If there is one thing that everybody agrees on in Britain, it is that the number of public houses is dropping rapidly. But nobody knows who to blame, some blame the supermarkets, some the politicians, some the breweries and some even blame the customers and bar staff.
A lot of the problem is that, these days, people go to pubs for a lot of different reasons. The price of alcohol is going up a lot due to the increases in taxation, and related factors, that people who do not necessarily wish to participate in the social atmosphere that a pub has to offer find it much easier and cheaper to get their alcohol from the local supermarket, and then consume it at home in front of the television. However, the publican still has to make a living, and support the local brewery, so they need to put their prices up to compensate for this loss of trade. This, therefore, leaves the social drinker, and that term covers a multitude of sins, having to pay a higher price to drink there.
The average social and casual drinker prefers to have a drink in a pleasant and amicable atmosphere. A lot of people find a pub that they really enjoy going to, like the clientele and the bar staff, and make it their regular place to visit. The casual drinker, coming across a local pub with that kind of atmosphere, will probably revisit, and also take along their friends in the future. Some people go to these places to enjoy a pub lunch, so they are looking for clean and quiet pubs, usually suitable to take children into. There are also the drinkers who just go to pubs to listen to bands or watch sports, and they get disillusioned with the quiet pubs, but as soon as they find one that serves their needs they usually stick to it. But the problem is, if you are new to the area, how do you find the ideal drinking hole for your needs.
These days, as public houses are closing and experienced landlords are leaving the business, it is quite common to walk into a public house and find the locals moaning that it is not the place it used to be, but they still drink there because the customers are still the same. Nearly every public house has had a change of name, even change of brewery, and all this also has to be taken into account.
You might be visiting a town for the first time, or have a favourite public house that you want to shout about, so why not visit pubutopia.com and see if you can find a drinking hole that suits your needs, or tell everybody about one you have found. There is also a site called pubhistory.org, which is aiming to produce an archive about pub history and would appreciate any help in achieving this.
A lot of the problem is that, these days, people go to pubs for a lot of different reasons. The price of alcohol is going up a lot due to the increases in taxation, and related factors, that people who do not necessarily wish to participate in the social atmosphere that a pub has to offer find it much easier and cheaper to get their alcohol from the local supermarket, and then consume it at home in front of the television. However, the publican still has to make a living, and support the local brewery, so they need to put their prices up to compensate for this loss of trade. This, therefore, leaves the social drinker, and that term covers a multitude of sins, having to pay a higher price to drink there.
The average social and casual drinker prefers to have a drink in a pleasant and amicable atmosphere. A lot of people find a pub that they really enjoy going to, like the clientele and the bar staff, and make it their regular place to visit. The casual drinker, coming across a local pub with that kind of atmosphere, will probably revisit, and also take along their friends in the future. Some people go to these places to enjoy a pub lunch, so they are looking for clean and quiet pubs, usually suitable to take children into. There are also the drinkers who just go to pubs to listen to bands or watch sports, and they get disillusioned with the quiet pubs, but as soon as they find one that serves their needs they usually stick to it. But the problem is, if you are new to the area, how do you find the ideal drinking hole for your needs.
These days, as public houses are closing and experienced landlords are leaving the business, it is quite common to walk into a public house and find the locals moaning that it is not the place it used to be, but they still drink there because the customers are still the same. Nearly every public house has had a change of name, even change of brewery, and all this also has to be taken into account.
You might be visiting a town for the first time, or have a favourite public house that you want to shout about, so why not visit pubutopia.com and see if you can find a drinking hole that suits your needs, or tell everybody about one you have found. There is also a site called pubhistory.org, which is aiming to produce an archive about pub history and would appreciate any help in achieving this.
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