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Pub Guide

Opening Times

Issue 137 Winter 2008

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HALF PINTS

Real ale is bucking the trend of falling beer sales. Overall UK beer sales were down 4.5% this spring compared with last year, but real ale is edging closer to growth. Real ale sales declined by only 1.3% in 2007 and the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) reports record year-on-year growth of 11%.

Family brewers Harveys of Lewes in Sussex have announced higher sales and an 8% boost in pre-tax profits to £3.31 million for the year 2007.

Another family brewer, Batemans of Wainfleet in Lincolnshire, has seen rises in cask and bottled beer sales and turnover up by 14% to £11.41m in the year to the end of January 2008.

Wells and Youngs of Bedford are boosting their Courage brands with a £2 million investment, including a new logo and advertising campaign. A new ‘smooth’ nitrokeg version of Courage Best is included in the package, as well as the re-launch of Courage Directors in cans. Courage Best is the UK’s third biggest standard cask brand.

CAMRA is backing a campaign to enforce minimum prices to end irresponsible cut-price alcohol sales by retailers. The campaign, launched by ‘The Publican’ newspaper, suggests minimum prices based on 50p per unit of alcohol (£1.14 for a pint of beer containing 4% alcohol by volume). This would end prices such as 29p a pint for Skol lager seen recently in one supermarket. In Huntingdonshire, a CAMRA survey recently revealed average prices between 79p and 99p a pint for lager in supermarkets.

Meanwhile a government draft code of practice proposes a ban on ‘happy hour promotions’ in pubs amongst other proposed rules covering labelling, noise and training for the on-trade.

Chiswick brewer Fullers has launched ‘Brewers’ Reserve’, a limited edition 7.7% alcohol blend of 1845, ESB Export and Golden Pride that is matured in old whisky casks with the aim of introducing malt whisky flavours.

Hydes mild has shown increases sales of 12% since the rebranding of its cask light mild as Owd Oak in 2007.

Another North West family brewer, Thwaites of Blackburn, saw sales of its dark mild soar by 90% after renaming it Nutty Black.

CAMRA is calling for an investor to save Liverpool’s Cains brewery, which is in administration. The brewery has remained open for business and administrators have said that there has been some interest in the company.

Wetherspoons is offering real ales from around the world at its 18 day international real ale festival which runs at its pubs until November Wetherspoons announced that American, Australian, Danish and Japanese brewers had brewed festival beers at UK breweries including Banks’s and Shepherd Neame.