I believe it's traditional to round up the year in a blog...but I really can't be arsed, on the beer front.
Other than to say it's a year where beer was drunk periodically.
For the record, the last "2013 work's outing" for a certain Hitchin-based small company was a trip to the Nightingale where a quantity of Colchester AK Pale, and Brewsters Molly Pitcher was consumed.
All the assembled company agreed that the Molly Pitcher was the far superior brew.
Other people do a beer round up so much better than I ever could...and this guy captures the spirit perfectly...go, read.
And if you're not a beer drinker...why not give it a whirl in 2014.
I'm off to enjoy some wine now.
Tuesday, 31 December 2013
Monday, 30 December 2013
It's Grim up t'north
Actually it isn't...I love the North.
S & I decided to do our "urgh, Christmas" running away in Yorkshire this year.
We have an MO for this week which has taken roughly the same form for all four years we've been doing it.
Sleep late, go out for a walk (duration determined by weather, usually), go to the pub. Repeat.
We (well, S) drive to the place but we've never yet taken the car out during the week, since we prefer the freedom of walking and experiencing the area in that slow, detailed way you never can if you drive to a place, park and then amble about a bit before getting back in the car to go somewhere else.
So - we drove to Robin Hood' Bay at the edge of the North York Moors and stayed in a cottage in the lower village.
The GBG promised two pub with good beer and this was heartening.
In fact there were five good places to drink directly in the village with another in the next village about half a mile away.
On the good side - we didn't have a single bad pint all week.
On the less good...there wasn't a great deal of variety or change we ended up drinking the same things each day. So for a sake of a list, and starting at the top of the village:
The Grosvenor: Felt like a locals pub (although it's a hotel) but, as visitors, we weren't too much of a spectacle. Had Thwaites Wainwright, Timothy Taylor Landlord (my favourite pint of the week, in fact) and Tetleys Cask (which I wanted to at least try, but never quite got round to it).
In here S also had a conversation about tight-head sparklers and persuaded the barman to take the sparkler off for one of the pints of Timmy. It made the beer different, in terms of a flavour and texture but with or without a sparkler, it's a classy pint.
The Victoria Hotel: Another hotel (the name's kind of a giveaway) but in the GBG. Serving Cameron's Strongarm, Springhead Robin Hood Bitter, Bradfield Farmers Blonde, Theakston's Lightfoot.
Over the course of the week we went in here several times - sometimes wet, sometimes muddy, always looking a bit windswept and we were greeted in a cheery fashion and engaged in conversation by bar staff. All in all a pleasant place.
All the beer was very well kept but either they don't turn some of it around quickly, or they just have the same beers each time...so we were a little bit disappointed that the offering never changed.
None of the beers set our beery world alight but it was a good steady place to be.
The Laurel: A small pub and the nearest to our cottage, so the one we tried first.
One main, tiny, room with a open fire but with an overflow room below, I'm told.
Very cute place, friendly service (in spite of what the beerintheevening review says) and decent beers: Theakstons Old Peculier and Best and Adnams Southwold bitter.
Perfectly good beers, but again, no stunners or surprises.
Nevertheless, we went back on our final "let's pub crawl down the village" having been blown about on a hillside walk day. And it was as nice a place to be the second time as the first.
The Dolphin: The second pub in the GBG and just around the corner from the cottage. We ate in here on the first evening because the specials board looked tasty!
Beer was Theakstons Best, Deuchars IPA and something seasonal from somewhere else.
I'm ambivalent about this pub. The service wasn't unpleasant...but I didn't get the feeling they gave a damn about whether we were there or not. Maybe it's because we were obviously tourists or maybe it was something else, I don't know.
The beer was well kept and everything but the seasonal pint was forgettable as was the food, I'm afraid. Such a shame because it could be a lovely place.
We went back on the pub crawl...but the same atmosphere persisted.
The Bay Hotel: Yep, another hotel. But right down on the sea front.
Serving Thwaites Wainwright, Theakston's Lightfoot and Theakston's Old Peculier.
This is the place we returned to several times. We even attempted a visit on Christmas day but by the time we'd finished our walk, there wasn't seat to be had in the place.
It had a great view out to sea from the main bar, a nice open fire and a family room which meant the main bar tended to be kiddie-free. This is something S&I greatly appreciate.
The food was good, if not particularly exciting, the beer was well kept and the staff were incredibly friendly, making you feel like they really enjoyed you being there.
