It’s been a good week for the big pubcos. The government decided not to legislate on the tie – even though it agreed with the parliamentary committee inquiry that Punch and Enterprise haven’t pulled their fingers out far enough in making their relationship with tenants fair.

Instead, codes of practice are to be toughened up and a couple of quangos organised to help the regulation process. The pubcos jumped for joy, but others were angry.

What does it all mean? Not a lot.

London’s earning

Those old London rivals Young’s and Fuller’s posted strong results. Young’s revenue for the half-year was up by a third, boosted by the acquisition of the Geronimo pubs at the end of 2010. Fuller’s reported a 3.9% like-for-like rise in take at its managed pubs – and even its tenancies were up.

Meanwhile, Greene King made clear its intentions for the capital, announcing plans to add seven houses to the Real Pubs estate it bought earlier this year – and take the concept beyond the M25.

Rock solid performance

Nottingham’s Castle Rock Brewery scooped the title of Overall Winner in the annual SIBA Awards for small independent brewers. It also picked up the Marketing award, while Palmers Brewery in Dorset was overall runner-up.

SIBA also chose the day to launch a new keg repatriation scheme – making sure casks find their way back from pub cellars to the brewer they belong to. It’s a perennial problem for the industry.

Spin-dried

The media were full, again, of tales of boozed up Britain, based on a report by BUPA, the private healthcare company. Strangely, though, the report itself didn’t mention it. The stories were PR spin.

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At the annual Best Bar None (BBN) Practitioner’s conference in Ipswich, chief executive Neil Robertson stated that the scheme could be “just as effective as the Government dealing with alcohol related health issues.

He also announced additional support had been put in place to assist new and existing BBN initiatives throughout the UK, as well as Best Bar None’s helpline and the new BBN Buddy Scheme.

Sponsored by four of the major drinks companies in the UK, Molson-Coors, Diageo, Barcardi Brown-Forman and Heineken, the scheme has received funding to carry it on for the next three years, amounting to £500,000.

The Buddy Scheme will encourage members of BBN schemes which are already operating to offer support and best-practice advice to new schemes.

“They will help people who are setting up schemes to avoid the mistakes others have made, helping them make more confident strides going forward… some of the people who run Best Bar None initiatives aoften need help when approaching the Government.

A large portion of the anticipated funding will be aimed at collecting data on alcohol-related hospital admissions, turnover in pubs and alcohol-related crime.

“This proves to the Government that if you want to reduce alcohol-related hospital admissions, you don’t need to come up with silly strategies – schemes like Best Bar None can be just as effective.”

As Best Bar None’s a cause close to our hearts – we’ve been involved in local schemes since 2006 and the national BBN scheme since 2008 – we’re glad to see things are looking up and will continue to support the promotion of best-practice across the UK.

CAMRA’s just released the second edition of their Book of Beer Knowledge this month – aimed at giving you all the answers before you get to your local.

Former editor of the Good Beer Guide Jeff Evans has compiled what the press release describes as a ‘must-have title for lovers of pub ammo’ and as it’s in its second edition, it’s obviously doing well. Evans had this to say about the book:

‘I’ve always been fascinated by facts and figures so it’s been a great pleasure to put together tables and charts showing lots of information beer and pub lovers will hopefully find useful. At the same time, I’ve been looking at the crazy side of beer production – the wacky facts and oddball bits of trivia that sum up the fun of beer drinking around the world.

‘In addition to compiling lists of best-selling beers, important hop-growing regions and other hard facts, I’ve been discovering a beer in Australia that is made for dogs and the Japanese beer made with barley grown in space, as well as unearthing the truth about names such as Samuel Adams and JD Wetherspoon. It’s been great fun.’

Some of the unusual facts contained in the book include-

• China produces the most beer of any country in the world (410.3 million hectolitres each year)
• Home-brewing is still illegal in Alabama and Mississippi, USA
• Buddhist monks in Thailand have built an entire temple from old beer bottles
• The longest pub name in the UK is ‘The Old Thirteenth Cheshire Astley Volunteer Rifleman Corps Inn’

And judging by the reviews on Amazon, it’s an entertaining read, full of those beer trivia facts that come in so handy when holding court at your local.

Available all over the place, including CAMRA’s shop and Amazon.

75 MPs have managed to get behind the bar – or are going to soon – to pull pints and learn more about the challenges facing publicans today.

