H.M. Government, aided and abetted by major brewers and large pub-owning companies, is presiding over the obliteration of our traditional public houses and clubs.
Not content with taking the country into six military conflicts, our government has also declared open warfare on our beer houses. At a stroke, their smoking ban quickly shut countless working mens’ clubs, where there had always been a strong culture of tobacco. Labour’s election manifesto had however clearly stated that the proposed smoking ban would exempt private members’clubs and premises not selling food.
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Posted in Licensed Trade | |
Since I bought my pub in 1983, successive governments of both political persuasions have wreaked havoc on the pub trade.
The Beer Orders, introduced by the Tories in 1996, was seen at the time to be releasing the stranglehold of the Big Six brewers of the day, who controlled over 75% of the beer trade. Brewers were ordered to reduce their tied estates to 2000 outlets.
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Posted in Licensed Trade | |
Not that many years ago we were given to believe that the big bad boys in the pub trade were breweries with large chains of ‘tied’ pubs. Then the government waded in with the Beer Orders which amongst other things decreed that brewers must reduce their tied chains to a maximum of 2000 outlets.
This was retrospective legislation, as the breweries had done nothing illegal and could sensibly argue that by building up large profitable chains they were protecting thousands of brewery jobs.
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Posted in Licensed Trade | |
There is a common misconception amongst pubgoers in that it is generally thought that a publican gets an allowance for wasteage from the brewer. Nothing could be further from the truth for the majority of publicans, as the bulk of licencees in the UK are now self-employed businessmen and women who simply purchase produce from their suppliers. Any wasteage incurred is down to the publican – and this can represent a considerable loss of revenue. A publican will get a Credit Note when there is a fault with the product on delivery and occasionally he/she may get a credit from a brewery technical services engineer who has had to waste beer on his visit.
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Posted in Licensed Trade, Tradetalk | |
There is nothing worse than looking forward to a well-deserved pint of ale, after a day’s work, only to be presented with something that would be more suited to being poured over fish and chips !
There are many reasons for beer not being at its best, for example :
1) Too many ales on sale resulting in some of the barrels not being shifted quickly enough. From the time that a fresh barrel goes on sale it should be sold within 3 days.
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Posted in Licensed Trade, Tradetalk | |
