What's your Wetherspoons number?

[Kim]

Thinking about calories, I think think they print the calorie counts for each menu item. Who the fuck wants a menu that tells you that?

Audaxers.

[Chris S]

@Chris - I've been in enough of them to know that some of them stand out in terms of architecture or setting in a way that McDonald's or Starbucks outlets don't. They are also good at supporting local  breweries which adds variety. That said I wouldn't want them to be the only pub in (a) town.

Don't get me wrong - they clearly fulfil a role; I've eaten in, and drunk in, many, as the need arose. But they're nearly always forgettable. Some aren't. The one in Bury St Edmunds is great; Sleaford - less so.

[ian]

Life is short and there are Wetherspoons in Hell. Leastways there was one in West Abyss the least time I was there. You don't want to meet the daytime drinkers there. There's damned and there's really fucking damned.

[citoyen]

They are also good at supporting local breweries

This is true. The Cushing usually has a good selection of local beers in its line-up, and for that I applaud them.

They're a bit like Halfords, though, in that it's pot luck if you find a branch that's run by people who know what they're doing, or care. I've had some very good pints in Wetherspoons, and some very bad ones. The beer in the Cushing is usually excellent, which is the only reason I ever go in there. I certainly don't go in there for the food, or the decor, or the company, or the atmosphere.

They specialise in buying near to end date batches at a reduced rate.

I've heard this rumour many times but I've never seen any evidence that it's true.

[citoyen]

On his pricing policy he laughed again and, before I could pose the question, said: “You’re going to ask me about ‘short dated beer’ – well, we don’t do it.” This is the persistent rumour that Wetherspoon buy beer that’s close to its sell-by date from brewers. “The beer we sell is the freshest you can get. We buy 90 to 95% per cent of Greene King’s production of Ruddles. Beers from micros sell faster than anyone else’s and we take beer from 50% of the country’s micros.
“Our margins are half what Greene King or other pubcos charge. We make less profit per barrel but we sell a lot of barrels per pub. So do Sam Smith’s and Joseph Holt but they have less ambitious opening plans.”

http://protzonbeer.co.uk/features/2012/09/16/beer-taxes-stop-crippling-pubs-says-w-spoon-boss-in-plea-to-government

[Exit Stage Left]

I'm just back from the Eagle and Child, in Leyland. A pub I've been going in since 1974. It's a 16th Century building by origin, and always been real ale. It used to be Burtonwood, a Warrington Brewery. It's now Marstons. I've always rated Pedigree, it's on a par with Bass as the archetypal Burton bitter.

Marstons are the unsung success story of the pub business. They're bigger than Wetherspoons, and have a more diverse estate, with proper old tied houses in their portfolio. They also do Sunday lunch destination pubs on retail parks.

https://www.ft.com/content/d9aab1b4-4795-3600-9b35-cc95cbfb4a9a

I want my regular beer to come from a large brewery in Burton-on-Trent, and to be consistently kept. I'm pretty happy with Marston's stewardship of th'Eagle. The Old Original Ship, in Leyland, is now an electrical wholesalers, and an ex-pub in Bamber Bridge is now a funeral directors, and another an accountant's office.
The worst I've seen was in Barnoldswick, where the superb, stone-built, Seven Stars is now also a funeral directors. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.9152899,-2.1894783,3a,75y,315.21h,76.66t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s0bRhsVKGsFFmW9PBo9I7hQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

Ironically, one source of income for the Eagle and Child is funeral teas, as it's next to the church, and there's huge amounts of free car-parking in the middle of Leyland.

[Mr Larrington]

Thinking about calories, I think think they print the calorie counts for each menu item. Who the fuck wants a menu that tells you that?

Pizza Hut¹ customers on this side of the pond, apparently.

1: There are some days when only the filthiest of Dirty Pizzas will suffice.  Last week contained about three of them.

[essexian]

The one in Forest Hill is an old cinema. It's interesting inside, though I would have preferred the cinema. The one in South Croydon is an old theatre. I'd have... you get the idea.

The only two I have ever been in: The Picture House Stafford and the one on the hill in Redditch (can't remember its name) both used to be cinema's. As I don't drink alcohol, I don't really have much call for entering pubs but I do have a thing for old cinema's, hence my interest.

This is a most interesting website, if you have some hours to spare....   http://cinematreasures.org/theaters?status=closed

[L CC]

I go past there on a Sunday lunchtime and marvel at the couples staring glumly at their desultory lunch and pint of Stella, avoiding all eye contact and conversation.