Probably our favourite venue of the holiday.
As is our wont, one day of the holiday we did a little bit more than just amble around at the village edge and we did a more serious walk out along the coastal path, returning along the cycle track. Probably 8 miles or so...and some of it seriously steep and/or muddy.
Exhilarating and tiring in roughly equal measures, meaning the pint at the end feels hard-earned.
So we dropped into the Fylingdales Inn, in the next village - a short distance from the cycle track and only a ten minute walk back into RHB.
Again, it was a Theakston's house - I had Best and S had XB...good, well-kept pints but didn't encourage us to stay for more than one. Food looked like it might be nice but we weren't in the market for meals at the time.
I think I was a tiny bit disappointed that there wasn't more variety of beer in the village but it was a whole lot better than our trip to Brixham a couple of years ago in terms of beer/pub quality.
Still, we're glad we went.
Is it really bad that the beer in Hitchin on Sunday seemed just that little bit extra-special?
S & I decided to do our "urgh, Christmas" running away in Yorkshire this year.
We have an MO for this week which has taken roughly the same form for all four years we've been doing it.
Sleep late, go out for a walk (duration determined by weather, usually), go to the pub. Repeat.
We (well, S) drive to the place but we've never yet taken the car out during the week, since we prefer the freedom of walking and experiencing the area in that slow, detailed way you never can if you drive to a place, park and then amble about a bit before getting back in the car to go somewhere else.
So - we drove to Robin Hood' Bay at the edge of the North York Moors and stayed in a cottage in the lower village.
The GBG promised two pub with good beer and this was heartening.
In fact there were five good places to drink directly in the village with another in the next village about half a mile away.
On the good side - we didn't have a single bad pint all week.
On the less good...there wasn't a great deal of variety or change we ended up drinking the same things each day. So for a sake of a list, and starting at the top of the village:
The Grosvenor: Felt like a locals pub (although it's a hotel) but, as visitors, we weren't too much of a spectacle. Had Thwaites Wainwright, Timothy Taylor Landlord (my favourite pint of the week, in fact) and Tetleys Cask (which I wanted to at least try, but never quite got round to it).
In here S also had a conversation about tight-head sparklers and persuaded the barman to take the sparkler off for one of the pints of Timmy. It made the beer different, in terms of a flavour and texture but with or without a sparkler, it's a classy pint.
The Victoria Hotel: Another hotel (the name's kind of a giveaway) but in the GBG. Serving Cameron's Strongarm, Springhead Robin Hood Bitter, Bradfield Farmers Blonde, Theakston's Lightfoot.
Over the course of the week we went in here several times - sometimes wet, sometimes muddy, always looking a bit windswept and we were greeted in a cheery fashion and engaged in conversation by bar staff. All in all a pleasant place.
All the beer was very well kept but either they don't turn some of it around quickly, or they just have the same beers each time...so we were a little bit disappointed that the offering never changed.
None of the beers set our beery world alight but it was a good steady place to be.
The Laurel: A small pub and the nearest to our cottage, so the one we tried first.
One main, tiny, room with a open fire but with an overflow room below, I'm told.
Very cute place, friendly service (in spite of what the beerintheevening review says) and decent beers: Theakstons Old Peculier and Best and Adnams Southwold bitter.
Perfectly good beers, but again, no stunners or surprises.
Nevertheless, we went back on our final "let's pub crawl down the village" having been blown about on a hillside walk day. And it was as nice a place to be the second time as the first.
The Dolphin: The second pub in the GBG and just around the corner from the cottage. We ate in here on the first evening because the specials board looked tasty!
Beer was Theakstons Best, Deuchars IPA and something seasonal from somewhere else.
I'm ambivalent about this pub. The service wasn't unpleasant...but I didn't get the feeling they gave a damn about whether we were there or not. Maybe it's because we were obviously tourists or maybe it was something else, I don't know.
The beer was well kept and everything but the seasonal pint was forgettable as was the food, I'm afraid. Such a shame because it could be a lovely place.
We went back on the pub crawl...but the same atmosphere persisted.
The Bay Hotel: Yep, another hotel. But right down on the sea front.
Serving Thwaites Wainwright, Theakston's Lightfoot and Theakston's Old Peculier.
This is the place we returned to several times. We even attempted a visit on Christmas day but by the time we'd finished our walk, there wasn't seat to be had in the place.
