Reasons for going to pubs

[sheffield hatter]

I mentioned a couple of these in another thread:

Trying out new beers that haven't been available anywhere else...

Or that have been tried in bottle or can but there's a possibilty they could be better in cask or keg.

Drinking well remembered beers that aren't available in the same quality in bottles or cans.

Meeting friends or family for a chat without having to put your house in order first.

Bumping into people you don't know, or haven't seen for a long time.

Being acknowledged by staff or regulars as someone they recognise even though neither of you particularly wants to start a conversation.

Appreciation of the architecture or ancient features of a pub building or interior.


...to be continued

[bcfczuluarmy]

OCD due to the internet? Give a man a list and a red Stadler biro comes out and a spreadsheet starts....

[sheffield hatter]

OCD due to the internet? Give a man a list and a red Stadler biro comes out and a spreadsheet starts....

Damn. You've seen right through me. (Apart from Stadler.)

[Aqualung]

In my case I started out by going to all the pubs from an independent brewery and I suspect that the late Alan Winfield also started that way. I'm still doing it to a degree having felt a compulsion to visit or revisit all the Batham & Holden pubs. JDW followed more by accident really but it took me to many places I would never have visited, Corby being a prime example! I was thinking of trying to go round the Holt's estate until I noticed that every one I saw from the bus was advertising live football.
I still have the same distrust of the large pubcos and global abominations that I had for the Big Six breweries back in the day. The sad thing is that I no longer trust Young's, Fuller's, McMullen's, Marston's, Greene King and Robinson's. It was a different matter back in the day.

[Mobyduck]

The sad thing is that I no longer trust Young's, Fuller's, McMullen's, Marston's, Greene King and Robinson's. It was a different matter back in the day.
I too tend to distrust such outlets, the trouble is completely shunning them can mean missing out on some really nice pubs, even if the beer is overpriced crap. Depends where you sit on the beer/pub see-saw,I'm slightly unbalanced (pun intended) toward the beer end, but I do like a good pub and sometimes make sacrifices like my pint of Bass (other beers were available ) in The Star Inn , (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/3/) Bath a couple of weeks ago, (review to follow shortly, probably when all the pubs are closed), not a chain pub just the beers weren't to my taste, but a pub not to be missed.

[Thuck Phat]

Cask Beer.

[Bucking Fastard]

Reliquifying -- On a hot day when working very hard outside (think..descending the 26 locks of the Cheshire flight on the Trent & Mersey known as Heatbreak Hill in a morning ) the Cheshire Cheese (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/68503/),Wheelock will always get a visit.Last July various real ales,sparkling ciders in bottles and lager were all used to slake the thirst.Surprising how much can be consumed without a trip to the gents.

Harks back to the days when the steelworkers shift finished and they arrived at pubs with their beer tokens in hand.

[Aqualung]

I too tend to distrust such outlets, the trouble is completely shunning them can mean missing out on some really nice pubs, even if the beer is overpriced crap. Depends where you sit on the beer/pub see-saw,I'm slightly unbalanced (pun intended) toward the beer end, but I do like a good pub and sometimes make sacrifices like my pint of Bass (other beers were available ) in The Star Inn , (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/3/) Bath a couple of weeks ago, (review to follow shortly, probably when all the pubs are closed), not a chain pub just the beers weren't to my taste, but a pub not to be missed.

The ones I shun completely from my list are Fuller's, Young's and McMullen's. I've been to most of the older outlets before. I'm getting very close to completely avoiding Marston outlets. Banks's (and Hanson's) pubs used to be an attraction but not today. You can't even be sure if they will have the two main Banks's beers. The most recent "new" one I've been to is the brewery tap in Wolverhampton. It was a huge disappointment as it had all been knocked into one big room and had obtrusive TVs with the sound on everywhere. I should have included Wadworth on the list, mainly because I've never been that keen on their beers but the watering down of 6X was the final straw. When I went to Devizes to visit the JDW I didn't go to a single Wadworth outlet.

The best pint of Robinson's Trooper I had was keg in a really grotty place near Stockport Station. It was less than £3.00 a pint.

I went to the Star in Bath years ago and was disappointed by the beer range even then. It's a Heineken pub which is a minus and I wouldn't bother returning. The fact that it sells Bass means it's not even a serious proposition. Bath and Winchester used to be favoured destinations but are now just an expensive waste of time.
Unrelated, but the JDW in Bath is awful!

[sheffield hatter]

The ones I shun completely ... I'm getting very close to completely avoiding ...

