Everards tenant Phil Jones tells Ewan Turney how a passion for real ale has helped increase turnover 30% in three months at the Black Horse, Aylestone, Leicester
How I got here
When I was at university I got my first job delivering real ale. When I left I worked for four years as the duty manager at the Wig & Mitre in Leicester and then for a year at the Red Lion in Caythorpe, Lincolnshire. At that point I decided to go into computer
programming and took a four-year course at De Montfort University in Leicester. During that time I had part-time jobs at Welford Place pub and Vaults, both in Leicester. I moved to Ireland and worked for three years as a computer programmer for airline reservation systems and for two years at IBM. But I missed pubs and their special atmosphere - I love the buzz and the natter. When I came back in 2003 I managed the Swan & Rushes for a year, then the Bull's Head at Ratby, Leicestershire, before moving to the Black Horse in October 2006.
Why my pub is a success
1. Real ale: The beer was OK when I arrived and the pub was in The Good Beer Guide but the range was not tremendous - two ales and a guest beer. Today we have seven real ales - five of which are from Everards plus two guest beers. They are all of good quality and consistency. Almost 80% of my turnover is from draught beer and 50% of that is cask ale.
2. Greeting place: It is a greeting place where the alcohol is ancillary to meeting up. A lot
of people come in every day and have six
pints so as long as the beer remains of a
good quality they will continue to do that.
This is a decent pub where people come for a drink and a chat and don't feel compelled to have a meal. We hardly do any food.
3. Host: In the first few weeks I spent as much time as I could at the pub getting to know the customers and what they liked and wanted. I think that is important. One of my regulars has followed me from my old pub and when he talks to his mates he says "Let's go to Phil's pub!" - that's really heart-warming. I have also called my website www.philspub.co.uk.
My tips for cask ale
In terms of time and effort, keeping real ale is no harder than owning a dog - I have two of those - and it is more rewarding. Here are some good tips:
1. Quantity: Don't stock too many ales - only have as much as you can sell, as cask ale has a short shelf life.
2. Cleaning: Cleanliness is next to godliness. There is no substitute to cleaning your pipes every week. Every week it makes me cry watching the beer being washed out of the lines, but you can save it and use it for gravy.
3. Test: Drink it yourself and be seen drinking it. Every now and then, make sure you have a quick half or quarter. If you have a quarter, especially, it shows people that you are drinking it to test it. I try them all every day to make sure they are of a good quality.
Staff training
The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) and Everards consulted me on the Cyclops tasting system, which uses simple imagery and wording to explain taste, smell and look. I think it is a good system and it is very handy to have on the back of a pump clip for staff, so that when a customer asks what this or that ale is like they can answer "it is straw-coloured, hoppy with a bitter aroma", for example.
We take a more informal approach to staff training. If there is a new beer on, I encourage them to try it, even if they don't like bitter. Eventually they will find one they like.
My beer festivals
I held my first beer festival here from 2 to 4 March. I had 10 beers on as well as my normal range. The next one, which we are planning to hold in September, is on a grander scale. We plan to use the skittle alley and get between 12 and 18 beers in, have a brass band and jazz and a hog roast.
Here are a few key issues to think about when running a festival:
1. Village event: The key is bringing people into the pub and also trying to get a mention in the local paper. It is not necessarily about selling lots of beer. People can smell a hog roast from 200 yards away - I would say only one in four actually come for the beer itself. One
of the silliest festivals I did was when we booked a samba band and it went down a storm, but the cost was far beyond our budget. Everybody in the village heard it and it became a village event.
2. Costs: The turnover is high, but the costs are also high, so you have to be careful. I probably have double staff numbers on duty. Don't fall into the trap of trying to flog the beer cheaply, - stick to your normal GP. People may think there is something wrong with cheap beer. The entertainment will cost me about £800
for September.
3. Programme: I have printed my own programmes in the past, but that is quite time- consuming. This time I may get in touch with a company I've heard about, which prints glossy programmes free as long as you allow them to sell advertising in it. I also print out tasting notes on A4 and put them up next to the beers.
My Star Wars karaoke
I wouldn't say I'm obsessed with Star Wars, but I am a fan. When I was chatting online I realised 4 May was Star Wars day - May the 4th be with you, and all that. It was 30 years since the original film was released. So we booked a karaoke and organised a Star Wars fancy-dress night. We downloaded alternative Star Wars lyrics to songs from the internet. Instead of Copacabana, it was Star Wars Cantina. We also had prizes for the best and worst fancy dress, Star Wars cocktails such as Tatooine Sunrise and Star Wars nibbles such as Wookiee Cookiees. It was a good, cheesy night.
I came as Darth Vader. If you are running the type of pub where you are on first name terms with your customers and know what they drink, you have to be willing to get up and be the biggest idiot in the place. Don't be afraid to make a fool of yourself.
We do karaoke every six weeks or so, but I would never do it weekly, otherwise it would be the same people singing the same dozen songs and it would put customers off.
My brewery course
I was one of six licensees selected for the first Everards Gold Standard brewery course. The focus is very much on the quality side and it was a fantastic course. I never thought a one-hour lecture on detergents could be so interesting, but it was, as it showed you what can grow in your lines if they are not cleaned. With the help of the brewers we designed our own beer and then brewed it at the micro-brewery at the Brunswick pub in Derby. We could then sell the Publican's Pride Ale in our pubs.
My off-trade fear
I think the threat from the off-trade is a significant one. The quality of canned and bottled beers has increased, while they are being sold at terrifyingly low prices. I can't compete on price, but I can compete on what happens while people are drinking that beer. Life is so much better when you are talking to friends and taking the mickey out of them, rather than sitting at home. I have also started writing a series of articles on my website about how much better beer is served at the pub.
My Pub
Tenure: Everards three-year rolling tenancy
Rent: £45,000 pa
Turnover: £400,000 net pa
Turnover increase: 30% in last three months
Barrelage: circa 500 a year
Wet:dry split: 99:1
Wage bill: 9% of turnover
GP beer: 45%
Staff: one full-time and five part-time
Ales: Seven on handpull
Awards: Leicester Camra Pub of the Month, March 2007