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Generalisations about beer culture opinion

In a perfect world

Jay Rayner writes restaurant reviews in the Observer, the Sunday version of the UK’s Guardian newspaper. In a review today he comes up with a valuable insight which applies just as much to pubs as it does to restaurants:

And the final bill for this lesson in crass mediocrity? A shameful £105. The point of the exercise? The simple realisation that restaurants in this country will only genuinely have improved when it’s possible to choose a place like this at random and eat well at a cost that will not make your eyes water with tears of either pain or misery.

So, to paraphrase for the beer-minded, we should be able to walk into any pub and find (as a bare minimum) a decent standard of service, one or two good quality beers in reasonable condition, all at a price we consider fair.

It’s all well and good having a handful of astounding pubs scattered across the country but, at the moment, choosing a pub at random is hit and miss.

13 replies on “In a perfect world”

Although (and I’m not just saying this) the hit rate seems better up north than in London, in my limited experience.

A price you consider fair may not deliver the quality you are looking for.

You get what you pay for. In a pub where the price is “fair” the publican is probably not being fair to him/herself and working very hard to provide a service for the punter without due reward.

I worded that quite carefully — fair, not cheap! There’s a bit of consumer education needed here, too, of course.

‘I worded that quite carefully — fair, not cheap!’

To be fair – pun intended – I think you and Dave are hardly in disagreement. For instance, I ate a blinding steak at Hawksmoor Restaurant in trendy Spitalfields – at £30 a pop sand chips, it was hardly cheap, but such was the quality (and peppercorn sauce, etc.) of meal and service that I felt it exceptional value.

A pub doesn’t fit at all within the same pricing structure, but the point stands. If the beer is kept well and is interesting, I’m ok paying £3.50 for it. Sacrilege to some, but I do get fussed when people say ‘It was only 90p in 1987!’ – inflation, people?! Relatively, a pint is either static or – gulp! – probably cheaper vs your earnings than 30 years ago. Recent price hikes have probably got it nearer static, but the point stands.

What does force a grumble is the standard GK IPA, Pride, etc., poorly kept and charged at the same rate. It’s a terrible advert for the trade and puts people off who have so many other leisure outlets these days.

To be fair, the pubcos are cottoning on. With their business model of just watching real estate prices rise up the shi**er, you’re beginning to see far more expanded guest ale lists and a developing relationship with their decent publicans (this is anecdotal, but I’ve heard it quite a bit).

A pub in Cambridge (Punch, I believe) was taken on recently by an experienced bar manager at a local free house. Everyone said he was daft and would not be able to sell the beers he wanted. He’s certainly more limited than if he were free, but he has clearly twisted their arm and has some interesting brews on.

None of which is meant as a celebration of the pubcos (I’m not one to sing their praises) – but I do think effort, guile and a focus on quality will see the good pubs through.

Not quite ‘any pub’; I took Rayner’s article to imply walking into a restaurant in a chain hotel. Where they’re eager to grab the profit percentage sacrificed from your discounted room rate. Or they know they’re going to coin it due to location (airport hotels, take that long walk of shame) but still ought to produce something of quality for the price.

Anyoldhow, ensuring one or two quality beers in any pub is easy. Buy a few cases of bottled beers that have proven history of quality. Cask ale, even with a regional name on the clip, is too much like Russian roulette for your tastebuds.

It’s criminally easy to find a pint of slop in London and pay four quid for the privilege. Harder to find a good example of the same beer – there are only a handful of places where the ale is truly and consistently outstanding. It’s scandalous, and not only confined to the capital. How come there isn’t a beer czar?

“Relatively, a pint is either static or – gulp! – probably cheaper vs your earnings than 30 years ago. Recent price hikes have probably got it nearer static, but the point stands2

I’m afraid that’s just not true. Draught beer is amongst a select group of consumerables that is considerably more expensive than 30 or even 25 years ago. For example, the average wage in 1982 was £7,117 and in 2007 £23,307 and yet in 1982 London Pride cost 58p a pint but in 2007 this was a whopping £2.80. I certainly notice that it takes an increasing portion of my earnings even though I drink less than I did then.

Consumer education? The customer is always right and is aware you get what you pay for. We are aware if it’s a 2for1, its “ping” food, and if its pricier it ought to be better. People shop within their budgets and can decide price/value for themselves. Comparing dining out in the UK with other countries, consumer education would result in most customers demanding better for less. Especially in terms of customer service. So I guess I’ve talked myself round.

It is misleading to compare alcohol prices with incomes. As living standards rise over time, pretty much everything becomes cheaper relative to incomes. This is a favourite trick of the anti-drink lobby. The fair comparison is with the Retail Prices Index. In fact, in comparison with this, draught beer in pubs has become substantially more expensive, even more so than Tyson suggests. In the period he refers to, prices rose by 150% but (using his figures) incomes by 230%. And the price of his pint of London Pride by 380%!

…This is one of the reasons I always do a little research when going somewhere new. I’ve been stung too many times. Luckily, blog networks like ours, and sites PubsAndBeer exist and we can point each other in the right way.
Life’s too short to be drinking crap beer in a crap pub. Too many places shut up not because of the economic climate, but because they have taken thier eyes off the prize.

Haddonsman — there are a lot of pubs that would go from good to great with the addition of a couple of well chosen bottled beers to add variety. Here’s a post we wrote on that subject yonks back.

TIW said: “It’s criminally easy to find a pint of slop in London and pay four quid for the privilege.” Yes, that’s sadly very true.

Jesusjohn said: “For instance, I ate a blinding steak at Hawksmoor Restaurant in trendy Spitalfields – at £30 a pop sand chips, it was hardly cheap, but such was the quality (and peppercorn sauce, etc.) of meal and service that I felt it exceptional value.” That’s what I was trying to express, but you did it better. When are you going to post again, by the way? Not that I want to be a nag.

Leigh — we use blogs all the time to find suggestions for good pubs when we’re out and about in other parts of the country or abroad. There is no better source of info than a recent review by a trusted source.

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