Audaxers?

I reckon I've been in more than a dozen- but I'm neither a beer snob drinker, nor a hypocritical Waitrose-loving left winger who hates the working class jobless.

[I'm a different kind of hypocrit]

[Wascally Weasel]

I've survived the one in South Croydon

The Skylark?

I went there yesterday to see the local games club in progress (A friend told me that one lot would be playing Scythe, a game I own but haven’t played yet and I wanted to watch a few turns in progress to get an idea of the flow of the game and which of my friends would like it).

On the way in a bloke on the way out asked me “You’re not going in there are you?”

“Yes” I said because I was.

“I wouldn’t mate, it’s a c**t pub”.¹

I’m guessing he is barred or something.  What on earth do you have to do to get barred from Wetherspoons?



1. Ironically one of the games group was the ex-partner of a friend of mine and I’ve been trying to avoid him for about sixteen years so the angry chap wasn’t 100% wrong.

[LEE]

I want my regular beer to come from a large brewery in Burton-on-Trent, and to be consistently kept.

I want mine to come from a micro-brewery, as close to the pub as possible. 
I love the ascent of the micro-brewery, it's made our Thursday evening pub rides a joy.  No longer faced with the same 4 choices in every pub, most pubs around here now have an ever changing choice.

As for Wetherspoons, our local one doesn't inspire me to go in any more of them (although I have) although it's handy if you DO want to sit outside with a breakfast lager before the betting shop opens I suppose. 
They do keep some nice/historic buildings open that an independent couldn't afford to.  That in itself is a good thing and is one less Poundshop or boarded up shop.

[ian]

Yes, that's it, The Skylark. It's not that bad, it's the 'nice' part of Croydon. I'm not sure I'd brave the one on George St. I've had the occasional drink in there, mostly because the only other pubs in the area are the £6 for a pint of Stella variety or feature a changing selection of Croydon's wayward youth. Plus it has a handy toilet (for reasons, I occasionally swap buses at the stop outside, and there's a couple of decentish restaurants thereabouts).

Like I say, Wetherspoon's success seems to be mostly down the dire state of pubs in general, they don't really have to try that hard. Admittedly they do save a number of buildings from turning into another block of contemporary, luxurious lateral living spaces.

I'm liking our local micropub, offers a good selection of ever-changing beers. Those and taprooms are my bent these days, fresh, decent beer, at reasonable prices. I find ordinary pubs a bit grim. Cheap food and expensive generic beer. Or the trendy THUMP THUMP YOU WHAT? PARDON? THUMP THUMP.

[Exit Stage Left]

I've tried the two micropubs in Leyland, and they seem to sell beers in two styles; sludgy, or tasting of grapefruit. It's at room temperature, as they don't have cellars.

I assume that the glorified home-brewers who make this stuff are out to avoid comparison with the bitter from established breweries.

Pedigree is creeping up in price, I paid £2.80 a pint last night, a scandal.

[Wascally Weasel]

Yes, that's it, The Skylark. It's not that bad, it's the 'nice' part of Croydon.

The Dragon a bit further up the High Street is nicer but more expensive.

[ian]

Keykegs and a Lindr machines are a cheap way (well, <£1500) for micropubs to serve non-cask, chilled beer.

Does the world need more generic lager and bitter? I doubt it. Bring on the those grapefruit IPAs, I say.

[madcow]

They specialise in buying near to end date batches at a reduced rate.  They know they can turn it over at their prices.

Beer. That is.

I think that this is how they started out and it has remained as a generalisation of how they do business.
No company of that size could offer continuity to the huge number of customers by following that model on a long term basis. As they seem to be the major outlet for beers such as Doom Bar (which I only ever see in 'Spoons), my guess is that they have some pretty tasty deals with a few breweries and they perpetuate the myth to cover their tracks.
For the breweries the deals will not be  overly profitable but they will secure  a core volume of production  meaning that fixed costs are covered.
The profit  comes from selling to other outlets at higher prices than they would to Tim. W.

[citoyen]

Does the world need more generic lager and bitter? I doubt it. Bring on the those grapefruit IPAs, I say.

Tbh, I don't think the world needs any more generic grapefruit IPAs either.

[LEE]

Does the world need more generic lager and bitter? I doubt it. Bring on the those grapefruit IPAs, I say.

Exactly this.  I like the surprise of trying something new.  "Ale of Wight" last week (OK, the Isle of Wight is not local ...but it's still Hampshire).

