Pete Robinson: The British Pub - A thesis on it's decline and fall
For 450 years British pubs and their smoking customers have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship that has survived essentially unchanged...
Archives for February 16, 2011
MP calls for six-month moratorium on threatened pubs
Communities should be given a six-month window to decide if they want to buy a threatened local pub, an MP has argued. During a Westminster Hall...
Greene King adds sweetner to tenants' price hikes
Greene King is increasing drinks prices by an average of 3.8% for tenants from next month, although prices have been frozen on some major brands. It...
A cause for Concern: desperately seeking better alcohol services
Phil Mellows considers the proposals by Alcohol Concern to place alcohol specialists in every hospital.
Scots pubs face postcode lottery over Royal wedding extra hours
Scottish pubs hoping to celebrate the Royal wedding by opening late are facing a frustrating postcode lottery on extensions. Each of the country's...
BrewDog reports record sales and further expansion
BrewDog, the Scottish brewer, has reported a record rise in sales of its craft beers and plans to open four new bars. The group also reported that...
Horror as pub's electricty bill goes from £800 to £20k
A couple of licensees were left stunned when their quarterly electricity bill rocketed from £800 to a staggering £20,000. Rob Wilson, who runs the...
Beer Matters: Training staff to sell cask
Quality, well-informed staff are invaluable to any business, whether selling clothes, cars or real ale, and the correct training is essential for...
Renata Pankova: Government lunacy knows no bounds
The British government has destroyed this, my last illusion, with its proposal for banning below cost alcohol sales from supermarkets using a formula...
Apprentices are learning the trade
Think 'Apprentice'' and the likelihood is the first image you will conjure up is of a bunch of desperate business types trying to impress a...
'Million jobs depend on pub trade'
Almost a million jobs depend on the beer and pub trade, an industry which adds more than £21 billion to the UK economy, with the fourth highest...
Karen Black: Why on earth did I take on a pub?
Hi everyone, I'm the newest recruit to The Publican's blogging team. My name is Karen, and I have just taken over the Ashfields Hotel in...
The Harp in Covent Garden: a national treasure
The Harp in Covent Garden is named CAMRA National Pub of the Year 2010 today — licensee Bridget Walsh shares her recipe for success.
BrewDog's sales double
BrewDog, the maverick Scottish craft brewer, said its turnover in 2010 doubled as its range of bottled beers continued to appeal to drinkers looking...
Cost savings and price rises fuel Heineken growth
Significant cost savings and higher prices helped brewer Heineken deliver profit growth in the UK last year. Announcing its full year figures for...
The Harp is CAMRA Pub of the Year
The Harp in Covent Garden is the first London pub to win the coveted Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) National Pub of the Year competition.
Illicit alcohol seized from Stoke pub
Around £60,000-worth of illicit tobacco and alcohol products have been seized from an unnamed Staffordshire pub. An investigation by HM Revenue and...
Zonal reports 40% rise in turnover
Zonal Retail Data Systems, the EPoS till provider to over 300 hospitality companies, has reported a 40% increase in turnover to £19.5m for the year...
Well-run venues rewarded for putting Safety Thirst
An award-winning licensee is urging other pubs to get involved in best practice schemes after picking up a prestigious prize. Laura Walters, manager...
Win a year's supply of drink offer cleared by ASA
An advert offering students the chance to win a year's supply of drink from off-licence Bargain Booze in Crewe has been cleared of being...
Speciality beers face hit from high-strength tax hike, warns CAMRA
Hiking duty on high-strength beers will make a "limited contribution" to Treasury coffers and threaten the production of speciality beers, CAMRA has...
CAMRA to lobby for lower duty on 3.5% beers
CAMRA hopes to work with the Government to secure a change in EU rules to allow a lower duty rate on beers below 3.5% abv.