstons do have a pretty good track record of keeping breweries they buy going, so there is hope.

All in all, looking ahead and considering the options and the market, I can see why a family led board came to the conclusion they have. Large scale brewing has its place, but competing on price in such shark filled waters is a nil sum game for Wells and they have realised it. They tried it and it didn't work out. By building a smaller brewery and concentrating on their pubs, they are safeguarding their core pub business, while realising assets which are only likely to fall in value. Reverting to vertical integration with just pubs and a brewery is how they started in the first place.  I don't call that a sell-out, but a sensible business decision in a difficult brewing world. They have sold well and and main assets and income stream are protected.

Going back to where they started may or may not secure Charles Wells' future, but one thing is for sure. Soldiering on unchanged was just as risky and being family owned, the future is still in their hands.  

I am sad for the employees though. I know from personal experience how loyal to the owning family they tend to be. That would have been a tough call for Wells.
Marstons are clearly number one in the super regional game now.  Greene King and Marstons are now the sole brewing giants outside the multi nationals.

Pandemonium at the Pub

As I neared the end of my walk to the pub yesterday I was on my last quarter mile when an approaching car going downhill away from the pub stopped. It was some of our regulars who had just bailed. "It's rammed in there - you'll have trouble getting in the door." I laughed, exchanged New Year's greetings and trudged on.  Boy was he right. I literally fought my way in through a throng of strangers, push chairs and children. Crikey! Dotted round the edges of the bar were a few regulars, but otherwise I didn't know a soul.  I elbowed my way to the bar and got served.  Not much waiting for us bread and butter types and that's how it should be on days such as this.

Our pub is unusual in many ways. Firstly it is fairly remote, set amidst four farms in the middle of a country park and a mile from either Royton or Middleton, up unmade farm lanes which are used mainly for the milk wagon, farmers getting to and from fields by tractor,  livestock and by walkers.  The pub itself is small, old and has just two rooms. The landlord can only make it pay by working the shifts himself entirely. It is really a "hobby pub" where the way of life is part of the deal.  Now of course walkers are part of the passing trade and are very welcome, but this was of a different magnitude. If only some of these once a year drinkers would come a little more often, life would be better for all. We need some more regulars.

I squeezed in at the bar as the pub got busier. I'd only been there a few minutes and watched as orders for soft drinks, teas and coffees, slowed down the serious business of getting a pint or two of beer.  One lady asked the landlord if he remembered her from last New Year's Day.  He replied that he didn't as he whizzed up and up and down. She ordered two coffees. Regulars helped by clearing tables and fetching empty glasses back to the bar as the crowd was three or four deep.  More locals arrived and found a corner here or there.  At ten to three the bell was rung in earnest for the first time I can recall in years.  All waiting were served,  the bell was rung again and that was that. The strangers supped up and left. Not us regulars though, nor those who fancied more than one. The bar opened again shortly after three fifteen for a couple of hours and we carried on supping in a much more civilised manner.  Anyone who passed was admitted, locals or not. The doors weren't closed, but the pub was much more convivial and the landlord got a much needed breather.  He'd worked hard and deserved one.   

The Lees Bitter and Plum Pudding were excellent and when the pub closed, we bailed to the Ship for half an hour while waiting for a taxi.

It was strangely reminiscent of the old days when pubs stopped serving at three all the time.  I quite liked it, but then again I knew I'd be getting another drink. I did too then in my Liverpool local come to think of it. What goes round, come round and being a regular has some advantages!

Not Such Dinosaurs After All?

Well that was a more interesting weekend than I thought.  The recent CAMRA Members Weekend was much more far reaching than I predicted it might be, with a decided nod to the future and a much more forward look for CAMRA's involvement in the beer world.

First of all we can say with certainty that the backward facing motions were defeated, while progressive motions were passed, but underneath it all and underpinning it, was a noticeable mood change. CAMRA is looking to the future again and that can only be good. Let's look at some detail.  Motions to remove our involvement from generic beer campaigns and concentrate solely on real ale and to leave the Cyclops scheme were roundly defeated. Cyclops is an easy-to-use set of descriptors to explain what a beer will look, smell and taste like.  The motion specifically was unhappy of its extension to non real ales and frankly, that's what doomed it, despite the speaker identifying many faults with it. As for generic beer campaigns, it is pretty fair to say the antis got quite a kicking. The conference wasn't at all in the mood to go along with isolating CAMRA from the wider beer movement.