The title of this thread is Reasons for going to pubs, but you're giving us all your reasons for avoiding certain categories of pub! This was meant to be an invitation for people to share what they like about pubs and the joy they get from their visits. You're just being grumpy.

[Aqualung]

The title of this thread is Reasons for going to pubs, but you're giving us all your reasons for avoiding certain categories of pub! This was meant to be an invitation for people to share what they like about pubs and the joy they get from their visits. You're just being grumpy.
I was replying directly to Moby's post. The reasons for not going to certain pubs are relevant to which pubs you actually visit and if you disagree then tough.

[RealAleRobUK]

Cask Beer.

100% this. I drink plenty of beer at home, but you can't beat a decent pint of cask beer.

[oldboots]

I find it difficult to pass any pub without wondering what it's like inside, what beers are on, what the punters are like. I've had some of my best moments (and worst) in pubs, I used to even like the smell of a pub - that mix of stale beer, fag smoke and cheap perfume, heady stuff missing something these days. I like the way you can turn up and just sit on your own or get dragged into conversations with complete strangers, I like the jokes, the banter, the daft signs, the bits of junk that have some story behind them, the postcards from Benidorm, the walls of photos of boozed up customers, I even enjoy in a twisted way the pretensions of some places, the arty bogs of others. The "people watching" of those little human dramas that happen more in pubs than other places, the retelling of stories, suitably embellished, of those incidents tragic or comic witnessed in the pub. And the history, the feeling you're doing what a dozen generations have done here before; the celebrations, the events, the simple marking of life's good or bad bits. It's just not the same drinking anywhere else, the pub is just right.

[Brainypool]

I find it difficult to pass any pub without wondering what it's like inside, what beers are on, what the punters are like. I've had some of my best moments (and worst) in pubs, I used to even like the smell of a pub - that mix of stale beer, fag smoke and cheap perfume, heady stuff missing something these days. I like the way you can turn up and just sit on your own or get dragged into conversations with complete strangers, I like the jokes, the banter, the daft signs, the bits of junk that have some story behind them, the postcards from Benidorm, the walls of photos of boozed up customers, I even enjoy in a twisted way the pretensions of some places, the arty bogs of others. The "people watching" of those little human dramas that happen more in pubs than other places, the retelling of stories, suitably embellished, of those incidents tragic or comic witnessed in the pub. And the history, the feeling you're doing what a dozen generations have done here before; the celebrations, the events, the simple marking of life's good or bad bits. It's just not the same drinking anywhere else, the pub is just right.

Excellent. Don't think I could possibly explain it half as perfectly as this. So I won't.

[rpadam]

I find it difficult to pass any pub without wondering what it's like inside, what beers are on, what the punters are like. I've had some of my best moments (and worst) in pubs, I used to even like the smell of a pub - that mix of stale beer, fag smoke and cheap perfume, heady stuff missing something these days. I like the way you can turn up and just sit on your own or get dragged into conversations with complete strangers, I like the jokes, the banter, the daft signs, the bits of junk that have some story behind them, the postcards from Benidorm, the walls of photos of boozed up customers, I even enjoy in a twisted way the pretensions of some places, the arty bogs of others. The "people watching" of those little human dramas that happen more in pubs than other places, the retelling of stories, suitably embellished, of those incidents tragic or comic witnessed in the pub. And the history, the feeling you're doing what a dozen generations have done here before; the celebrations, the events, the simple marking of life's good or bad bits. It's just not the same drinking anywhere else, the pub is just right.
One for the Booker Prize!

[Aqualung]

I find it difficult to pass any pub without wondering what it's like inside, what beers are on, what the punters are like. I've had some of my best moments (and worst) in pubs, I used to even like the smell of a pub - that mix of stale beer, fag smoke and cheap perfume, heady stuff missing something these days. I like the way you can turn up and just sit on your own or get dragged into conversations with complete strangers, I like the jokes, the banter, the daft signs, the bits of junk that have some story behind them, the postcards from Benidorm, the walls of photos of boozed up customers, I even enjoy in a twisted way the pretensions of some places, the arty bogs of others. The "people watching" of those little human dramas that happen more in pubs than other places, the retelling of stories, suitably embellished, of those incidents tragic or comic witnessed in the pub. And the history, the feeling you're doing what a dozen generations have done here before; the celebrations, the events, the simple marking of life's good or bad bits. It's just not the same drinking anywhere else, the pub is just right.

