First Pint of Cask

So, as I've said before, we were biding our time on the "let's go to the pub" thing.

We have an elderly parent to visit and we have no idea whether the virus we suffered earlier in the year was COVID or not and, let's face it, with the best will in the world there are so, so many unknowns in all of this.

Still, when friends needed to meet up with us to ask us a favour and to collect some of our 3D printed faceshields the pub seemed the most natural place to do it.

I took a look at a couple of local pubs to see their opening hours and their general approach.

It so happened that the first one that looked promising also replied really quickly to my "what time do you open?" message.

Landlady, Rachel, knows us pretty well and I've always liked her attention to quality.  Her cask offering isn't usually the most exciting but she told us she had a few local beers on cask and had craft cans as an alternative.  She also offered to open up half an hour early to fit in with our timeplans.

Frankly, you really can't argue with that.  So, at 3.30pm on Wednesday - after a visit to the parent - were in the pub, with friends and catching up.

Rachel and her staff had adapted the pub to make little booths from folding glass screens.  This had the effect of giving you a little cocoon but not blocking the view or the light. 

We had table service but it was done deftly, with no awkwardness, and a collaborative, flexible approach when Best Beer Buddy, couldn't help himself and collected beers from the bar (there was no one else even close at the time).  All in all it was a lovely way to pass a few hours.

We all felt safe and comfortable and like this pub had been operating this way for years.

It wasn't a Damascene beer moment or anything like - it just felt perfectly right.

On this basis, I'd happily go back!

I hope the next place we try is as good.

...and another thing

The "pubs opened" fallout continued on Twitter and in the news yesterday.

Is it possible that at least a part of this is moralising?  I saw no negative comments about people in cafes and restaurants.  Surely, these two types of establishment are no more "essential" to wellbeing than pubs.

Then, this morning, it occurred to me that maybe a lot of the chatter is commentary by people who don't know there are many sorts of pubs.  Or maybe the so-called "amateur" pub goers who only attend at Christmas and so only see how pubs are then.

If you only think about pubs as being city-centre, vertical drinking establishments, perhaps with Sky Sports liberally plastered around the place then I can see how you'd be worried about "pubs" in general.  Chain places owned by large companies who may or may not be sympathetic to their employees (yes, Wetherspoons I reckon I'm looking at your, amongst others here).

Don't forget, though, that the employees of these establishments rely on the work to pay for food for their families just like we all do.  They are not evil or thoughtless for working for those organisations - they may not have much of a choice just now.

And there are other sorts of pubs.

Smaller pubs which might well be quite quiet at 5pm on a Tuesday in March, but pride themselves on high quality products (especially beer, obvs).  Run by people who understand pubs and people.  People who are professionals in what they do.  They don't earn a lot from this business - it's a matter of passion.  They get a lot of pride from being responsible publicans, from awards from CAMRA, from people recommending their pub as a "brilliant" pub.  These are what my mind conjures up when someone says "pub".

Some of these pubs opened at the weekend too.  From within the beer industry I saw a lot of people attending those pubs and commenting on how well run they were, I also saw a lot of those pubs thanking their patrons for coming along and behaving well.  But I guess that's not mainstream news.

These are the pubs I'm craving...

The pubs where you take a friend who has never been there before and they fall in love with it just like you did.

No one ever feel in love with a Wetherspoon pub - it's a place reflective of little choice of budget or of venue in a place you don't know well. Or of a desire to get wasted as quickly and cheaply as possible.

In love, really, with a pub?  Yes.  Places like this allow me to relax, get things done, chat with the beer buddy and enjoy being in another building.

It's OK that you don't ever get the same buzz from a pub.  Maybe you get it from a brilliant coffee shop or outstanding restaurant, or perhaps it's the feeling you get with a bag of pick and mix in the cinema, or a box in the theatre.

All I ask is that people don't write off a whole industry based on only a tiny part of the story, simply because it plays to moralistic narrative.  It's as unfair and naive as Jacob Rees-Mogg saying we should all go to our local and drink a yard of ale because it's the "Bristish" thing to do.

Fallout

So, my Twitter timeline is full of contradictory comments this morning...

In general there's a lot of "look a these people crowding in streets with pubs" and "my daughter was working in a bar and punter kissed her on the face" and stuff like that.  A lot of finger-pointing and judgement.

There's another thread of "I didn't go to the pub because I care about people whereas others..."

And there, quietly in the middle, is a small but determined voice and it's saying "thanks to our customers for coming to see us yesterday and behaving well" and "I went to the pub and it was well-managed, and great to be out".

There's probably no objective proof of which is more prevalent.

Is it possible that people are finding the stories they're looking for?

Is it possible that some people and some businesses have behaved in an exemplary way and others have behaved like arseholes?  You know, like in real life where not all cyclists are paragons of virtue and some cycle thoughtlessly and dangerously, and like some motorists are caring,thoughtful and give way for pedestrians and old ladies, where some pedestrians walk and stop carelessly, paying no mind to anyone behind them?

I think we need to allow for some nuance in all contentious issues.

I'm getting fed up of seeing people "othering" other people because of fears, because of an inability to understand grey areas and, most of all, a lack of empathy for other people's situations when you have no idea what they're going or have gone through.

If this is the time for anything, it's a bit more critical thinking, a little more patience and rather less hysteria.

Meanwhile, I'll be drinking beer from my fridge for a few days yet.  I might venture to a pub I trust before too long, if the opportunity presents itself.  As always, by choice it'll be a quiet pub, at a quiet time of day. I'll respect the fact that a publican's livelihood is dependent on me and I'll try to be an exemplary customer because, that's what we all want to be, isn't it?

Independence Day?

So...pubs (and other places I'm less interested in) are able to reopen from tomorrow.

I don't imagine many people read this blog but those who do will know my enormous love for pubs with good beer.

So - you might think I'd be rushing straight to support my favourite local pub.  Actually, I won't be.

It's not that I don't want my lovely pubs reopened, I so do.

It's not that I'm wholly content with the gorgeous canned and bottled beer that we've been buying - it's amazing beer but it's still not as good as drinking good beer in the pub.

Am I frighted about contracting this awful virus?  Actually, no.  I'm sort of resigned to getting it at some point (if I haven't already succumbed) and whilst I know it could be very serious indeed and I'm not trivialising it, but sometimes people get really nasty diseases and we have to deal with it.  I am comfortable at taking the risk for me.

What I'm not comfortable about is how much virus there still is out in the community.  I'm very worried about the NHS being able to cope with another spike and that the people most at risk seem to be front line workers - and disproportionately people on low income jobs, people who aren't white, and people with other medical conditions.  I also have a father in law who is medically vulnerable and the best beer buddy needs to be confident he can pop around to see his dad and help if help is needed.

So, when will we go to the pub?

We'll likely give it a couple of weeks and see how things pan out:  how people behave in pubs, how the industry views things, how virus incidents shift and probably do it when we think the time is right to go to Bristol.

Meanwhile - we've had a lovely Arbor delivery of mixed 4% ish beers and the fridge beer will do for now.

If you're going to the pub - remember to be kind to the staff:  most of them don't have much of a choice but to work and they don't like the new precautions any more than you do but they're aiming to keep you and your families, and themselves and their families as safe as they can.