Do YOU still go down the pub? - Page 8

**knobby109** · October 9th, 2012, 06:27 AM

It's the only place you can get good beer.Decent well kept real ale blows bottles and cans into the weeds.If you can stomach stuff like Stella and Foster's (and can accept that it's brewed from cattle grade barley and deliberately formulated to be almost tasteless) then you can get exactly the same stuff from the supermarket at a fraction of the price.But going to the pub is much more than just drinking; it's to do with people as well.

I would invite VEF members to add their weight to this;
"Stop the beer duty escalator

Responsible department: Her Majesty's Treasury

Every year, the beer tax escalator increases the tax on beer by 2% above the rate of inflation, thus adding considerably more pressure on the British pub, the cornerstone of many of our communities. Removing the beer duty escalator at the next budget will help keep beer more affordable and go a long way to supporting the institution that is – the great British pub.

Going to the pub is a core British tradition and so is enjoying great beer. If you want to continue enjoying your fresh pint in your local pub then it’s crucial that you support our campaign to grind the beer duty tax escalator to a halt.
If we don’t show our support for the great British pub, we risk losing more pubs and more jobs within our local communities."
Support great beer in the great British pub and sign our e-petition now..... British Pubs Need You.
Just Google "Stop the beer duty escalator"

**Nigetrix13** · March 16th, 2013, 03:49 PM

I was a regular pub go-er for at least 33 years and i never hardly missed a saturday night session in all that time, i used to enjoy socializing and watching a good band play and having the freedom to smoke all of which now seems to be a thing of the past, it's becoming so expensive now where i live that you can pay £3.70 for a strong pint of lager, i do most of my drinking at home now as it's much cheaper to buy a few cans and stay in but if i do go out it is only occasionally and i'll usually use the wetherspoon chain of pubs as you can get a strong pint of real ale for £2.05.

It's just a shame how the times have changed.

**LadyLuck** · September 16th, 2015, 01:32 PM

Interesting story I saw this morning on CNN. Since there are so many here from "across the pond" I was wondering if this is accurate or not.

http://money.cnn.com/2015/08/14/news...ex.html?iid=EL

From the story:

Perhaps people are finally getting sick of warm beer.

Pubs in Britain are closing at a rapid rate -- up to 29 each week by some counts -- as people drink less and stay in more.

Changing lifestyle habits have hurt the £18 billion ($28 billion) pub industry, which faces rising overhead and growing competitive threats. London's red-hot property market has driven some publicans out of business as developers offer big bucks for their land.
About 29 pubs closed every week across Britain in the year ending June 2015, according to the U.K consumer group Campaign for Real Ale. The latest numbers from another industry body, the British Beer and Pub Association, put the closure rate at 13 a week, but those figures don't factor in the country's sizeable independent pub sector.

**knobby109** · September 16th, 2015, 03:25 PM

It's alarming but only shows one side of the picture.Many pubs have closed simply through being in the wrong place , perhaps because they were sited on a busy road which was later rerouted. Or simply being too big.
One major factor is too many people taking a cut, the pub may belong to a pub owning company which leases it to a pub running company which employs people to actually do the work! Although the pub may do good business its overheads are too great.
We have many thriving pubs too.

**badman999** · September 17th, 2015, 07:20 AM

There are many factors contributing to this alarming trend. knobby109 rightly identifies the overheated property market as a key factor, but the availability of cheap beer and booze in supermarkets is a big factor, as is the enforcement of drink driving laws. The latter has affected rural pubs. A national tragedy.

**old alal** · September 17th, 2015, 03:36 PM

Reasons given are all correct but it is more complicated than that. Over supply in some areas has also contributed. These are usually where industry once thrived, but is no longer there. The Supermarkets is a major factor as younger (in the main) people pre-load before going out. In addition people seem to be much more aggressive these days and confrontation is not something I go out for. There are many reasons but a final one for me is the growing use of drugs. You can be having a nice chat with someone one minute and they go out or visit the toilet, then wham it's a different person.

Most country pubs I frequent are in fact thriving, because they have changed what the offer. The food offer is much better, for one.

Finally, LadyLuck where I live, warm beer has never been welcome or served. Real ale is just cool, not cold, but other beers are usually cold, some very cold.