It had a great view out to sea from the main bar, a nice open fire and a family room which meant the main bar tended to be kiddie-free. This is something S&I greatly appreciate.
The food was good, if not particularly exciting, the beer was well kept and the staff were incredibly friendly, making you feel like they really enjoyed you being there.
Probably our favourite venue of the holiday.
As is our wont, one day of the holiday we did a little bit more than just amble around at the village edge and we did a more serious walk out along the coastal path, returning along the cycle track. Probably 8 miles or so...and some of it seriously steep and/or muddy.
Exhilarating and tiring in roughly equal measures, meaning the pint at the end feels hard-earned.
So we dropped into the Fylingdales Inn, in the next village - a short distance from the cycle track and only a ten minute walk back into RHB.
Again, it was a Theakston's house - I had Best and S had XB...good, well-kept pints but didn't encourage us to stay for more than one. Food looked like it might be nice but we weren't in the market for meals at the time.
I think I was a tiny bit disappointed that there wasn't more variety of beer in the village but it was a whole lot better than our trip to Brixham a couple of years ago in terms of beer/pub quality.
Still, we're glad we went.
Is it really bad that the beer in Hitchin on Sunday seemed just that little bit extra-special?
Friday, 20 December 2013
'tis the season
Staying at S's place in Hitchin at the moment means I'm a lot closer to my sister's house than usual. My mum who's getting a little frailer is staying with my sister and her family for three weeks over the Christmas period.
So it made sense to pop up the tracks to see her before we go off up north on Saturday.
Sister lives in a village just south of Cambridge which is served by a Parkway station - it seems the rough translation of Parkway station is "just far enough from the centre of town to be annoying to get to"...or something.
So when I suggest a pub lunch for the three of us, Sis says "well, as you're coming by train, why not try the pub next to the station". Seemed like a sensible suggestion and the website made it look jolly nice. It's called "The Red Lion" so it sounds suitably properly pubby.
When I arrived there, I was a little bit surprised because although I knew it was a hotel/pub the beautiful historic building was wholly swamped by the modern bits, the car park, the station and some industrial units so it didn't feel like a destination pub at all.
We got inside and whilst mum and sis found a nice table, I went to the bar (I'm more qualified than either sister or mother in this respect...although my mother had her moments back in 70's when Friday lunchtime was a trip to the pub with her mate).
I was very heartened to see four (count 'em) handpumps all with clips facing the right way. There was Adnams bitter and Adnams Shingle Shells, Growler Red Santa, and a seasonal brew from Woodfordes.
I asked for a pint of Shingle Shells since it was the weakest of the beers and I hadn't it before. Adnams make a decent pint so it seemed like a good choice. The young lady behind the bar pulled the pump a couple of times and said "Oh, I think it's off". She turned to another member of staff and said "Is is off? Only nothing's coming out of the pump". Second member of staff says "Don't think so, the Woodfordes is off, I think...but not that one". They looked at each other for a couple of seconds...then a third lady passed through and said "Oh - has the gas run out?".
So one of them said they'd go and change it.
The girl serving me then said "we're changing the gas...I've got Boddington's instead" and pointed to a chilled keg dispenser.
Sigh.
I said I'd wait until they'd sorted out the cask beer, got the drinks for the others and returned to the table.
After 10 mins I went back to the bar and asked whether the cask ale was back working...she'd remembered what I wanted and said she'd bring it to the table.
The beer was fine. No more, but certainly nothing less. My guess is they don't sell a huge amount of cask, even with their four pumps. As a result the beer was a bit lack lustre and I would doubt that was Adnams fault. Maybe the barrel wasn't in its first flush, maybe a cleansing pull through the lines before starting my pint hadn't happened...so the beer just taste a bit blah.
The food was good - both sister and parent declaring the battered haddock delicious, my corned beef hash was pleasant and not too filling and the service was gracious and pleasant.
I know it's a hotel, but the interior of the part we were sitting in was very much pubby and I could imagine it being a nice enough place to sit inside in winter with beer and good company...until we got the bill.
£4.20 a pint for the beer is simply taking the piss. I do expect a bit of a premium in hotel bars - but this styles itself as pub too.
If I'm paying that much for beer, I'd generally expect it to be in tip-top condition, the staff to be knowledgeable and not have wait whilst they faff around with changing the gas on their pumps.
