Pub Curmudgeon 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

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Watering the workers’ beer I am the man, the very fat man That waters the workers’ beer And what do I care if it makes them ill If it makes them terribly queer I’ve a ...

New blogpost – the whole swathe of mass-market 3.4% kegs are a sorry bunch of forgettable, lacklustre brews that inspire zero enthusiasm.
pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2025/11/wate...

Care of the community An ongoing theme of this blog has been the conflict between the interests and desires of pub customers and the commercial companies who own ...

New blogpost - once a community have bought their local pub, they need to find a way to make it a viable business in the long term.
pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2025/11/care...

Close-up of a partially consumed pint of Bass, with the base of the red triangle branding on the glass resting on the foam and flanked by curtains of lacing, amber liquid glowing below.

Number of pubs stocking draught Bass passes 1,000 as AB Inbev's sales drive takes hold. So distribution has nearly trebled from a couple of years ago. Latest directory of stockists: nationalbassdirectory.wordpress.com/wp-content/u...

Realisation dawns From the beginning of this month, new government regulations prevent restaurants and fast food outlets from providing unlimited refills of...

New blogpost - the ban on free drink refills has caused commentators to wake up and smell the coffee about lifestyle restrictions.
pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2025/10/real...

Landlords brand Starmer’s late night pub plan a ‘waste of time’ Bosses warn change risk driving up costs as many venues struggle with Labour’s higher taxes

Landlords brand Starmer’s late night pub plan a ‘waste of time’ (free to read)
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/cf62abd...

New blogpost - does cask beer suffer from a lack of visibility in the pub?
pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2025/10/out-...

A journey into Middle England – Part 2 Having left the Old Swan, a short walk back west towards the town centre of Atherstone brought us to the Hat & Beaver , its plain frontage ...

New blogpost - a journey into Middle England, in the shape of Atherstone, Warwickshire: Part 2.
pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2025/10/a-jo...

A journey into Middle England – Part 1 Atherstone is a market town in North Warwickshire with a population of about 11,000, located between Coventry and Burton-on-Trent, very clo...

New blogpost - a journey into Middle England, in the shape of Atherstone, Warwickshire.
pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2025/09/a-jo...

Not really, as brewers aren’t only producing that style at that time of year.

The closest I can think of is how a number of brewers in the South East such as Brakspear, King & Barnes and Gales produced a dark winter Old Ale of around 4.2% ABV. The only ones still remaining that I can think of are Harveys and Adnams.

I know it's a different society and brewing culture, but it would be nice if we in the UK had a tradition where a wide range of breweries released a special beer in a specific style at a particular time of year along the lines of Oktoberfest.

Good to see he’s still alive and well. Must be quite a senior cat now 🐈

That’s the only one I’ve had so far. I thought it was a bit disappointing. Not quite dark enough for a proper Märzen. Great label, though.

I did a poll on X that showed 60% fairly indifferent to the beers. Importing the concept to the UK seems a touch forced. I like the beers, but the idea is very much rooted in Bavarian culture.

Liverpool has the best pubs of any English city – and it’s not even close From turn-of-the-century gin palaces to cosy backstreet boozers, this northern hub has it all

Liverpool has the best pubs of any English city - and it’s not even close (free to read)
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/9379bb9...

Settle down now Over the years, I have often praised Wetherspoon’s business success in building an empire of large, thriving pubs from scratch in the face o...

New blogpost - whisper it softly, but I really don’t find Wetherspoon’s congenial places just to go for a drink.
pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2025/09/sett...

If you didn't like Charlie Kirk, that's your right. If you're gloating over his death, you're beneath contempt.

Pubs are in a ‘financial death spiral’ – here’s how to save your local The rate at which drinking establishments are closing is causing panic. So can we save our locals? I’ll drink to that

Pubs are in a financial death spiral (non paywall link)
www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/c94852c...

Oh, it’s not a bad pub, but I remember it when it was better (and busier). A former CAMRA National Pub of the Year.

My local pub, but sadly the all-pervasive sports TV and the overlarge tables (which your photo shows) detract from it, and I rarely go in except to deliver the local CAMRA magazine.

Green and white painted pub exterior beneath a large red brick railway viaduct.

Close up of a pint of Draught Bass with the main room and lobby in the background.

The 'Red Room' with red walls, red upholstered benches and stools, and a black painted fireplace.

The 'Green Room' (formerly the snug) with green walls, green upholstered benches and stools, and a black painted fireplace.

Another post on the re-opened Crown in Stockport but worth a reminder of what a good pub it is again. Nicely refurbished preserving the heritage interior & with 8 cask ales including Bass as a regular. Shame most of the etched glass has gone in recent years, but definitely up there with the best.

The Bakers Vaults in Stockport.

Only bad pubs close The Waggon & Horses , a large Greene King-owned dining pub located in Handforth, just south of the Stockport boundary, has recently closed i...

New blogpost – is it really the case that the long-term decline of the pub trade is mostly due to pubs being poorly run?
pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2025/09/only...

Photo of Samuel Smith's Bird in Hand pub at Mobberley, Cheshire.

Good to see Sam Smith’s Bird in Hand at Mobberley open again after six years. Apparently the brewery only supplied one cask of Bitter, which sold out on the opening day yesterday. Decent number of customers in 🍻

I'd put opinion pieces on the blog where they are more visible and people can comment. Keep the newsletter for more personal or off-the-wall stuff.

People tend to think obvious cloned beers are naff. Although you could argue Holden's Golden Glow is an attempt to copy Batham's Best.

Limiting the pub Scarcely a week goes by without the present government announcing a policy to antagonise yet another group in society. They have now put fo...

New blogpost – nobody should imagine that cutting the drink-drive limit wouldn’t have a significant detrimental effect on the pub trade.
pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2025/08/limi...

As my dear departed landlord, Steve, said of the village local. If the doors aren't open they won't come in. In my patch, passing trade is so irregular these days limited opening hours are a disaster.

If you don’t open it, they can’t come The licensee of the Wonston Arms in Hampshire, a former CAMRA National Pub of the Year, recently had an article published in the Daily Tele...

New blogpost - pubs that open short and erratic hours shouldn't really be surprised that they have no customers.
pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2025/08/if-y...