Curmudgeon - Beer & Pubs Archive - 2011

INDEX

January

Roadhouse Blues - why have purpose-built 20th century pubs been hit so hard by the recent wave of closures?

February

Schooner to be Launched - the new two-thirds measure should be welcomed as giving drinkers more choice
Not My Round - suggesting that rounds should be discouraged shows a failure to understand British pub culture

March

Sobering Statistics - the dramatic long-term decline of pub beer sales still isn’t fully appreciated
Cause or Effect? - the idea that pubs close because they were badly run ignores the wider picture

April

Doomed? - can an international brewer be a sympathetic steward of a craft ale brewery?
Not So Beautiful Game - wall-to-wall football isn’t in the interest of the pub trade as a whole

May

Cat to be Castrated - increasing duty on high-strength beers is a misconceived measure that will not achieve any of its objectives
Watering the Workers’ Beer - expect to see more and more well-known beers have their strength cut in the coming years

June

Driving Customers Away - the growing reluctance to drink a drop before driving is a major cause of pub closures
I Don’t Like the Taste - if you don’t like alcohol, at least be honest about the reason why

July

Joining Forces - the campaigns against alcohol and tobacco are two fronts in the same war
Soaking It Up - why do so many pubs fail to provide such a basic item as beermats?
Pale and Uninterested - Is history in danger of repeating itself over lighter, paler beers?

August

A Crafty Pint - the embrace of “craft keg” may prove a double-edged sword

September

Caught in the Crosshair - the anti-tobacco campaign is being retargeted on alcohol

October

Bar Humbug - new bar openings do not represent any kind of adequate substitute for lost pubs
Supermarket Sweep - making it harder to convert them to something else won’t save pubs if the underlying demand isn’t there

November

Not So Ordinary - rather than watering down premium brands, brewers should promote their existing lower-strength beers
Drinking with the Enemy - brewing industry representatives are deluded to believe they have any common cause with neo-Prohibitionists

December

Drinking in the Atmosphere - preserving traditional pubs is just as important as preserving real ale

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