Our new Chief Executive Tim Page also spoke well and gave us a "heads up" that as an outsider so to speak, he was looking at what CAMRA does a lot more neutrally and had a few ideas so far. He didn't expand too much, pointing out rightly, that he was still learning, but one thing that interested me and will likely interest many readers, is that he was particularly keen to look at CAMRA Democracy. That can only be good. On the last day we also passed a motion to allow the addition of fruits, vegetables and spices to cider and that is among the cider drinkers quite a fundamental change. So fundamental in fact that I wonder if we might see a call for a separate organisation to continue the purist line on this one. I spoke on a number of motions, particularly on motions 11 and 12 (against) and like to think I played my part in putting the positive case for the future. 

Lastly and not leastly, we agreed that where it meets CAMRA criteria for real ale, that keykegs are an acceptable container for cask beer. This might not be as far reaching as some may think, as there is a long way to go in identifying and labelling beers that will be acceptable, but the onus is now on firmly brewers to meet this challenge and rely less on gassing the beers up on filling.

I'll talk more about the meeting and Nottingham pubs in subsequent posts, but I reckon that's enough to go on for now.   What do you reckon?

I did also have a couple of chats about beer with the Festival Cellarman I fell out with. We settled our differences amicably though I think I possibly have a more progressive view of cask dispense than him.  He did all right though in a difficult venue.

I should add that the National Chairman rightly pointed out that the application of external gas that is in contact with the beer is still a no-no as far as dispense is concerned.

Cooler Down London Way?

Regular readers will know that on average I find the temperature of cask beer sold in London pubs to be on the warm side.  Not slightly warm, but a lot too warm.  And no, I don't accept that there are regional preferences in this kind of thing, though there may be incorrect local flash backs to a byegone era in cellar practice.  Are things changing though?  I think they might just be. In some places at least.

There is, apart from preference for refreshment, a technical reason for this dislike of warm beer.  It is pure physics.  The amount of CO2 remaining in the beer after venting is inversely affected by temperature.  Colder beer equals more condition and warm beer means flat beer. Put simply CO2 is less soluble the more the temperature increases.  From me, the customer, there is nothing more vexing than coughing up the best part of four quid for a pint in London (or anywhere to be fair) and then finding it warm enough to poach an egg in.  It has made me on so many occasions just drink lager - and even that can be warm too sometimes, but not cask warm. Saddo that I am, now and then in a fit of zeal, I take out my Cask Marque temperature probe and check how warm my pint is.  I did that for the first day of my visit last week.  Naturally, prick I may be, but I don't want to be seen as such, so I do this surrepticiously.  I have standards you know. Low though they may be, but my intentions are to drive home the message. No warm cask beer please!

Now I usually name names, but this, with one exception,  I won't, but I will give you some useful pointers as to where things might be better.  The exception is the Euston Tap where my first London pint weighed in at a near perfect 11.2°C.  Yippee.  Other good news was to be found in two Nicolsons pubs, again more or less perfect and in JD Wetherspoon. (Almost never a problem there). So here's an immediate piece of advice.  You are likely (with exceptions) to get cooler and better kept beer in a chain or brewery pub that is managed, as Head Office will be keeping a close eye on beer orders, sales, wastage and customer complaints.*
 
In each pub I looked for a Cask Marque sign and if there was a problem I determined to bubble them to Cask Marque. After all, that is the name of their game.  I didn't need to, so great. Again with one exception, as of course into each life a little rain must fall.  One pub that shall remain nameless, sold  me my cask beer at an unacceptable 17.2°C and my lass's Budvar at 10.1°C.  Yes they had a Cask Marque plaque on the wall and it is by no means the first time,  so an email is being sent. Now this may seem petty, but I remind you of the price.  When you are charging someone £4 a pint or thereabouts, it needs to be served correctly and after all Cask Marque is meant to be a sign of beer quality.  That's why they exist. 

Let's leave warm beer to John Major's misty eyed reminiscing. Maybe the often poor state of cask in some places in London is one reason why craft keg is getting a decent hold. And why CAMRA's job is not yet done.