Launched by the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group chairman and Burton MP, Andrew Griffiths, this latest initiative aims to get MPs behind the bar to support the pub trade.

Griffiths took his turn at the Old Bramshall Inn in Bramshall, Staffordshire and was positive about the experience and the initiative.

“It’s really, really gaining momentum,” he said. “We’ve also had two ministers showing their support too. All parties have taken part in this.

“It’s a double whammy, reinforcing the importance of the role of the community pub and teaching MPs about the challenges that publicans face today.”

Eric Ollerenshaw, MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood, stepped behind the bar at Greaves Park in Lancaster. “It’s great to see Greaves Park booming,” Ollerenshaw said. “Anthony Parker, the manager, and the team here are doing an excellent job, providing employment opportunities, a draw for tourists to Lancaster and a lovely meeting place for the local community. Long may the success continue.”

Manager Anthony Parker said: “It was a pleasure to meet up with Eric. In these difficult trading times, it’s great to have the support of our MP and this was an ideal opportunity for us to begin building a relationship with our local government representatives.”

All we can say is we hope this trend continues – the more MPs spend time in the pub (and we know they do) the better off the trade should be.

Thanks to the Publican Morning Advertiser for this story.

The pub industry has renewed calls for a cut in VAT for hospitality venues – this time arguing that it’s a better option than minimum pricing if you want more people to drink in pubs rather than at home.

Jacques Borel, the lobbyist who managed to get a cut in the French rate and is now orchestrating the UK campaign to reduce VAT to 5%, said he aimed to get 50 operators on board by Easter, and targeted the 2013 Budget for getting a concession from government.

“When people tell me it won’t work — it will. People have no vision,” he said.

Meanwhile the government announced that a ban on ‘below-cost’ alcohol sales will begin next April. Since it’s impossible to come up with a single figure for ‘cost’, the minimum will actually be duty plus VAT, which will make hardly any difference at all.

Plate expectations

Suffolk brewer Greene King has launched a franchise model for running its pubs, labelled Meet & Eat Bar & Grill.
Described by the company as “a pub on a plate” the agreement will cost £100,000 for entry with the potential for the franchisee to make up to £50,000 profit a year.

Tapping into demand

Jamie Hawksworth, the man behind London’s small but perfectly-formed beer emporium the Euston Tap, is to open a Cider Tap across the road in the matching building at the gates to Euston Station. There is already an underground passage linking the pair, making a convenient cellar.

Hawksworth also runs beer specialist pubs in York and Sheffield, and plans to open a another at York Station.

Stiff penalty

Alcopop Stiffy’s has been forced to change its name after drinks industry watchdog The Portman Group ruled that the brand name was associated with sexual success.

The company that makes the Jaffa Cake and Kola Kubez flavour drinks has changed the name to Stivy, and hopes the relaunch won’t flop.

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According to the Publican Morning Advertiser, pubs across the UK are reporting a boost in trade for British Pub Week 2011.

With activities ranging from Halloween parties to inviting local MPs along to pour pints, to traditional sea chanties, landlords celebrated British Pub Week in unique ways.

Craig Whittaker MP for Calder Valley visited his local pub, The Moorings Pub & Kitchen in Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire and poured the 1,000th pint of Moorings Best Bitter (specially brewed by Greene King for the pub).

Whittaker said: “British Pub Week is a fantastic initiative, helping to raise awareness of the wealth of excellent pubs we have in Britain.”

We have to agree and are very pleased that it’s seen as a success – as if we needed an excuse to go to a pub!

Thanks to the Publican Morning Advertiser for their story.

Just out, the new cover article for Drinks International has named what its judges consider to be the 50 best bars in the world. 12 of them are in London and 14 in the UK overall!

Conducted by World’s 50 Best Bars editor, Lucy Britner and U.S. drinks writer Camper English, the pair asked 100 bar professionals including the likes of Salvatore Calabrese from the Playboy Club and Dale DeGroff, King of Cocktails, and other top names in the drinks industry.

The panel of judges, which has not yet been published, included people who travel extensively and the effort was made to include people in far-flung places. The judges had to have visited the bar in the last two years and were not allowed to vote for bars they had a financial stake in. They all chose their favourite three bars and then they were averaged out.

Top bar was New York speakeasy, PDT (Please Don’t Tell), followed by the bar at the Connaught and the Artesian in second and third places respectively.

