Shock story in local press!!
Southport's Midweek Visiter has published a front page article on how Pub Companies won't allow their pubs to stock the award winning local beer, Golden Sands. It may be the top Best Bitter in the land, but PubCos don't want to know. While I welcome the Visiter publicising this real problem, I was disappointed to see that they hadn't attempted any investigative journalism by phoning a PubCo or two to ask them for an explanation.
But, to be fair, the Visiter did list venues where Southport Brewery beers are often on: the Guest House [Union Street], the Baron's Bar [Lord Street], Southport FC, Southport & Birkdale Cricket Club, Ainsdale Sports Club and Ainsdale Tory Club. You will notice there are more clubs in this list than pubs.
More generally, CAMRA recently exercised its 'super-complainant' status to require the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) urgently to look at practices in the UK pub market that cause high prices, restricted choice and pub closures. CAMRA wants tied pub licensees to be able to sell a guest real ale of their choice, not just those in the PubCos' own portfolio. If this were accepted, local pubs that wanted to sell our local beers would be legally allowed to do so.
Southport's Midweek Visiter has published a front page article on how Pub Companies won't allow their pubs to stock the award winning local beer, Golden Sands. It may be the top Best Bitter in the land, but PubCos don't want to know. While I welcome the Visiter publicising this real problem, I was disappointed to see that they hadn't attempted any investigative journalism by phoning a PubCo or two to ask them for an explanation.
But, to be fair, the Visiter did list venues where Southport Brewery beers are often on: the Guest House [Union Street], the Baron's Bar [Lord Street], Southport FC, Southport & Birkdale Cricket Club, Ainsdale Sports Club and Ainsdale Tory Club. You will notice there are more clubs in this list than pubs.
More generally, CAMRA recently exercised its 'super-complainant' status to require the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) urgently to look at practices in the UK pub market that cause high prices, restricted choice and pub closures. CAMRA wants tied pub licensees to be able to sell a guest real ale of their choice, not just those in the PubCos' own portfolio. If this were accepted, local pubs that wanted to sell our local beers would be legally allowed to do so.
Good post that Rednev. Pity that the newspaper, while repeatedly getting in the box in football terms, failed to really stick the ball in the net. A comments from the PubCos would have been excellent.
ReplyDeleteThanks,TM. That's the local press for you, I suppose. However, I did notice that when they announced that our local brewery had won the Best Bitter award, they put in a quote from me. I hadn't spoken to them; it was taken word for word from this blog.
ReplyDeleteFame!
ReplyDeleteOr notoriety, perhaps.
ReplyDelete