Sorry Red Lion, I'll not be returning any time soon I'm afraid.
So it made sense to pop up the tracks to see her before we go off up north on Saturday.
Sister lives in a village just south of Cambridge which is served by a Parkway station - it seems the rough translation of Parkway station is "just far enough from the centre of town to be annoying to get to"...or something.
So when I suggest a pub lunch for the three of us, Sis says "well, as you're coming by train, why not try the pub next to the station". Seemed like a sensible suggestion and the website made it look jolly nice. It's called "The Red Lion" so it sounds suitably properly pubby.
When I arrived there, I was a little bit surprised because although I knew it was a hotel/pub the beautiful historic building was wholly swamped by the modern bits, the car park, the station and some industrial units so it didn't feel like a destination pub at all.
We got inside and whilst mum and sis found a nice table, I went to the bar (I'm more qualified than either sister or mother in this respect...although my mother had her moments back in 70's when Friday lunchtime was a trip to the pub with her mate).
I was very heartened to see four (count 'em) handpumps all with clips facing the right way. There was Adnams bitter and Adnams Shingle Shells, Growler Red Santa, and a seasonal brew from Woodfordes.
I asked for a pint of Shingle Shells since it was the weakest of the beers and I hadn't it before. Adnams make a decent pint so it seemed like a good choice. The young lady behind the bar pulled the pump a couple of times and said "Oh, I think it's off". She turned to another member of staff and said "Is is off? Only nothing's coming out of the pump". Second member of staff says "Don't think so, the Woodfordes is off, I think...but not that one". They looked at each other for a couple of seconds...then a third lady passed through and said "Oh - has the gas run out?".
So one of them said they'd go and change it.
The girl serving me then said "we're changing the gas...I've got Boddington's instead" and pointed to a chilled keg dispenser.
Sigh.
I said I'd wait until they'd sorted out the cask beer, got the drinks for the others and returned to the table.
After 10 mins I went back to the bar and asked whether the cask ale was back working...she'd remembered what I wanted and said she'd bring it to the table.
The beer was fine. No more, but certainly nothing less. My guess is they don't sell a huge amount of cask, even with their four pumps. As a result the beer was a bit lack lustre and I would doubt that was Adnams fault. Maybe the barrel wasn't in its first flush, maybe a cleansing pull through the lines before starting my pint hadn't happened...so the beer just taste a bit blah.
The food was good - both sister and parent declaring the battered haddock delicious, my corned beef hash was pleasant and not too filling and the service was gracious and pleasant.
I know it's a hotel, but the interior of the part we were sitting in was very much pubby and I could imagine it being a nice enough place to sit inside in winter with beer and good company...until we got the bill.
£4.20 a pint for the beer is simply taking the piss. I do expect a bit of a premium in hotel bars - but this styles itself as pub too.
If I'm paying that much for beer, I'd generally expect it to be in tip-top condition, the staff to be knowledgeable and not have wait whilst they faff around with changing the gas on their pumps.
Sorry Red Lion, I'll not be returning any time soon I'm afraid.
Tuesday, 17 December 2013
First World Problem
Beef and beer casserole is delicious. Since I'm staying in Hitchin for a few more days in a week than usual, we've been cooking more at home. So, when planning some shopping I suggested I make a casserole that can hubble gently in the oven as I work and be ready pretty much any time which means we don't have to have a particular eating timetable. We're no souffle household, that's for sure.
So we ordered some lovely shin beef from Ocado and what you need for the casserole is a dark, reasonably strongly flavoured but sweetish beer. So we added a bottle of Fullers London Porter to the basket.
Neither of us drink much bottled beer these days, much preferring draught, but we figured that this beer should be just the thing (I'm quite partial to Old Peculier in a casserole too).
I was both sad, and narked, therefore when the beer was substituted. Sad because the Porter wasn't available and narked that the substitute they offered was nothing like it. They had brought a bottle of London Pride with them - that's no use in a casserole whatsoever!
I guess it's probably asking too much for them to substitute the style of the beer - although I can't shake the feeling the shopper might have subbed a different Cabernet Sauvignon...and surely this isn't that much different.
It's OK, I realise this is a very minor problem on the global scale...it's not even the biggest problem I've had in the last couple of hours...it's just that in all the increasing popularity in beer and people's improving familiarity with our national drink I guess I was just hoping for better.