Here’s their list of the top ten followed by the other UK bars listed in the top 50:
1. PDT, New York
2 Connaught, London
3 Artesian, London
4 Death & Co, New York
5 Milk & Honey, London
6 American Bar at the Savoy, London
7 69 Colebrooke Row, London
8 Drink, Boston US
9 Harry’s New York Bar, Paris
10 Black Pearl, Melbourne, Australia

14 Bramble, Edinburgh
17 Merchant Hotel, Belfast
18 Nightjar, London
27 Callooh Callay, London
36 LAB, London
39 Worship St Whistling Shop, London
42 Quo Vadis, London
43 Lounge Bohemia, London
47 Rules, London

These are bars, not pubs, but still, it’s interesting London excels in this area. And we know the pubs are better!

You can see the article and the full list on Camper English’s website.

Minimum alcohol pricing was hitting the headlines again as the Scottish Government pressed ahead with legislation to force retailers to raise the price of their cheapest booze – although it could still be ruled illegal under Eurpoean competition law.

Greene King Brewery chief Rooney Anand weighed into the debate, declaring a minimum price would bring people back into pubs as well bring health benefits, as the medical profession claims.

Some of us remain sceptical.

A busting time

Twice as many pubs and bars went bust over the summer as the previous quarter, according to insolvency consultant Baker Tilly. Across the whole hotel and licensed trade sector the year-on-year increase was 26%.

“Challenging trading conditions have translated into a significant number of bar, nightclub, restaurant and hotel insolvencies, with wet led pubs and bars being particularly badly hit,” said Baker Tilly partner Peter Cooper.

Wether-ing the storm

Sales across J D Wetherspoon’s 850 bars crept up by an average 1.1% in the 13 weeks to October, the company reported. Including new openings, the total sales increase was 7.3%.

Wetherspoon is on track to open 50 new pubs this year.

One to become 30

Be At One, the London cocktail bar chain, is to take the brand to the rest of the country following an £8m investment in the business by private equity group Piper. The goal is to reach 30 in the next five years.

The concept, which eschews food and draught beer, was launched in 1998, the brainchild of three TGI Friday’s bartenders. Number 12 was recently opened at Monument.

Meet the brewer

If you ever wonder what a new beer on the bar tastes like you can ask for a sample, of course – but a piece of high-tech wizardry pioneered by microbrewer W J King now means you can ask the brewer himself.

Every one of the Sussex firm’s 25 cask and bottled beers carries a code you can scan with your smartphone, instantly bringing up a video of head brewer Ian Burgess.

Great expectations

The country’s 200 finest hostelries have been brought together in a new book, Great British Pubs, published by Camra and chosen by beer writer Adrian Tierney-Jones.

“All these pubs have something to offer beyond the promise of good beer, great food and plenty of cheer,” says the author. “They also offer a chance to step into another world for a while.”

Available at all good bookshops, as they say.

Meanwhile, the Pipe & Glass at South Dalton, East Yorkshire, has been named the Michelin food guides’ Pub of the Year.

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According to today’s Publican’s Morning Advertiser, Suffolk brewer and pub operator, Adnams, is to open a concession in House of Fraser in Chapelfield, Norwich. The company has been diversifying, with a chain of retail outlets called Cellar and Kitchen which sell wine, beer and kitchenware, Adnams branded.

We’ve seen a few of these in our travels and the range of products is interesting. The company’s just opened two new stores in London, one in Spitalfields and one in Bloomsbury, which includes a tasting room – for wine.

With 13 stores open now, apparently Adnams is planning to open five or six more branches in the next few years, aiming for around 30 sites in total. The company attributes the success of the brand to their insistence on carrying quality products in addition to their own beers.

It’s interesting to see the traditional brewers branching out into new areas and when we’re next in House of Fraser in Norwich, we’ll go in and buy some beer. And wine. Maybe some kitchenware.

Full story on the Publican’s Morning Advertiser

It’s still British Pub Week, so if you haven’t been to the pub yet, there’s still time to support your local.

The initiative, tied in to the Publican Morning Advertiser’s campaign Thrive on 5 and incorporating ‘Proud of Pubs’ week has support from all over, including former Liberal Democrat MP and top chefs such as Peter Bayless, Tom Bridge, Felice Tocchini and Will Torrent.

We’re off to sample the wares at the Wenlock Arms tonight and take part in the quiz (assuming it’s on) and support a pub that we love, however much longer it’s got.

So what are you waiting for, go on, go to the pub!

More information on British Pub Week