Pubs in the media
Pubs in the papers: Smoking in Irish pubs, Newcastle PubWatch...and David Cameron's Brexit toilets
It’s (still) all about craft
The Sunday Times featured a new piece on microbreweries this week, focusing on Crate Brewery in east London and several other operations.
The piece was the latest in a long string of national stories about small-batch brewers in recent years, following the explosion on such operations across the UK.
Highlightling the often quoted figure of 1,500 breweries in the UK, the piece claimed ‘artisan’ brewing was a continuing trend – although it highlighted the problem of overproduction.
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/its-all-hands-to-the-pumps-for-craft-beer-3kl73952b
Another similar piece appeared in the Guardian, focusing on brewpubs
The paper spoke to the head brewers of the Cambridge Brew House and Bath Brew House about the reasons for getting into the profession.
Mark Burton of the Cambridge Brew House summed up the career path well: "I love seeing people drinking my beer."
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/may/12/beer-brewing-career-brewpubs-uk
New craft beer bar in Hackney sees scene's forefather come back
The news of a new craft beer bar in Hackney isn't normally that newsworthy - but the owners of the newest outlet are unique.
Ed Mason, who also runs the successful Five Points Brewery, has announced his return to pub operations four years after selling his Shoreditch site, Mason & Taylor, to Brewdog for its first east London site.
The new operator, called Mason & Company, includes Rachel Jones' popular Italian street food firm, Capish!, in what will be her first permanent site in a pub having previously featured at a number of pubs, including ETM venues - although it will still exist in the food market scene.
This is another unusual move, as traditionally street-food vendors, including Capish! have taken 'residencies' in pubs rather than becoming directly involved in the overall business.
Mason told the Standard: "“Mason and Taylor was one of London’s very first craft beer pubs and I was really proud of it,” says Mason. “We opened around the same time that Kernel and Camden Town breweries started and we felt like we were very much part of the craft beer scene that was kicking off. I sold it in 2012 in order to focus on the launch of Five Points, but the plan was always to open a successor bar once the brewery was established — that time is now.”
Jones said: “Having a permanent site allows us to do a lot more than on the street where there are always limitations.”
Health minister calls for smoking in Irish pubs
A junior Irish health minister has claimed that smokers should be allowed to light up in pubs across the country.
But the controversial view, held by Finian McGrath, is unlikely to become government policy anytime soon. He said it was a ‘private, personal view’.
McGrath mentioned how designated smoking areas in pubs and bars across the EU had worked.
New Pubwatch system clamps down on Newcastle troublemakers.
Local Newcastle paper, the Chronicle, revealed how city centre pubs and bars have joined up to share pictures and information about those committing crimes in licensed premises.
The system has already been trialled elsewhere in other major cities, and was covered by the PMA upon launch in October 2015.
An online voting system allows licensees to ban customers on a short-term basis quickly and efficiently.
Read more: http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/troublemakers-could-barred-newcastle-pubs-11334643
Urinals ‘could be removed’ from British pubs after Brexit
Obviously, a joke story this, courtesy of the Commentator website – and based on the fact urinals are patented under European law.
Worth checking out for some amusing ‘comments’ from Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney.
Read more: http://www.thecommentator.com/article/6313/breaking_cameron_to_announce_urinals_in_british_pubs_would_be_removed_after_brexit
