Hello
In order to shorten the transition from beer posting to comment (hmmm...) and thus question raising, I have decided to post the most pertinent questions of the issues again. Am glad you have read the reasoning behind these queries in my last post but wonder, and indeed need to know, if my protestations are incorrect or flawed!?
Please therefore see if there is an answer to the below, and if so feel free to respond to the following teasers :
1.Would better beer keep more pubs open and halt the decline of beer sales in pubs?
2. Given that mega regional's real ale is less distinct, and widely available, is there sufficient quality in the overall market to sustain interest, appreciation and growth in real ale?
3.If not, will and should the real ale industry promote and embrace less bland more consistent beers or will it fold under a cloud of mediocrity?
4. Finally : are the most commonly found beers actually not worth drinking or are they simply a victim of their success?
I hope we can see if these are far flung irrational premises or predictions that rightly chill us to the spine and require addressing.
What do you think?
All the best
Wee Beefy.
Now then my friend these are the questions we should keep in mind.And though ,quite rightly you are playing Devil's advocate,we should try to address them.The pub experience and quality real ales often provide just what we want,but how often are we satisfied with this offering,is it the exception or the norm.It seems to me that the efforts are commendable,but maybe the results just a little lacking.There are plenty of us out there,forming a considerable body of opinion......and we will be heard,because it makes sense,but we need to be out there and to be opinionated,otherwise what have we got?Maybe we can achieve the realisation of the Camra ideal and come to expect excellence rather than adequency,we don't have to set up a barricade but we can sink a glass or two.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment,as you will gauge from my next post I have not shrunk back from the responsibility to have a glass or two lately.
ReplyDeleteI like the use of the word commendable - I sometimes worry that, with endless thousands of breweries and beers to choose from, I have become a little spoilt. Its that very diversity which makes real ale such a joy, but inherently presents multiple problems - pub staff not being used to keeping a beer, customers not being used to drinking a particluar beer, people not knowing whether it drops bright and is quick to turn or whether you can leave it in the cellar for a month, etc.
It is commendable that brewers and pubs try and give us an enjoyable experience of so many differing types of beer, and I suppose for the reasons above, we should accept that does come with a certain degree of risk. Somehow drinkers will need to advise counsel and assist the industry through feedback, whilst retaining their perspective, and crucially, their thirst. WB