* In managed houses you are also likely to find beer python cooled to the point of dispense, a standard cellar practice folllowed and the cellar cooling temperature set correctly and remaining switched on.

Brew Britannia - Book Review

The early 1970s was a time when not only was British Beer at a nadir, but it was starting to be recognised as such and importantly, a few people were starting to do something about it.  The rather chummy, but none too serious Society for Preservation of Beers from the Wood (SPBW) was giving way to a much more purposeful and aggressive organisation, the Campaign for Real Ale, which sent shock waves through the whole brewing industry and facilitated to a very large extent, the changes that moved British Brewing from one of homogenisation, to one of huge diversity.

This particularly British tale is engagingly tale is told in a pretty sure footed way by well known beer bloggers, Boak and Bailey,  in their first book, The Strange Rebirth of British Beer.  Although a history, this, in part at least, is a character driven book, because the fightback against the standardisation and bastardisation of British beer is one of individuals, operating singly, but all with a burning view that the bland, fizzy, weak, lookalike beers foisted on the public by the then big brewers, was something they were going to do something about, albeit in individual and unconnected ways. People like David Bruce with his chain of brewpubs, drinkers such as Christopher Hutt, whose book The Death of the English Pub was a clarion call to the British drinker that something was wrong and the four founders of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), are well known and rightly given their place, but the authors have delved into less known cases of early pioneers of beery diversity in the delightfully named chapter Lilacs Out of the Dead Land. Outposts of rebellion in places such as Selby in Yorkshire and Priddy in Wales are discussed, as is the case of Godsons, a new brewery and wholesaler who took London by storm long before the present crop of London brewers were born, though sadly, we are not told why "everything that could go wrong did."

Inevitably there had to be something that pulled all this together and the golden thread running through the early part of the narrative of change in the brewing landscape is the emergence and dominance of the Campaign for Real Ale.  Interviews with many CAMRA worthies bring this to life and for an old hand like me, the book reminds me that CAMRA was a much more swashbuckling organisation than it is now.   And quite possibly much more left wing.  It may not be intentional, but the book clearly illustrates that CAMRA took the feeling of "something wrong",  into a movement that not only annoyed the big brewers, but by campaigning against them and what they stood for, arguably, swept them into the dustbin of history.  For those unfamiliar with this history, the role that  CAMRA played might well be quite a revelation.

The emergence of a new wave of brewers and more importantly, beers and beer styles as well as the new wave of craft beer bars, is the sort of second half of the book, but here you feel the authors are somewhat less sure of themselves.  What about the current changes that in some ways mirror, or at least replicate the situation CAMRA found in the 1970s?  Is there a broad feeling that there is a need for step change around?  You get an idea there might be, but the book doesn't really go there. They do not get into the soul of what the new wave of craft brewers is about - no major interviews - though they do rightly identify BrewDog and Thornbridge as key players. They do make a more convincing job of bars, with an interesting delve into North Bar Leeds, which they postulate is a template for all yet to come and a fascinating reminder of Mash and Air in Manchester as well as others.  But overall there is a strong impression that not only are the writers more meticulous about the past, but the writing of this complicated history is where their main interest lies.  In fairness the emergence of the new "craft movement" is a muddled one and not yet fully formed.  Perhaps Boak and Bailey could let that one ferment for twenty years or so and then turn their skills to it? 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  It is clearly written, straightforward in style, captures the essence of the issues that faced British drinkers and what was then done about it.  The history is meticulously researched.  It is weaker in its second half, though this is redeemed by a skilful weaving (doubtless intentional and maybe in recognition of the relative weakness) of the past and present and is studded throughout with attractive stories and slightly bonkers people. One criticism is perhaps more about who wasn't interviewed as who was. Given the nature of the book, it might have been useful to seek the views of someone who was there throughout and is still there now, such as Tony Allen of Phoenix Brewery. There are no doubt others.  Of course in any book there are only so many characters that can be fitted in and they have in such luminaries as Brendan Dobbin and Sean Franklin, chosen some of the best.  Later inclusions though seem somewhat whimsical at times, such as the mention of the Campaign for Really Good Beer.  Perhaps the authors elliptically allude thereby to the somewhat feckless SPBW (for whom they seem to have an abiding fondness) and their "drinking club" status?

