Fabio Capello last night let slip England's new-found secret of success - he let his players swig beer the evening before they socked it to Slovenia. The wily coach - accused of being too strict - eased his rules to help the stars relax. He invited Rooney, Gerrard & Co to join him for a cold lager at the team hotel. His "beer we go" tactic paid off as England turned in a much-improved performance to reach the last 16 of the World Cup - The Sun
Capital Pub Company has seen a rise in profit - fuelled by real ale sales during the World Cup.The group - which has 28 pubs and has plans to own up to 50 within three years - yesterday reported a 32 per cent profit jump to £2.7m. Revenues rose by 11 per cent to £22m in the year to the end of March, and the company said it was relieved there had been no duty hike on alcohol in the Budget. Chief executive Clive Watson attributed the strong figures to booming sales of real ales, saying central London pubs have been packed with football fans following teams from around the world. He said: "Real ales have been very popular with our customers. We think the gastro-pub thing was overblown. The World Cup has been good for London pubs because it is so multicultural." - City AM
Now THAT'S a pub crawl! Meet the great eccentric who's taken 26 years to drink 8,500 pints in 17,000 pubs, from Cornwall to the Shetlands...Stuart Ashby is a walking advert for the magical health-giving properties of the great British boozer.Trim, tanned and much younger-looking than his 60 years, he should be adopted as a goodwill ambassador by Fuller's - the brewer of his favourite beer, London Pride. Stuart has drunk in more British pubs than any man or woman in history. As you read this, he is on holiday, ticking off his 17,000th pub and his 8,500th pint. That's more than 1,000 gallons of ale in all. Last week, Stuart completed the latest heroic stage in a 25,000-mile, 26-year, beer-drinking marathon - Daily Mail
Asda, Britain's second-largest supermarket, has emerged as the biggest discounter of alcoholic drinks in the opening days of the football World Cup in South Africa. On Tuesday, the Wal-Mart-owned chain's prices on a wide range of brands were 7 per cent cheaper compared to identical products on 22 June 2009. Asda was selling a pack of eight bottles of Bulmers Original Cider for £8 on Tuesday - 41 per cent cheaper than the £13.48 in June 2009. A 660ml bottle of Stella Artois cost £1 on the same day, a third less than last year's price, although the price of some brands was actually higher - The Independent