The Pub Curmudgeon: A journey into Middle England – Part 2
Having left the Old Swan, a short walk back west towards the town centre of Atherstone brought us to the Hat & Beaver , its plain frontage ...| pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com
A jaundiced view of life from the darkest recess of the saloon bar...| pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com
Having left the Old Swan, a short walk back west towards the town centre of Atherstone brought us to the Hat & Beaver , its plain frontage ...| pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com
A jaundiced view of life from the darkest recess of the saloon bar...| pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com
Atherstone is a market town in North Warwickshire with a population of about 11,000, located between Coventry and Burton-on-Trent, very close to the geographical centre of England. The only time it will enter into most people’s consciousness is when they speed through it at 100 mph on an express train between the North-West and London Euston, and may just notice the station sign. Some may have driven past it on the A5, but it was bypassed as early as 1955, so few will have actually ventured...| The Pub Curmudgeon
Over the years, I have often praised Wetherspoon’s business success in building an empire of large, thriving pubs from scratch in the face of an overall declining market. Earlier this year, I described how they had turned the existing business model of the industry on its head to be able to consistently deliver both food and drink at a much lower price point. I would largely agree with Cooking Lager’s comments about how the Wetherspoon’s App revolutionises the pub ordering process. And ...| The Pub Curmudgeon
The Waggon & Horses, a large Greene King-owned dining pub located in Handforth, just south of the Stockport boundary, has recently closed its doors for the last time. It is reported that the site will be redeveloped as an Aldi supermarket. Originally owned by Greenalls, it was a large, rather plain-looking 1930s roadhouse-type pub that has for as long as I can remember operated with a food-led format. Indeed, despite having lived in the Stockport area for forty years, I have never been in it,...| The Pub Curmudgeon
I recently saw this interesting post on X/Twitter about how smoking bans are a touchstone for a society’s general attitude to freedom. I won’t make any further comment beyond saying that they are an examplar of the dictum of science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein that “The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.”I have a running theory that a country’s attitude towards smoking tobacco tells you whether or not i...| The Pub Curmudgeon
Budweiser Brewing Group (the new name for AB InBev in the UK) have announced that they are relaunching Boddingtons Cask Bitter, which was last produced in 2012. It will be brewed and distributed in the North-West by Middleton-based J. W. Lees. It will be brewed at 4% to a new recipe. | The Pub Curmudgeon
The Daily Telegraph reports that the government have spent over £35,000 on beermats to boast about increasing the minimum wage. This in itself is a distinctly disingenuous message, as the increase is funded not from government largesse, but by forcing employers to pay money that they may well not be able to afford. | The Pub Curmudgeon
When you ask people about how to improve the fortunes of the British pub, one issue that often comes up is the beer tie. Remove restrictions on supply, and allow pubs a free choice on which beers to stock, and they would be in a much stronger competitive position. On the fact of it, this sounds like a great idea, but in reality things are not that simple.| The Pub Curmudgeon
Earlier this month, Keir Starmer announced that pubs would be allowed to stay open until 1 am on Thursday 8 May, to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day. He said “Keeping our pubs open for longer will give people the opportunity to join in celebrations and raise a glass to all of the men and women who served their country, both overseas and at home.”| The Pub Curmudgeon
A few weeks ago, I was browsing the Wetherspoon’s app and noticed that the chicken breast bites were “temporarily unavailable” I thought nothing of it, as branches can run out of food items and deliveries can be late. But, checking back a few days later, they were still absent, and the problem seemed to be general across their estate. | The Pub Curmudgeon
The Drinks Business reports on concerns that German beer is losing its lustre both at home and abroad.| The Pub Curmudgeon
I recently saw a couple of posts on X/Twitter expressing dismay at the rising price of beer in pubs. One was taken aback to find a London pub asking £7 for a pint, while the other was appalled that the price of Guinness in a Salford pub had risen by 70p over one weekend. With the multiple cost pressures imposed on pubs by the government, we are likely to see many more such stories in the coming weeks and months. | The Pub Curmudgeon
At the beginning of last year, Carlsberg-Marston’s announced that they were discontinuing the use of the Union sets at their Burton brewery, which were used to brew Marston’s Pedigree. This decision was met with a certain amount of wailing and gnashing of teeth but, as I said at the time, “it must be remembered that Carlsberg-Marston’s are a commercial company, not the custodians of a brewing museum.” They will have made a hard-headed decision that the additional costs involved in o...| The Pub Curmudgeon
Last month, Wetherspoon’s announced that they were removing steaks, gammon and mixed grills from their menu. This resulted in a predictable outbreak of grumbling, but it’s the only the latest example of a long record of discontinuing supposedly popular menu items. One of the most notorious was dropping Sunday roasts in 2016. Later they discontinued traditional Christmas turkey dinners. It is another example of the company taking a somewhat ruthless attitude to revamping their offer to inc...| The Pub Curmudgeon
