Great ideas put into action at the Cross Keys

The Cross Keys - Visit 2​

Henley, Ipswich​

Date of visit: 25.11.08​

Time of visit: 14.30​

Recommendations from last visit:​

• Badge up all handpulls regardless of whether a beer is being fed to them

• Utilise blackboards more effectively in the areas of the pub where the slatted ale board is not visible. The restaurant in particular.

• Range - too many beers on sale with too little throughput. Needs to revisit what is actually selling in quantity and reduce/increase range at quiet/peak periods

• Pricing structure: recommend three bands: session, premium and strong ales. All beer drinkers will be familiar with this pricing structure in line with the ABV of beers

• Cellar Management Training course strongly recommended

• Beer and Food matching opportunities strong - tie in with new 3663 menu

Overview:​

Mark is perhaps the most pro-active licensee in implementing actions suggested by all champions. I sat at the bar for 20 minutes whilst I waited for Mark and observed two regulars sat at the bar drinking beer. They were discussing the relative merits of other pubs in the area, and they could not have praised the quality (and price!) of the beer in the Cross Keys highly enough. The pub was warm and welcoming, half full of customers on a bleak Tuesday afternoon at 2.30. Maybe me getting more used to the layout of the pub, but Mark does seem to have clearly delineated the two areas of the pub - dining to the right, drinkers to the left.

Mark has clearly made the place his own - a real old fashioned landlord - and he admitted that customers like to see him there. He had a word with every customer in the place whilst we were talking.

Observations:​

1. Mark has acted on our last recommendations and decreased his range of real ales throughout the week to ensure quality. All beers were clearly merchandised on blackboards, and all handpulls were badged up - even if the beer was gravity fed from the cellar.

2. There are four beers on permanently throughout the week and five at weekends. A perry has been added to the range on handpull.

3. Mark has completely reviewed his pricing structure as suggested. Previously he was selling all cask ales at £2 per pint, which was affecting his GP and margins. During his summer beer festival he implemented a new pricing structure based on ABV - and continued it when the Beer Festival finished. He has now implemented a sensible structure:

• £2.10 for beer up to 3.9%

• £2.20 for beers between 4 and 4.4%

• £2.30 for beers over 4.5%

This is still incredibly competitive for the area, but he has had no loss of custom from implementing this strategy. He has constantly communicated the strategy to his customers and they have appreciated this. Nearest competition is still selling all cask ale at £2.50 a pint or above.

4. Cross Keys has a great entry in 2009 Good Beer Guide - this has brought further custom.

5. Mark has weighed up the options of connecting up the handpulls to the lines (see previous recommendation). However, he does have a rational argument in that he sees this as a real USP in his pub, and also he does not have line cleaning costs on his cask ales - therefore it outweighs the high energy costs in keeping the cellar cool. I fully support this argument (even though we cannot obtain Brulines data on his cask sales). He quotes the Dove Street Inn in Ipswich - a multiple award winning pub - which serves gravity fed cask and has made a huge success of this type of service.

6. Stocks and wastage: minimal on cask and will reduce price rather than waste stock. Always tastes beer to ensure good condition is maintained.

7. Cross Keys has analysed font usage and realised that two John Smiths Smooth fonts is a drain on resource (ie line cleaning) - therefore reducing to one font.

8. I recommended to Mark at last visit that he encourages customers to request their favourite real ales in a Beer Request Book as an additional service and to encourage repeat visits. Mark has developed a GREAT idea from this. He is getting drip mats printed for customers to fill in, requesting their favourite beer - but the beauty is, they have to fill in their personal details (name, address, email etc) so he is capturing a database at no cost other than the printing of the drip mats.

9. Currently looking at range of keg lagers on bar and reviewing range. Stocking Fosters/Carlsberg/Carlsberg EC. Is this range right for his customer base. Have suggested he invites all four multi nationals in for 'features and benefits' discussions on their brands and decides which fits his customer profile best.

10. Record Keeping; Cross Keys has implemented a record keeping system in the cellar. They record:

• When the beer is delivered

• When the beer is racked

• When the beer is vented and tapped

• When the beer goes on sale

• When the beer has to be sold by

This enables a communication system for the staff to 'push' a beer if there is a certain amount left on day three on sale. As a last resort Mark will reduce the price point, but is fully aware that this sends the wrong quality message to consumers. He has only had to do this with one beer and admits he ordered a beer that was too strong for most of his drinkers.

I have supplied Mark with template records for line cleaning, open up/close down checklists, temperature log documents.

11. As the pub is a destination pub, Mark has purchased some four pint carry out containers. These are going to be branded up with the pubs name which encourages customers to bring them back and get them refilled.

12. I carried out the first Cask Marque assessment of all beers on sale. Temperature, aroma and taste scored full marks - two of the beers had a slight cast on them therefore lost two marks on clarity. Second assessment will be carried out in Jan therefore ensuring accreditation pre-Easter.

13. Noticed some odd bottled ales lurking around on a shelf - suggested this be utilised for speciality Belgian beers.

Recommendations​

1. Mark, Louise and Shane (new full time member of staff) are to be trained up to ABCQ standard on Jan 6th. Training provided by Cask Marque.

2. Have asked Mark to contact James Clay and Cave Direct ref Belgian beers. They supply branded glassware with any purchase, therefore it enhances his beer offering.

3. Pre-budget report (released on same day) will implement reduction in VAT to 15%, but increase beer and tobacco duty. Have suggested to Mark that he remains static on retail price of beer but considers an increase in April next year after his VAT return is filed.

4. Once pub is fully Cask Marque accredited, we publicise this fact in the local area via press releases and local CAMRA.

5. Cross Keys to take part in National Cask Ale week 2009 - kit to be provided by Cask Marque.