On Tue, 7 Jul 2020 13:57:24 +0100, alan_m
wrote:

On 07/07/2020 11:46, T i m wrote:


I think most pubs will be gone soon as I'm not sure that there is the
demand, certainly for those not offering a broader / 'family'
experience (good + VFM food, play area for the kids, plenty of
comfortable seating, sufficient / clean toilets, friendly staff etc).

There are many different types of pubs to cater for different clientele

I think that works for the locals and regulars, or if you go there on
recommendation, but a casual passer-by wouldn't know what to expect.

but I know of popular rural pubs that are popular because they don't
cater for kids.

Oh, quite and such would be our choice, if say we were on holiday, as
long as they were also dog friendly. ;-)

However, unless a pub could make a decent living catering for it's
niche market (Sports TV, Karaoke, 'Live Music', Darts tournaments,
bare knuckle fighting g) then I think most are trying to go 'Family
Friendly' to try to get more money than one old boy hugging the same
pint all night. ;-)


When I was a field tech and needed refreshment on the move I don't
think I ever called in at a pub (even one advertising food outside),
preferring even McDonalds as I could predict how long it would take to
get served, what I would get and how much it would cost.

Mmmm not liking beer AND McDonalds for a gourmet meal

Not a gourmet meal, food on the go. In fact, my boss and I were on our
way to a job (in Grimbsy I think) and stopped on the way at a 'Little
Chief. I had finished my main and he was still plodding on and I asked
him if he could eat quicker because 1) I wanted to have my suite and
2) we had a lot of work to do. His reply, 'I'm savouring it'!

I reminded him we were in a Little Chief ... ;-)


I don't think I actually even tried anything alan (I was probably the
nominated driver as I knew I didn't really like 'beer').

Each to his own and if you don't like beer fair enough but you may find
that are some brews that actually are very close to what you like to drink.

To have 'something to drink' that makes a change from tea, coffee,
water, cordial, I quite like the Sainsbury's / Tesco '4 for a pound'
lagers. Either daughter or I picked up a pack of 4 (4 for a pound)
Bitters by mistake and because the packing is identical, all but the
word Bitter / Lager, I didn't check and bought some Bitters and put
them in the fridge. I opened and took a slug from one and even though
it was cold, I thought it was off ... or something was wrong with it
as it didn't taste right. I then went to check the date code but
spitted the word 'Bitter' on the front before I did. Once I knew it
was Bitter and not off, and as long as it was cold, I put up with it
(there were only 4). I certainly didn't enjoy them, for their
refreshment value, like I do the lagers.


All decent beer festivals will have a
range between very light hoppy beers through to dark malty beers with
everything in between, and with a wide range of taste.

None of which appeals to me. ;-)

But not all Lagers are the same albeit if brewed in the UK they may be
dumbed down a bit compared to what is available their original country
of origin.

Indeed. One of my favourite lagers, 'Kestrel Super' wasn't available
for a while but I believe has been taken over by a different brewery
(in Scotland). I think they referred to it as the 'Mother brew' (or
some such) and their other lighter offerings were taken from that.

Before that it was Carlsberg Special Brew, Colt 45 and Breaker.

Because I haven't been able to get Kestrel Super from my local 'offy',
, I've been drinking the Polish 'Karpackie Super' (also 9%) and that's
quite nice.

For something in between I sometimes go for the '5 for £6' type offers
and get a selection of Polish 4-6% lagers. Not had one yet I didn't
like, but I'm not sure I'm 'savouring the taste' like the RA lovers
seem to, but drinking it to cut though my thirst and drink the
stronger stuff if I know I'm not going to have to go out, my tinnitus
is a bit louder than usual and I want a good nights sleep. ;-)

I once went around the Heineken brewery in the Netherlands
and they were very proud about their worldwide presence showing, on
film, examples in many countries but with noticeable exception of the UK.

Oh. I think it might be Heineken that do a good alcohol free?


I tried doing some homebrew a few times. Typically 5g of lager, 5g of
'mild' (for the first Mrs) and 5g of 'bitter' (for my mates) and those
who would typically drink 'bitter' seemed to enjoy it, as did the Mrs
and her mild. I enjoyed the lager, just didn't have a fridge big
enough for the PolyKeg. ;-(

How long did you store your lager?

I'm not sure it was there long enough for me to consider mate. ;-)

Cheers! T i m