The Guardian newspaper always has a tendency to regurgitate nonsense on lifestyle issues, and its latest effort is a piece entitled Everyone’s drinking mid-strength – but what actually is it?A report, published by KAM Insights, has found that, when out at the pub with friends, 50% of UK consumers would rather have two so-called “mid-strength” drinks than one full-strength one. The report, entitled The Mid Strength Opportunity, also finds that 13% of consumers are “coasting”, meani...| The Pub Curmudgeon
The Manchester Evening News reports that the Sparking Clog pub in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, has recently reopened after being given a unique “Two Door Pub” concept. The StreetView image above dates from last year and may not reflect its current appearance. I am informed by Tandleman that the pub was built in the late 1980s by Banks’s, who still own it in their current guise of Marston’s.| The Pub Curmudgeon
Today marks the fifth anniversary of that fateful day when Boris Johnson announced to the country that the pubs would be completely closed until further notice due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I contemplated going down to my local for a last hurrah, but eventually decided against it. This ushered in sixteen months of either total closure or varying levels of ever-changing and often ludicrous restrictions, which were not fully lifted until Monday 19 July 2021. Even after this, for whatever reason...| The Pub Curmudgeon
A few days ago, I linked to an article by food writer Jay Rayner setting out a listing of sometimes uncomfortable home truths about the food and restaurant industries. I invited suggestions for similar points about the world of pubs and beer, and what follows is a collection of the best of these, some my own, some submitted by others. Most of these are thoughts on the running of pubs. Please note that I don’t necessarily wholly endorse all these points. | The Pub Curmudgeon
Anti-drink pressure group Alcohol Action Ireland have complained that advertising of alcohol-free beers is being used to circumvent more general restrictions on alcohol promotion. At first sight, this may come across as yet another example of being joyless wowsers, but actually in the context of their own terms of reference they do have a point.| The Pub Curmudgeon
Food critic Jay Rayner (son of agony aunt Claire) has written a column in the monthly Observer Food Magazine for the past fifteen years. This has now come to an end, but to sign off he has given us a list of trenchant opinions about the food and restaurant industry, many of which will strike a chord with blog readers. Do read the whole thing – it isn’t paywalled – but here are some of the highlights:| The Pub Curmudgeon
Well-known beer writer Pete Brown has been given a weekly column on beer and pubs in the Sunday Times magazine. He says this will be the only regular column on the topic in any national newspaper. His first contribution is a list his ten favourite “proper” pubs. A non paywalled version of the article can be found here. He says:| The Pub Curmudgeon
From 1 April 2025, a new tax on the packaging of a wide range of consumer goods will be introduced, known as Extended Producer Responsibilit...| pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com
A jaundiced view of life from the darkest recess of the saloon bar...| pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com
Following the case of the fire and subsequent demolition of the Crooked House, West Midlands Mayor Andy Street has called for nominations fo...| pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com
A jaundiced view of life from the darkest recess of the saloon bar...| pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com
For some years, CAMRA has been running the National Beer Scoring System (NBSS) which allows members to give scores to real ales they drink ...| pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com
In recent years, we have seen many pubs and bars adopt much shorter opening hours than in the past, often opening at what may seem odd times...| pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com
A jaundiced view of life from the darkest recess of the saloon bar...| pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com
Scarcely a week goes by without the present government announcing a policy to antagonise yet another group in society. They have now put fo...| pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com
The licensee of the Wonston Arms in Hampshire, a former CAMRA National Pub of the Year, recently had an article published in the Daily Tele...| pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com
In an attempt to combat “food poverty”, the government have announced a pilot scheme to set up state-subsidised restaurants offering cheap ...| pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com
I’ve recently had a couple of discussions, both online and face-to-face, with people who I would consider fairly knowledgeable and enthusias...| pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com
A jaundiced view of life from the darkest recess of the saloon bar...| pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com
The Morning Advertiser recently published figures confirming the continued decline of cask beer sales in the UK, which were reflected on b...| pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com
“Craft beer” started to become a widely-used concept in the UK around fifteen years ago. But ever since then it has been dogged by the issue...| pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com
There are a number of pubs around that make claims to be the oldest, whether in their own city or county, in England or in the whole of the ...| pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com
It’s noticeable how, when an election comes around, politicians suddenly discover an interest in pubs that had been notably lacking in the...| pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com