I find it easy especially if the signage includes a Ram, Griffin or Hart and also banners for BT and/or Sky Sport have stopped me.
I do enjoy people watching though. I read an interview somewhere with the bloke who does the Real Ale Twats in VIZ. As you would expect he is a Real Ale drinker and when in a pub he is watching for inspiration. I wouldn't mind betting that some of the inspiration comes from the Whitley Bay JDW.
As for the cigarette smoke, I'm so glad that is a thing of the past. I hope that vaping goes the same way, although many pubs don't allow it.

[sheffield hatter]

I find it difficult to pass any pub without wondering what it's like inside, what beers are on, what the punters are like. I've had some of my best moments (and worst) in pubs, I used to even like the smell of a pub - that mix of stale beer, fag smoke and cheap perfume, heady stuff missing something these days. I like the way you can turn up and just sit on your own or get dragged into conversations with complete strangers, I like the jokes, the banter, the daft signs, the bits of junk that have some story behind them, the postcards from Benidorm, the walls of photos of boozed up customers, I even enjoy in a twisted way the pretensions of some places, the arty bogs of others. The "people watching" of those little human dramas that happen more in pubs than other places, the retelling of stories, suitably embellished, of those incidents tragic or comic witnessed in the pub. And the history, the feeling you're doing what a dozen generations have done here before; the celebrations, the events, the simple marking of life's good or bad bits. It's just not the same drinking anywhere else, the pub is just right.

Well said! You've really hit the nail on the head. #pubsgalore

[Bucking Fastard]

I find it difficult to pass any pub without wondering what it's like inside, what beers are on, what the punters are like. I've had some of my best moments (and worst) in pubs, I used to even like the smell of a pub - that mix of stale beer, fag smoke and cheap perfume, heady stuff missing something these days. I like the way you can turn up and just sit on your own or get dragged into conversations with complete strangers, I like the jokes, the banter, the daft signs, the bits of junk that have some story behind them, the postcards from Benidorm, the walls of photos of boozed up customers, I even enjoy in a twisted way the pretensions of some places, the arty bogs of others. The "people watching" of those little human dramas that happen more in pubs than other places, the retelling of stories, suitably embellished, of those incidents tragic or comic witnessed in the pub. And the history, the feeling you're doing what a dozen generations have done here before; the celebrations, the events, the simple marking of life's good or bad bits. It's just not the same drinking anywhere else, the pub is just right.

Great prose ,a poignant reminder of what I will miss in the coming weeks.

[oldboots]

1929

The pram is for the dog!

[Tris39]

I find it difficult to pass any pub without wondering what it's like inside...

Sometimes, having passed a pub for over 25 years, I venture in to see what it's like and rather wish I hadn't. (https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/23672/)

[Aqualung]

I'm going to ratchet up the tone (NOT!) of this thread by announcing that I went to the pub today, not just to drink a load of different beers but to also get my Will witnessed.
I feel really proud that due to the RWhites virus one of the witnesses was from the E17 Rose & Crown. He actually believed me when I told him that I was a certainty for a Blue Plaque which would make him an international celebrity.
I'm hoping to survive this albeit battered and bruised and possibly with a bag of shite hanging from my gut.

[sheffield hatter]

I'm hoping to survive this albeit battered and bruised and possibly with a bag of shite hanging from my gut.

My grandmother had the same op when she was 79. She lived to age 97. (And never said anything to me about a bag of shite.)

[Aqualung]

My grandmother had the same op when she was 79. She lived to age 97. (And never said anything to me about a bag of shite.)

I heard something similar in Wales. Sadly it seems that the NHS has been cornered into overplaying risks because of the parasitic legal companies that encourage suing the organisation. As a result I don't believe anyone has told me what will happen if I refuse the op, although I can take a good guess!
I was even given a sheet outlining the risks of an iron transfusion. I had two of them a few months ago!

[london calling]

I heard something similar in Wales. Sadly it seems that the NHS has been cornered into overplaying risks because of the parasitic legal companies that encourage suing the organisation. As a result I don't believe anyone has told me what will happen if I refuse the op, although I can take a good guess!
I was even given a sheet outlining the risks of an iron transfusion. I had two of them a few months ago!

If you refuse the op you will die.You have now officially been told. cheers

[Aqualung]

If you refuse the op you will die.You have now officially been told. cheers

That's exactly what I thought with the adjectives slow and painful applying.
I couldn't get on the internet from around 15:00 yesterday. Given that it's working this morning I assume it was overloaded.

[london calling]

That's exactly what I thought with the adjectives slow and painful applying.
I couldn't get on the internet from around 15:00 yesterday. Given that it's working this morning I assume it was overloaded.

Don't know about the slow.My dad was diagnosed with bowel cancer and was dead 19 days later. Get the op and worry about the consequences later.Good luck .