Still, it gives us a good excuse to go to the Half Moon to get some dark draught beer on take-out...and that'll please Howard.
So we ordered some lovely shin beef from Ocado and what you need for the casserole is a dark, reasonably strongly flavoured but sweetish beer. So we added a bottle of Fullers London Porter to the basket.
Neither of us drink much bottled beer these days, much preferring draught, but we figured that this beer should be just the thing (I'm quite partial to Old Peculier in a casserole too).
I was both sad, and narked, therefore when the beer was substituted. Sad because the Porter wasn't available and narked that the substitute they offered was nothing like it. They had brought a bottle of London Pride with them - that's no use in a casserole whatsoever!
I guess it's probably asking too much for them to substitute the style of the beer - although I can't shake the feeling the shopper might have subbed a different Cabernet Sauvignon...and surely this isn't that much different.
It's OK, I realise this is a very minor problem on the global scale...it's not even the biggest problem I've had in the last couple of hours...it's just that in all the increasing popularity in beer and people's improving familiarity with our national drink I guess I was just hoping for better.
Still, it gives us a good excuse to go to the Half Moon to get some dark draught beer on take-out...and that'll please Howard.
Sunday, 15 December 2013
Sunday beer
Yesterday we did our weekend walk - the weather promised to be better than today so we thought we'd make the most of it.
We've done this walk a few times and it's a pleasant seven miles or so to Henlow. It was a bit tough going in places, yesterday, since the paths had been maintained by tractor and if you've got size six feet (which I do) then balancing on the tread marks takes concentration...anyhow...it was pleasant but let's say we were ready for a drink by the time we arrived at the Engineer's Arms.
This is a good pub with different areas depending on what suits your mood. We were able to keep half an eye on football scores without getting too embroiled whilst sitting in the comfy bar.
Beers are always well kept and decent at this pub but so far they've never knocked my socks off. There was a Christmas theme going on which is fine, but it lead to a lack of variation in style and strength. We had Santa's Tipple, Plum Stout, Bad Santa, Holly Days, Santa's Stumped, Snowflake and a cider from Hogans - Panking Pole.
The only beer I could pick out of a line up is the Snowflake...mind you, at 8.00% it's pretty memorable. The Plum Stout was exactly as you'd expect with a strong pruney smell emanating from it but was pretty good all told.
None of the others stood out but they were certainly decent.
Today, having done Christmas obligations (cards and so forth) we decided a breath of fresh air would be a good idea...yeah yeah...this usually means "let's go to the pub"...but we walk there so it's also exercise, right?
On our walk, which took a slightly off-piste route to the Half-Moon, we mused on whether the Engineer's Arms is really a three-pint-plus pub, or whether having walked quite a way to get to it, we're just unwilling to leave it too quickly.
The jury's out. It's so nearly a great place, with its variety of places to sit...and we can get a bus almost all the way home...if only the beer was just a fraction more interesting it would be there.
It made us appreciate, again, the Half-Moon's apparently effortless provision of a near-perfect selection of beers, ciders and perries.
On arrival I was denied Golden Jackal as it had run out, but before long Colchester Metropolis was on to replace it. Meawhile there was Bishop's Farewell, Midshipman Mild and Brewsters IPA to contend with. What's not to love?
The mild was probably the weakest in the lineup...lacking the delicacy that a good mild should have...but it certainly wasn't bad.
We came home after three (well, two and a half for me) because Sunday dinner beckoned...we could have stayed for more. Easily.
We've done this walk a few times and it's a pleasant seven miles or so to Henlow. It was a bit tough going in places, yesterday, since the paths had been maintained by tractor and if you've got size six feet (which I do) then balancing on the tread marks takes concentration...anyhow...it was pleasant but let's say we were ready for a drink by the time we arrived at the Engineer's Arms.
This is a good pub with different areas depending on what suits your mood. We were able to keep half an eye on football scores without getting too embroiled whilst sitting in the comfy bar.
Beers are always well kept and decent at this pub but so far they've never knocked my socks off. There was a Christmas theme going on which is fine, but it lead to a lack of variation in style and strength. We had Santa's Tipple, Plum Stout, Bad Santa, Holly Days, Santa's Stumped, Snowflake and a cider from Hogans - Panking Pole.