To this writer, where the book excels is in  the pulling together of  a non linear story of change into a narrative of characters, key people and events.  Those that are familiar with the story and those that are not and those that have even the most passing interest in British beer and brewing will equally find fascinating and educational. I would particularly recommend it to those that feel they are breaking new ground in brewing, drinking or being "different" or in a fancy bar with fancier prices.  While the characters, the pubs, bars and beers have changed, the principles haven't. This book tells you in an easy to read way, that to a large extent, it has all been done before.

If you wonder how we in the UK got where we are today beerwise, I recommend that you buy it.

Brew Britannia. The Strange Rebirth of British Beer is, as they say, available from all good bookshops and on line.

The Return of a Legend. Dobbin's Yakima Grande Pale Ale

Readers of this blog may recall my admiration of one Brendan Dobbin, who some say, and I'm among them, pioneered artisanal "beer with a difference" in this country.  I first wrote about Brendan in this blog post dated 6th December 2010.  It was titled "The Start of the Revolution?". I urge you to read that post in conjunction with this one.  It deserved far more comments than it actually achieved and will set the scene for what I'm about to tell you.

Courtesy of my good friend John Clarke - also an early advocate and admirer of Mr D - I hear that the beer that made him a legend throughout the beery types of Manchester and far beyond, is set to return.  The beer is Yakima Grande Pale Ale and believe me, it is the stuff of legend.  It will be brewed by Conwy Brewery in North Wales, under licence, to the exact Dobbin recipe.  The man himself has been responsible for supply and set up of Conwy's new brewery in Llysfaen, where a new 25BBl brewery designed by Brendan, has been installed.  The beer, under the famous Dobbin brand, West Coast Brewing will, excitingly, use the original Dobbin yeast.  The letter, to John and his colleagues, is reproduced with his permission.

Hi John, Mark, and Phil, Please allow me to introduce myself my name is David Worsley, I am the sales representative for Conwy Brewery Ltd in North Wales and have been in the brewing industry for the last 46 years, with Hydes Anvil Brewery in Manchester and since 2012, with Conwy Brewery, I thought it might be nice to let you know that an old cask beer favourite will be returning to the North West of England in early June. As you may already know our wonderful cask ales are already a great favourite in and around the North West especially in Manchester, Stockport, Chorley, and Bolton, we have teamed up with Brendan Dobbin to produce this wonderful cask ale using his original recipe the Malt, Hops, and yeast strain, it will be sold under the West Coast Brewing Banner. Brendan was along with yourselves of course key to reviving cask beers in the 70s, 80s and early 90s with both his West Coast Brewing brand of cask beers and his Firkin Brewpub Chain and we were only too pleased when he assisted us in installing our new brewery equipment and allowing us to brew his beers under license through the West Coast Brand. We are positive this wonderful beer will be well received as it was over 20 years ago and I would ask you all to spread the word that Brendan s beers are back where they belong giving true cask beer drinkers a taste of the past brought to them from North Wales No 1 Brewery.

Details of this wonderful beer are as follows; Dobbins Yakima Grande Hoppy Pale Ale, ABV 5.0%, I am sure the good people of the North West will once again be very pleased with this unique cask beer.

I do hope you find the above of interest, but if you would like any more details or information on any of our beers or services, brewery tours also catered for, please do not hesitate to contact me.

For those that wish to try the beer, and there will be many I'm sure, John tells me that the beer, which is only being brewed tomorrow, will be available at Stockport Beer and Cider Festival, which runs from the 29th to 31st May at Edgeley Park Stockport.  John said "We have ordered two firkins for Stockport Beer & Cider Festival.  It may not arrive until the Wednesday so is unlikely to be on sale before Friday night or Saturday (so it has time to settle properly - there will be a programme note to that effect). 

So there you have it.  A chance to actually taste one of the beers that started the beer revolution in this country.  History recreated.  All roads lead to Stockport.

You really can't overstate Brendan's importance in British Brewing in the early 1980s.  I'm sure too, that Conwy Brewery, who know their stuff, will make a good fist of it.  I wrote about them here.  This development may also lead to more of Brendan's beers re-appearing too.  Yippee.