Industry sales figures suggest that real ale, often characterised as a drink favoured by old men in dusty pubs, is gaining ground against lager, the carbonated version of beer. Separate data also indicated that sales of bottled beer, frequently more expensive ales and niche beers, were increasing at supermarkets while beer in cans, invariably cheap lager, had seen a sales fall. According to the Beer and Pub Association, ale's share of the overall beer market last year crept up from 20.4 per cent to 20.6 per cent the year before. Lager still predominates, but its share slipped a fraction from 74.5 to 74.3 per cent - The Telegraph
It is not often you are greeted by a man in a top hat and waistcoat when alighting from a train. But perhaps it should be no surprise that the station master at Lymington is dressed as grandly as the Fat Controller. After all, this is the place with the reputation of being "too posh for Argos". The attractive Hampshire harbour town drew plenty of headlines when residents saw off plans for the catalogue shop to open a store there. Now, local anger has defeated a potential new invader on the high street - the pub chain Wetherspoon's - leading to the question: is this the snootiest place in Britain, or just the most discerning? - The Independent
Almost one in eight young teenagers in Wales has been forced to cope with a drunken friend who was sick, injured or unconscious, according to figures released today. The finding, by the British Red Cross, is seen by an alcohol charity and leading medical expert as further proof of the damage the nation's binge-drinking culture is doing to its children - Wales Online
The SNP has hit out at a Labour bid to scupper plans for some areas to ban under-21s from buying alcohol.MSPs have already thrown out the idea of a blanket ban. But now Labour deputy health spokesman Richard Simpson wants to amend the Scottish Government's Alcohol Bill to remove the clause allowing local licensing boards to introduce their own bans on off-sale purchases - The Scotsman