The only beer I could pick out of a line up is the Snowflake...mind you, at 8.00% it's pretty memorable. The Plum Stout was exactly as you'd expect with a strong pruney smell emanating from it but was pretty good all told.
None of the others stood out but they were certainly decent.
Today, having done Christmas obligations (cards and so forth) we decided a breath of fresh air would be a good idea...yeah yeah...this usually means "let's go to the pub"...but we walk there so it's also exercise, right?
On our walk, which took a slightly off-piste route to the Half-Moon, we mused on whether the Engineer's Arms is really a three-pint-plus pub, or whether having walked quite a way to get to it, we're just unwilling to leave it too quickly.
The jury's out. It's so nearly a great place, with its variety of places to sit...and we can get a bus almost all the way home...if only the beer was just a fraction more interesting it would be there.
It made us appreciate, again, the Half-Moon's apparently effortless provision of a near-perfect selection of beers, ciders and perries.
On arrival I was denied Golden Jackal as it had run out, but before long Colchester Metropolis was on to replace it. Meawhile there was Bishop's Farewell, Midshipman Mild and Brewsters IPA to contend with. What's not to love?
The mild was probably the weakest in the lineup...lacking the delicacy that a good mild should have...but it certainly wasn't bad.
We came home after three (well, two and a half for me) because Sunday dinner beckoned...we could have stayed for more. Easily.
Wednesday, 11 December 2013
Play Fair
There's a special circle of hell reserved for PubCos and the supermarkets they collude with.
Yes -I'm that angry that I can leave a sentence ending with a preposition and not go and fix it.
Pubs are special places. They're a place where people can get together in public for no particular reason. Yes, village halls, community centres and sports clubs have their places but you have to have a reason to go to them. You don't just hang out there on your own or with a friend or two in the vain hope there might be someone with whom to have a casual encounter or conversation (yep, caught the pesky preposition that time).
There's no compulsion involved, we go to pubs because we like pubs. We like drinking in pubs...and let's face it, even the drinking isn't compulsory.
Even the government have recognised that pubs are important in the community - they allowed pubs to be registered as assets of community value (ACV) under the Localism Bill.
So why in the name of all that is logical is it so easy to turn a pub into a non pub? Even when that pub is the only one for miles around?
When the law was changed to reduce the grip that the major brewers had on the range of beers available, an evil twin was spawned: the PubCo. Thus is the way of unintended consequences.
PubCos don't even brew beer any more, for the most part, they're just property barons.
The PubCos appear to be all lovely and cosy in their makng available of licensed premises for people who dream of running their own pub. However, they typically promise much but many (most?) deliver little. Worse than not supporting their licensees, it seems in some cases that they actively look to undermine the business just so they can churn a couple of new people through the pub, perpetuate the lack of success and then claim that this pub is "unviable" so they can sell it to developers.
Like most uber companies, PubCos know their onions when it comes to the law...and how to exploit the letter of it to circumvent the spirit.
So they regularly sell on their premises to supermarkets who can change the pub into a shop without having to ask permission for a change of use.
We can register these pubs if we get wind of the change of hands going on, we can even register them prior to any sale being contemplated, but it seems that the slippery evil twin, and his cohort the supermarket will still do everything in their power to stop communities stepping in...how?
Punch Taverns wish to offload one of the pubs they own to address the deficits in their balance sheet. The financial issues they have are a matter of public record - and everyone knows they are taking their marginal pubs and getting rid of them. Pretty much everyone knows that they have a basket of tactics they use to do this since pub premises with no other development potential are not fetching the best price at the moment.
So, they're looking to sell this big pub to Co-Op. There's already been a bit of a planning tussle in the past leading to a referral to the planning inspectorate to overturn the decision made by the local authority.
The pub in question is the only one within about 1km walking distance for thousands of households. It was built to serve the estate it sits within.
It's not everyone's cup of tea, nor does that matter. It has a loyal band of regulars who have repeatedly offered help and advice to Punch to make it more financially successful. All this fell on deaf ears.
These guys know that they have no "right" to have a pub and that if they want one, they have to support it. So when they learned it was possible to exercise the right to bid for a pub being sold they set to, and got it on the Asset Register and started planning how they would raise the money, as a community to buy it, fix it up (it's been neglected by Punch for several years) and then run it. This is when I met them.
Punch have not yet notified the local authority they are still planning a "relevant" disposal.
Instead, they've stripped out the fittings in the place and are now, from what we're being told, planning to demolish the building.