Grapefuit, Lemon, sludgy...bring 'em on.

Having said that I've never knowingly walked past a pint of Timothy Taylor's Landlord.

A couple of weeks ago we were camping in Devizes in Wiltshire which made Wadworth beers "local"..no bad thing.

My home town of Stockport gave me a taste for Mild (Robinsons Brewery) as I grew up although "Bitter" & "Mild" had been replaced by more marketable names, like "Dizzy Blonde", last time I was up there and I couldn't find one that was like the Mild of my formative (and rather blurry) years. 

I'm proud to have a very high "Robinsons Number".

[citoyen]

my guess is that they have some pretty tasty deals with a few breweries and they perpetuate the myth to cover their tracks.
For the breweries the deals will not be  overly profitable but they will secure  a core volume of production  meaning that fixed costs are covered.
The profit  comes from selling to other outlets at higher prices than they would to Tim. W.

Wetherspoons' success is down to undercutting the traditional tied house model, where the brewery decides the price at which it sells beer to its landlords, usually somewhat inflated. And the landlord doesn't have any choice but to pay it.

Being freehouses, Wetherspoons can afford to shop around for the best deal, and being a large chain selling in vast quantities, can afford to cut their profit margins to the minimum. It's a simple yet highly effective business model.

The guff about buying short-dated beer just doesn't stand up to scrutiny - not on the scale that Wetherspoons operate at. They don't perpetuate the myth, they actively deny it, as per the interview I quoted earlier.

[LEE]

my guess is that they have some pretty tasty deals with a few breweries and they perpetuate the myth to cover their tracks.
For the breweries the deals will not be  overly profitable but they will secure  a core volume of production  meaning that fixed costs are covered.
The profit  comes from selling to other outlets at higher prices than they would to Tim. W.

Wetherspoons' success is down to undercutting the traditional tied house model, where the brewery decides the price at which it sells beer to its landlords, usually somewhat inflated. And the landlord doesn't have any choice but to pay it.

Being freehouses, Wetherspoons can afford to shop around for the best deal, and being a large chain selling in vast quantities, can afford to cut their profit margins to the minimum. It's a simple yet highly effective business model.

The guff about buying short-dated beer just doesn't stand up to scrutiny - not on the scale that Wetherspoons operate at. They don't perpetuate the myth, they actively deny it, as per the interview I quoted earlier.

Exactly, Wetherspoons operate a "stack it high, sell it cheap" model.  Nothing wrong with that at all, but people can't simultaneously complain about the village local closing down whilst supping in Wetherspoons.  It's like shopping in Tesco and moaning there are no traditional Butchers any more.

[Exit Stage Left]

I'm happy if my brewery is visible from space, and has at least one cricket pitch. It comes from growing up surrounded by mega-factories.

[citoyen]

Exactly, Wetherspoons operate a "stack it high, sell it cheap" model.  Nothing wrong with that at all, but people can't simultaneously complain about the village local closing down whilst supping in Wetherspoons.  It's like shopping in Tesco and moaning there are no traditional Butchers any more.

Village locals are often tied houses with little choice over the beers they sell, and no opportunity to compete with the likes of Wetherspoons on price. The death of many village pubs is down to short-sightedness on the part of the breweries that own them.

One of my locals was a Shepherd Neame tied house that always served an excellent pint and had a lovely atmosphere. They were also one of the few remaining pubs to still have a bat and trap pitch in the garden. Some people might be a bit sniffy about SN beers, but there's nothing wrong with a well-kept pint of Master Brew. But SN refused to invest any money in the place, and when the landlady of 30+ years retired, didn't bother to replace her, just sold it off.

[citoyen]

I'm happy if my brewery is visible from space, and has at least one cricket pitch. It comes from growing up surrounded by mega-factories.

Is that Bass?

[simonp]

Thinking about calories, I think think they print the calorie counts for each menu item. Who the fuck wants a menu that tells you that?

Audaxers.

Exactly. Though I think 1000+ calories for scampi and chips was optimistic given the portion size.

[Martin]

A few years ago spoons started selling Greene King IPA for 99p; GK were not best pleased as they charged upwards of £3 in their own tied houses. So they started brewing Ruddles again (for spoons only AFAIK) which is now their bottom end bitter in spoons along with Carlsberg and the preferred glug of the "day care" clientele

I remember Sainsbury's Rutland Bitter (Ruddles) which came in 2l brown PET bottles