Real ale and vaping

[Bobsbeer]

!/2 a pint!!!!!!! I would expect 2 pints for that price lol. Someone is taking the pi$$ i think there DrMark

[Deleted]

That's partly a regional thing I guess DrMark, beer prices vary by huge amounts around the country. I pay £3.50 (less than 6%ABV) a pint in my local where there's a choice of 10 beers from the hand pumps, and £4.50 (any ABV but tend to be 5-10%) from a choice of 6 from keykegs. I'm told that the landlords profits from them are the same it simply costs more. Bobsbeer more than likely pays £2.00- £2.50 for a pint in his local

One problem I feel is that it's in our culture/dna and a macho thing to visit pubs and sink as many 'session' type beers as possible. I often do a 'walkabout' (used to be called a 'crawl' for reasons I just mentioned) in London and I'm quite happy to pay 'over the odds' in places like Brewdog or Craft Beer Co and enjoy 1/2pt or even 1/3pt's (not at all macho) of fantastic beer but savour them, drink less, spend the same and remember a great day out with my mates

Unfortunately most of the interesting and innovative breweries are in the cities, London in particular is densely populated with them, I think that if and when the new wave beers become less confined to the cities and spread out to more rural areas we may see a drop to prices more in line with the ones in my local mentioned above.

[jevans]

I am of the opinion, as has been mentioned earlier in this thread, that CAMRA is now a narrow minded anachronism.
chykensa I brewed a Wherry once to see how good the modern 2-can kits were, it was a total disaster!
Although an AG takes several hours, I think the extra effort is worth it.

Jim

[chykensa]

We are very fortunate down here in Cornwall. As well as the well-known Spingo in Helston, served in the Blue Anchor, there are dozens of micro-breweries and a resurgence in small breweries serving 'local' ales which don't travel more than 10 or 15 miles from brewery to pub. Also we have Skinners and Sharps ) although the later has been bought out by a big American conglomerate), which concentrate on good beer rather than mass-produced dross. And mention should be made of St. Austell Brewery which also turns out good beer, namely Tribute and Tinners, both of which are now freely available throughout the country.
I really must clean out my kit and get another brew on the go - nothing better than popping out to the garage for a pint!

[Ripshod]

It peeves me, it really does. Take a cheap lager - Fosters - in the East Riding £2.29/pint, but near Gloucester (The Air Balloon, Birdlip) £3.44/pint. And that's hardly a regional beer.

Yet I can get real ales from small breweries in the south in my local for less than £2 a pint. 'Regional' is no excuse these days. CAMRA has made a lot of progress, yet you'd think the big breweries were still using dray horses to deliver their mainstays. And don't expect to find Mann's Brown Ale anywhere north of Wrexham either

[Deleted]

May 14, 2015 22:59:44 GMT chykensa said:

We are very fortunate down here in Cornwall. As well as the well-known Spingo in Helston, served in the Blue Anchor, there are dozens of micro-breweries and a resurgence in small breweries serving 'local' ales which don't travel more than 10 or 15 miles from brewery to pub. Also we have Skinners and Sharps ) although the later has been bought out by a big American conglomerate), which concentrate on good beer rather than mass-produced dross. And mention should be made of St. Austell Brewery which also turns out good beer, namely Tribute and Tinners, both of which are now freely available throughout the country.
I really must clean out my kit and get another brew on the go - nothing better than popping out to the garage for a pint!

Things are looking up in Cornwall chykensa but being a micro brewery doesn't always mean great beer, many produce very pedestrian beer.

The bar has been raised by some of the smaller breweries and that makes of the beer from others very seem ordinary.  Sharps and Skinners aren't to my liking really but I know many who think 'Doombar' is fantastic   but I think their drinking the name and the marketing not the beer.

I've had some superb beers from Coastal brewery in Redruth and Harbour Brewing Co in Trekillick. St Austell have pulled their finger out and produce some good beer, 'Big Job' which I've only had once was a beer I'd happily pay good money for.

As I said it's a golden age for beer drinking and there is a plethora of breweries about the country but you do have to sort the wheat from the chaff (pardon the pun) but Cornwall is a good place to drink beer

[Deleted]

May 15, 2015 6:11:16 GMT Ripshod said:

It peeves me, it really does. Take a cheap lager - Fosters - in the East Riding £2.29/pint, but near Gloucester (The Air Balloon, Birdlip) £3.44/pint. And that's hardly a regional beer.

Yet I can get real ales from small breweries in the south in my local for less than £2 a pint. 'Regional' is no excuse these days. CAMRA has made a lot of progress, yet you'd think the big breweries were still using dray horses to deliver their mainstays. And don't expect to find Mann's Brown Ale anywhere north of Wrexham either

The Air Ballon, think Cotswolds, Cheltenham, horse racing, tourists etc, that was a bargain at £3.44

I do get your point though Ripshod but there are many reasons for the regional differences, always have been and unfortunately always will be.

Even CAMRA charges different prices for the same beer at their festivals dependent on where in the country it is. 

[chykensa]

@scooby - you are of course absolutely correct that just because it#'s a micro-brewery then the beer must be good. However, Cornwall is rapidly gaining in international reputation for the quality of its food and drink, and there now exists a pride in Cornish-sourced ingredients and locally-made produce.
I think it would be fair to say that if a company wishes to sell their produce as Cornish, they would ensure that it is a high quality item, and this goes for the beer too.
There are good beers coming from Keltek in Redruth, Wooden Hand on the Lizard, and even a micro setup at the Watermill Inn in Lelant, near St. Ives. There seem to be new brewers popping up all the time, and as the beer has less miles behind it, it tends to sell for the £2.50-£3 mark in local pubs and bars.