They're legally entitled to do this without planning consent since they still own it, provded of course they do the various legal bits and pieces required of them. There is little, it seems, we can do to stop it.
I'm sure, if challenged about what a low act this is, they'll give a well-practiced footballer's studs-up tackle shrug of feigned innocence whilst calculating how difficult it'll be for both local authority and community group to salvage anything from the wreckage.
Presumably they think that if the singed earth policy doesn't put us off still wanting a pub in the place then the planning regs when they apply to build something new will fall in their favour since they have more bottomless pockets than either communities or councils.
What I can't get over is how spiteful this all sounds.
I can't believe Punch are expending time, effort and money just to make us feel bad - I would imagine they've got more important things to do. But I do wonder if it's to help them make stronger cases for lack of viability in future?
After all, they've closed the pub and they say it's unviable - if the community make a go of it then the unviability statement was wrong and perhaps they won't get believed in future when they want to do other changes of use.
We might be down...but we're not out.
I, for one, will continue to expend a considerable amount of time and effort in trying to bring back this pub.
I'm also now even more interested in the low-life, underhanded tactics employed by PubCos.
Oh - and Co-op...if you are colluding with this I'm not sure how you can claim to be an ethical business. In my books this makes you just as bad as Tesco.
Yes -I'm that angry that I can leave a sentence ending with a preposition and not go and fix it.
Pubs are special places. They're a place where people can get together in public for no particular reason. Yes, village halls, community centres and sports clubs have their places but you have to have a reason to go to them. You don't just hang out there on your own or with a friend or two in the vain hope there might be someone with whom to have a casual encounter or conversation (yep, caught the pesky preposition that time).
There's no compulsion involved, we go to pubs because we like pubs. We like drinking in pubs...and let's face it, even the drinking isn't compulsory.
Even the government have recognised that pubs are important in the community - they allowed pubs to be registered as assets of community value (ACV) under the Localism Bill.
So why in the name of all that is logical is it so easy to turn a pub into a non pub? Even when that pub is the only one for miles around?
When the law was changed to reduce the grip that the major brewers had on the range of beers available, an evil twin was spawned: the PubCo. Thus is the way of unintended consequences.
PubCos don't even brew beer any more, for the most part, they're just property barons.
The PubCos appear to be all lovely and cosy in their makng available of licensed premises for people who dream of running their own pub. However, they typically promise much but many (most?) deliver little. Worse than not supporting their licensees, it seems in some cases that they actively look to undermine the business just so they can churn a couple of new people through the pub, perpetuate the lack of success and then claim that this pub is "unviable" so they can sell it to developers.
Like most uber companies, PubCos know their onions when it comes to the law...and how to exploit the letter of it to circumvent the spirit.
So they regularly sell on their premises to supermarkets who can change the pub into a shop without having to ask permission for a change of use.
We can register these pubs if we get wind of the change of hands going on, we can even register them prior to any sale being contemplated, but it seems that the slippery evil twin, and his cohort the supermarket will still do everything in their power to stop communities stepping in...how?
- by fighting the ACV registration by using language like "pubs don't offer any community value beyond selling alcohol", or similar things despite using language like "pubs are the centre of their community" on literature used to get support for their business.
- By leasing buildings to supermarkets on a short term basis, rather than a long lease or sale since such arrangements do not count as a relevant disposal that a community could bid for.
- By arranging to sell the premises very quietly and hoping no one learns of it in time to mobilise people to get the ACV registration done.
Punch Taverns wish to offload one of the pubs they own to address the deficits in their balance sheet. The financial issues they have are a matter of public record - and everyone knows they are taking their marginal pubs and getting rid of them. Pretty much everyone knows that they have a basket of tactics they use to do this since pub premises with no other development potential are not fetching the best price at the moment.
So, they're looking to sell this big pub to Co-Op. There's already been a bit of a planning tussle in the past leading to a referral to the planning inspectorate to overturn the decision made by the local authority.
The pub in question is the only one within about 1km walking distance for thousands of households. It was built to serve the estate it sits within.
It's not everyone's cup of tea, nor does that matter. It has a loyal band of regulars who have repeatedly offered help and advice to Punch to make it more financially successful. All this fell on deaf ears.
