Month: June 2020

I fully expect this Saturday to be a day of national madness. Remember what happened on Friday 20th March when Boris Johnson announced that the pubs would close later that night? The general public went down the pub for one last hurrah. That’s the British for you. Look at the beaches during the recent hot weather or reports of illegal raves, virus or no virus, we generally don’t like doing what we are told if we think we can get away with it. Give us a third and we will take a pint. This may stem from an inherent national rebellious streak or we could just be following the bad example of the cummings and goings of those in power.

A recent survey on the CAMRA Facebook group showed about a quarter of drinkers are not planning to return to pubs just yet, which will be a blessing in disguise, but one thing is for sure, if the sun is shining on 4th July pubs are going to be very busy and they will struggle to cope. The question isn’t if there will be a queue outside every single ‘Spoon’s come opening time, but if it stretches into the next postcode.

In the long term it is all about altering drinkers’ attitudes; not being able to get in to a pub because it is heaving is nothing new, but imagine being turned away because the place is “full”, even though it looks relatively empty? As a nation we have always enjoyed dropping in for a pint on a whim, as the Prime Minister described it: “The inalienable free-born right of people born in England to go to the pub” but that has now changed, for a while at least.

No matter how prepared the pubs may be they still face a massive challenge as they adapt to a very different world. Rumours were that the big pub chains were given draft guidelines weeks back, but for the smaller pub estates and independents there was only silence until last Wednesday; to be blunt there hasn’t been time for them to read, digest and act accordingly. Yes, some of the recommendations are common sense but what about those that require extra thought and planning? Let’s hope that the general public will be understanding and patient, even after the fifth pint.

The big question however is why a Saturday? Why not mid-week, say Wednesday 1st July? That way the new measures could be trialed before the inevitable massive piss up at the weekend, who in their right mind thought that date was a good idea?

With the immediate future looking like booking tables in advance or queuing outside like we are panic buying toilet rolls, things are going to be strange but given time the pub trade and the drinkers will adapt. We’ve shown that we are bloody good at that these last few months, but for the time being is it any wonder that some places are choosing to remain closed? Those who have that luxury of being able to watch and wait are making a wise decision, even if they hold off for a week or two it’ll allow the novelty to wear off and for the new normal to sink in. Like a dog isn’t just for Christmas, a pub isn’t just for 4th July.

Inevitably some places will be forced to open; those that have struggled financially through Lockdown will have to grin and bear it through what is likely to be a collective release of pent up frustration and l wish them all the luck in the world. Out of everybody it’ll be the hardworking publicans and their staff who will really deserve a drink this Saturday.

As the nation’s pubs wait patiently for a decision from the Government as to when and how they can reopen, one place that is in no hurry to return to normal is Burton upon Trent’s Brews Of The World. Unlike the other pubs in town, BOTW have managed to stay open, after a fashion, throughout Lockdown.

“We lost a week’s trading at the end of March when the restrictions were first applied but reopened as soon as the Government announced that off-licences were on the list of essential businesses. Can’t argue with that!” Laughs Chris McCormack. “We are at about 50-60% of our usual takings which is higher than we thought, considering that we have reduced our current opening hours by more than half. Being open seven days a week definitely helps, we could continue in this manner indefinitely; all bills, invoices etc. are getting paid and we are still ordering new stock on a regular basis. The £10,000 grant from the Government has helped as well, however it would be great to get back to how we were sooner rather than later; many regulars have become more than just customers, they have become friends.”

As for allowing restricted drinking in the shop?

“The thought of a table booking scheme …” muses Chris, shaking his head. “… timed drinking slots … kind of flies in the face of what social drinking is all about; peaceful relaxation downtime to enjoy a great beer, not having a bald bugger standing over you whilst tapping his watch in your direction!”

“Our stand point is all or nothing; so whilst it is nothing we can’t contemplate opening back up to the masses by excluding 80% of our loyal drinkers to accommodate 20% of a select few. We certainly would not wish to alienate our valued customers that we have worked so hard to please in the past two and a half years of being in business.”

Brews Of The World first opened in 2017 exclusively as a Bottle Shop before expanding into a successful pub specialising in Craft Beers and Lagers last year.

“It was not uncommon for us to have over forty people in on a weekend evening; besides, we would have to turn more people away than could actually drink inside whilst the Two Metre Rule is in place. I know that there are many other places to drink but folk do travel from out of town to try our more unusual stuff. Wasted journeys could lose customers rather than attract them. Could you imagine going out for a beer not knowing whether or not you might be allowed in once you got there?”

The biggest hurdle Chris and co-owner Robin Ludlow face is that of the shop layout which, like much of the rest of the world, was not designed with Social Distancing in mind.

“We would find it difficult to accommodate drinkers whilst maintaining Social Distancing guidelines,” Chris observes. “We have just the one room with limited ventilation opportunities, unless the door is kept open and then you have the constant stationary traffic at the lights to contend with, which isn’t pleasant. Our toilets are at the back of the shop down a narrow corridor and there is no option for a one-way system due to one door in the middle of the frontage. All things considered our decision at the moment is to continue as an Off-License until restrictions are more suited to our premises.”

With so much emphasis placed on the importance of the NHS during the COVID-19 crisis, BOTW worked in collaboration with Carl Stout from the Devonshire Arms and Mandy Addis from The Coopers Tavern to raise money for the local hospital.

“Carl dropped in and suggested that we could take some of his short-dated or out of date casks to sell for charity; he would have had to dispose of the beer otherwise. We took four casks: Burton Bridge Bitter (4.2%), Ashover Waimea (Pale, 4.6%), Church End Goats Milk (Pale, 2017 Champion Beer of Britain, 3.8%) and Church End Fallen Angel (Bitter, 5%). These four ales were very well received by our customers at £2 per pint and we raised £150 for the Derby and Burton Hospitals Charity. We also took a number of bottles of Guinness Original and Brothers Cider from Mandy; they were also coming to the end of their shelf lives and needed selling. These went for £1.50 each and raised another £50 for Derby and Burton Hospitals Charity. We’re also currently offering a 10% discount for NHS staff with all purchases on production of ID.”

BOTW’s biggest and most consistent seller is White Shield, they’ve sold around 2,600 bottle in total or about a week, however Lockdown has meant that the supply has dried up!

“We will have wait another week or so to get that back in! We sold out of the Amundsen specials that we had in about four days, the German lagers and wheat beers move through quite quick and we’ve sold out of Tynt Meadow a couple of times …”

Chris and Robin have had to adapt by limiting stock levels and reducing opening hours, as an independent shop that do not have corporate backing, but at all times the health and safety of both themselves and their customers have been at the front of their minds.

“The situation is starting to improve, we are delighted that The Dog has reopened and are encouraged by the way that Cask2Couch is working for the Last Heretic,” says a hopeful Chris. “I’m sure that our customers will be willing to return once safe to do so. It will be one hell of a party when we can, I’m sure of that!”