The St. Ives Beer Festival (this coming weekend) and the Falmouth one in October are great destinations for trying the very best of local beers and ciders as well as loads of others too!

[phatfil]

I have a choice of 4 pubs within walking distance
#1 fizzy beer only right at the top of the rd,
#2 fizzy beer only and a fight/stabbing if your unlucky further up the rd cos im not exactly 'local' up there..
#3 a fullers pub down the hill last time i was there i ordered 2 pints and a packet of crisps handed over a tenner and the barman asked for a handful of change more!! nice beer garden and 'gastro-pub' food on offer but still circa a fiver a pint for london pride???
#4 a weatherspoons attached to the local shopping precinct.. for my shame i pop into the weatherspoons more frequently as its a fiver for a pint n a burger meal..
not been in with an eciggy yet tho..

i can remember when you could go out for a night with a fiver in your pocket and if you struck out with the lasses (all too frequently for me) if lucky you still had change for a bag of chips on the lonesome walk home..

[Deleted]

I believe the Falmouth beer festival is very good chykensa I have a friend who lives there, never been though as it's not the easiest to get to As I said, Cornwall is a good place to drink beer and I can testify that the prices are very competitive, even in the more tourist orientated areas. I had a very cheap Doombar in Rock, but the flavour wasn't improved by the short trip in made from brewery to pub

There seems to be a natural affinity with good beer and good food, and the market for local artisan bakers, cheese makers etc is growing in the same way as craft brewed beer, they have the same regard to the quality of ingredients used, and a pride in their produce.

I think I'm right in saying that we have more breweries per head of population than any country in the world, that's got to be a good thing for consumers.

[*-SARIN-*]

As i'm getting older, 35 this year, i'm starting to really like the real ales. Gone are the days where i can sup 10 pints of something far too fizzy and full of chemicals on a night out, i feel full after a couple. Falmouth beer festival is a CAMRA one and very well rated, i go every year, just to check the quality obviously I'm also quite lucky as The Blue Anchor and it's spingo is right across the road from me, that's not to say that it's often taken a while to get home after a few Flora Day Spingo Specials too many!

[Deleted]

May 15, 2015 17:02:19 GMT phatfil said:

I have a choice of 4 pubs within walking distance
#1 fizzy beer only right at the top of the rd,
#2 fizzy beer only and a fight/stabbing if your unlucky further up the rd cos im not exactly 'local' up there..
#3 a fullers pub down the hill last time i was there i ordered 2 pints and a packet of crisps handed over a tenner and the barman asked for a handful of change more!! nice beer garden and 'gastro-pub' food on offer but still circa a fiver a pint for london pride???
#4 a weatherspoons attached to the local shopping precinct.. for my shame i pop into the weatherspoons more frequently as its a fiver for a pint n a burger meal..
not been in with an eciggy yet tho..

i can remember when you could go out for a night with a fiver in your pocket and if you struck out with the lasses (all too frequently for me) if lucky you still had change for a bag of chips on the lonesome walk home..

Far From the Madding Crowd sold a great selection of beer phatfil but is no longer. Not much else to go into Oxford for drink wise. Only ever there during the day, sounds like that was a good decision.

Is spoons the William Morris at Cowley? I rented a place in Oliver Road in the 70's when I worked at Pressed Steel, doesn't sound like that end of Oxford has changed much. 

[phatfil]

Ha small world @scooby im opposite what would have been your local shops....

Morrells as was is no more, while not a spectacular brewery their mainstay was a descent pint, the prince of wales is the fizzy pub #1 the corner house #2 marsh harrier #3 and the weatherspoons is tacked onto cowley centre, couldnt tell you what its called its head down and hope no one sees me when i walk in. I forgot about the original swan but thats always been a forgettable boozer.

[Deleted]

Mentioning those pubs phatfil makes me feel quite depressed. The original swan, what a dump, I was there about 9 months and went in once

We used to drive out to Horspath or iffley village for our lunch time drinks, can't remember the names of the pubs

Morrells was ok but I came from the Wantage area so Morlands was in most pubs, also no longer. My wife was born in Rose Hill and grew up in Headington. Her parents lived in Dynham Place off Girdlestone Rd so we used to pass the corner house when we visited them. Father in law was in the TA so went for a drink with him there and not the corner house, he's long gone and so is the TA so don't go out that way much now.

[phatfil]

Ha @scooby its quite strange reading about such mundane places on the web, iffley had one or two nice pubs,the royal oak? or oak tree?? Horsepath?? the chequers, now an indian takeaway, perhaps you mean wheatley 13 pubs within walking distance, or littleworth 1/2 between the 2, one tiny but grand greene king boozer iirc. on my return to oxford i moved out to wheatley before gravitating back to this neck of the woods, ended up buying the house next to my folks,, it did make some kind of sense at the time, i think ??

Small world indeed circa 90-91 i was being badgered to join the TA brass band, a few of my drinking buddies from the King n Queen in wheatley thought it would be a good idea.. if i had succumbed i may not be here to tell the tale, more than one didnt come back from iraq..


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