These guys know that they have no "right" to have a pub and that if they want one, they have to support it. So when they learned it was possible to exercise the right to bid for a pub being sold they set to, and got it on the Asset Register and started planning how they would raise the money, as a community to buy it, fix it up (it's been neglected by Punch for several years) and then run it. This is when I met them.
Punch have not yet notified the local authority they are still planning a "relevant" disposal.
Instead, they've stripped out the fittings in the place and are now, from what we're being told, planning to demolish the building.
They're legally entitled to do this without planning consent since they still own it, provded of course they do the various legal bits and pieces required of them. There is little, it seems, we can do to stop it.
I'm sure, if challenged about what a low act this is, they'll give a well-practiced footballer's studs-up tackle shrug of feigned innocence whilst calculating how difficult it'll be for both local authority and community group to salvage anything from the wreckage.
Presumably they think that if the singed earth policy doesn't put us off still wanting a pub in the place then the planning regs when they apply to build something new will fall in their favour since they have more bottomless pockets than either communities or councils.
What I can't get over is how spiteful this all sounds.
I can't believe Punch are expending time, effort and money just to make us feel bad - I would imagine they've got more important things to do. But I do wonder if it's to help them make stronger cases for lack of viability in future?
After all, they've closed the pub and they say it's unviable - if the community make a go of it then the unviability statement was wrong and perhaps they won't get believed in future when they want to do other changes of use.
We might be down...but we're not out.
I, for one, will continue to expend a considerable amount of time and effort in trying to bring back this pub.
I'm also now even more interested in the low-life, underhanded tactics employed by PubCos.
Oh - and Co-op...if you are colluding with this I'm not sure how you can claim to be an ethical business. In my books this makes you just as bad as Tesco.
Wednesday, 4 December 2013
Catching up
ooops...events (mostly in the form of minor to moderate domestic crises) have overtaken my writing mojo...
So - beery exploits for the last few days?
A weekend in Hitchin in which we tried to gain a greater enthusiasm for the Bricklayers Arms. It's a good pub, but none of the beer really held our attention - indeed, once I'd left the pub I only remembered one of the four pints we'd had between us (it was Banks and Taylor Golden Fox and was very nice, if not stunning).
So, not surprisingly we ended up back at the Half Moon, welcomed warmly by Howard and the gang...and we did this on Saturday and Sunday. There was Crouch Vale Yakima, Oakham Inferno, XT 4 and a couple of Olivers' ciders. The XT4 was the only unknown...and we'd try it again. The Half Moon remains the stalwart of our Hitchin pubbing...it feels everso slightly like coming home.
Monday saw me back in Bristol - or, more precisely Keynsham - visiting mum and then meeting an old friend for dinner and, of course, a beer.
Beer was secondary so we went to the Lock Keeper which is a Youngs house. I'm not a fan of Youngs beer, but the pub is in the Good Beer Guide so you can't go too far wrong. However, I was taken aback by the Bitter I had. It was really nice. Nothing exciting but a good beer and was well kept and served at the right temperature. Nice.
Since then, no beer drunk.
I have, however, been tinkering from afar with some of the pub saving projects I've been helping with.
And then I read this, and I despair of the industry.
So - beery exploits for the last few days?
A weekend in Hitchin in which we tried to gain a greater enthusiasm for the Bricklayers Arms. It's a good pub, but none of the beer really held our attention - indeed, once I'd left the pub I only remembered one of the four pints we'd had between us (it was Banks and Taylor Golden Fox and was very nice, if not stunning).
So, not surprisingly we ended up back at the Half Moon, welcomed warmly by Howard and the gang...and we did this on Saturday and Sunday. There was Crouch Vale Yakima, Oakham Inferno, XT 4 and a couple of Olivers' ciders. The XT4 was the only unknown...and we'd try it again. The Half Moon remains the stalwart of our Hitchin pubbing...it feels everso slightly like coming home.
Monday saw me back in Bristol - or, more precisely Keynsham - visiting mum and then meeting an old friend for dinner and, of course, a beer.
Beer was secondary so we went to the Lock Keeper which is a Youngs house. I'm not a fan of Youngs beer, but the pub is in the Good Beer Guide so you can't go too far wrong. However, I was taken aback by the Bitter I had. It was really nice. Nothing exciting but a good beer and was well kept and served at the right temperature. Nice.
Since then, no beer drunk.
I have, however, been tinkering from afar with some of the pub saving projects I've been helping with.
And then I read this, and I despair of the industry.
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