**otokonomidori** · September 18th, 2015, 02:26 AM

Smoking ban is the problem - people like to wreck their lungs when they're poisoning their liver

**old alal** · September 18th, 2015, 07:01 AM

As a non smoker I welcomed the smoking ban, and wish it had happened earlier. It has, however killed the beer garden for me, as they have taken over there. Pubs that offer food should have a designated smoking or non smoking area outside, and it should be banned near child play areas.

**knobby109** · September 18th, 2015, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by otokonomidori

Smoking ban is the problem - people like to wreck their lungs when they're poisoning their liver

That depends on the sort of pub. One owner of a small pub chain told me that the smoking ban had made no difference to his profits.
The ban has made pubs much more family friendly and they have now a much greater appeal to the public at large.I frequently find more women than men in pubs at lunchtimes , this would never have happened only a few years ago.

One factor which has done much to save the pub is cask (real) ale which effectively is a pub monopoly. Cask beer is multilayered and much more complex than the same beer in bottle or can because it matures and develops in the cellar.So if you want to enjoy beer at it's best you have to visit a pub.
You can buy the same crappy lager as you get in the pub from a supermarket at a fraction of the price.I never could understand why featureless bland lagers cost more in the pub than tasty cask beers which cost the same to brew yet have a much higher wastage level.

**Staffsyeoman** · September 18th, 2015, 09:58 AM

Without wishing to sound like a complete curmudgeon -whilst understanding the commercial imperatives - my pub experience is being ruined by allowing children into pubs with almost free rein. Being from the generation where you sat on the pub step with a bottle of lemonade with a paper straw and a packet of crisps, I seethe that pubs have become virtual creches. During the day, OK, cut slack a bit, but some chains have started allowing kids to be present until 10pm! Falling over a pushchair or having screaming kids in at that time of night is way too much. And they wonder why there is a perceived drinking problem in the country? If you're in a pub seeing the drinking fraternity raw in tooth and claw from when you are knee-high to a grasshopper (and I bet we are not having parents having meaningful discussions with their kids about responsible drinking and pub culture whilst there) are you surprised?

September 16th, 2015, 01:32 PM	#73
LadyLuck Vintage Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: USA Posts: 1,057 Thanks: 136 Thanked 10,477 Times in 1,247 Posts	Is The British Pub Dying? Interesting story I saw this morning on CNN. Since there are so many here from "across the pond" I was wondering if this is accurate or not. http://money.cnn.com/2015/08/14/news...ex.html?iid=EL From the story: Perhaps people are finally getting sick of warm beer. Pubs in Britain are closing at a rapid rate -- up to 29 each week by some counts -- as people drink less and stay in more. Changing lifestyle habits have hurt the £18 billion ($28 billion) pub industry, which faces rising overhead and growing competitive threats. London's red-hot property market has driven some publicans out of business as developers offer big bucks for their land. About 29 pubs closed every week across Britain in the year ending June 2015, according to the U.K consumer group Campaign for Real Ale. The latest numbers from another industry body, the British Beer and Pub Association, put the closure rate at 13 a week, but those figures don't factor in the country's sizeable independent pub sector.

September 17th, 2015, 03:36 PM	#76
old alal Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: UK Posts: 3,197 Thanks: 22,904 Thanked 35,082 Times in 3,165 Posts	Reasons given are all correct but it is more complicated than that. Over supply in some areas has also contributed. These are usually where industry once thrived, but is no longer there. The Supermarkets is a major factor as younger (in the main) people pre-load before going out. In addition people seem to be much more aggressive these days and confrontation is not something I go out for. There are many reasons but a final one for me is the growing use of drugs. You can be having a nice chat with someone one minute and they go out or visit the toilet, then wham it's a different person. Most country pubs I frequent are in fact thriving, because they have changed what the offer. The food offer is much better, for one. Finally, LadyLuck where I live, warm beer has never been welcome or served. Real ale is just cool, not cold, but other beers are usually cold, some very cold. __________________ Old alal's First Rule Of Breasts To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. When you've seen one pair of breasts.........you want to see every pair of breasts! Last edited by old alal; September 18th, 2015 at 06:58 AM..

September 18th, 2015, 07:01 AM	#78
old alal Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: UK Posts: 3,197 Thanks: 22,904 Thanked 35,082 Times in 3,165 Posts	As a non smoker I welcomed the smoking ban, and wish it had happened earlier. It has, however killed the beer garden for me, as they have taken over there. Pubs that offer food should have a designated smoking or non smoking area outside, and it should be banned near child play areas. __________________ Old alal's First Rule Of Breasts To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. When you've seen one pair of breasts.........you want to see every pair of breasts!

October 9th, 2012, 06:27 AM	#71
knobby109 Vintage Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 1,736 Thanks: 144 Thanked 14,338 Times in 1,702 Posts	It's the only place you can get good beer.Decent well kept real ale blows bottles and cans into the weeds.If you can stomach stuff like Stella and Foster's (and can accept that it's brewed from cattle grade barley and deliberately formulated to be almost tasteless) then you can get exactly the same stuff from the supermarket at a fraction of the price.But going to the pub is much more than just drinking; it's to do with people as well. I would invite VEF members to add their weight to this; "Stop the beer duty escalator Responsible department: Her Majesty's Treasury Every year, the beer tax escalator increases the tax on beer by 2% above the rate of inflation, thus adding considerably more pressure on the British pub, the cornerstone of many of our communities. Removing the beer duty escalator at the next budget will help keep beer more affordable and go a long way to supporting the institution that is – the great British pub. Going to the pub is a core British tradition and so is enjoying great beer. If you want to continue enjoying your fresh pint in your local pub then it’s crucial that you support our campaign to grind the beer duty tax escalator to a halt. If we don’t show our support for the great British pub, we risk losing more pubs and more jobs within our local communities." Support great beer in the great British pub and sign our e-petition now..... British Pubs Need You. Just Google "Stop the beer duty escalator"

March 16th, 2013, 03:49 PM	#72
Nigetrix13 Vintage Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: UK. Posts: 908 Thanks: 9,913 Thanked 19,298 Times in 900 Posts	I was a regular pub go-er for at least 33 years and i never hardly missed a saturday night session in all that time, i used to enjoy socializing and watching a good band play and having the freedom to smoke all of which now seems to be a thing of the past, it's becoming so expensive now where i live that you can pay £3.70 for a strong pint of lager, i do most of my drinking at home now as it's much cheaper to buy a few cans and stay in but if i do go out it is only occasionally and i'll usually use the wetherspoon chain of pubs as you can get a strong pint of real ale for £2.05. It's just a shame how the times have changed.

September 16th, 2015, 03:25 PM	#74
knobby109 Vintage Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 1,736 Thanks: 144 Thanked 14,338 Times in 1,702 Posts	It's alarming but only shows one side of the picture.Many pubs have closed simply through being in the wrong place , perhaps because they were sited on a busy road which was later rerouted. Or simply being too big. One major factor is too many people taking a cut, the pub may belong to a pub owning company which leases it to a pub running company which employs people to actually do the work! Although the pub may do good business its overheads are too great. We have many thriving pubs too.

September 17th, 2015, 07:20 AM	#75
badman999 Vintage Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: England Posts: 5,166 Thanks: 24,668 Thanked 31,522 Times in 5,177 Posts	There are many factors contributing to this alarming trend. knobby109 rightly identifies the overheated property market as a key factor, but the availability of cheap beer and booze in supermarkets is a big factor, as is the enforcement of drink driving laws. The latter has affected rural pubs. A national tragedy.

September 18th, 2015, 02:26 AM	#77
otokonomidori 緑の男 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Jockistan, UK. Posts: 8,316 Thanks: 39,023 Thanked 122,410 Times in 8,316 Posts	Smoking ban is the problem - people like to wreck their lungs when they're poisoning their liver

September 18th, 2015, 09:58 AM	#80
Staffsyeoman Vintage Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 2,269 Thanks: 34,179 Thanked 26,757 Times in 2,160 Posts	Without wishing to sound like a complete curmudgeon -whilst understanding the commercial imperatives - my pub experience is being ruined by allowing children into pubs with almost free rein. Being from the generation where you sat on the pub step with a bottle of lemonade with a paper straw and a packet of crisps, I seethe that pubs have become virtual creches. During the day, OK, cut slack a bit, but some chains have started allowing kids to be present until 10pm! Falling over a pushchair or having screaming kids in at that time of night is way too much. And they wonder why there is a perceived drinking problem in the country? If you're in a pub seeing the drinking fraternity raw in tooth and claw from when you are knee-high to a grasshopper (and I bet we are not having parents having meaningful discussions with their kids about responsible drinking and pub culture whilst there) are you surprised?