Originally Posted by
Aqualung
I suspect it was and at least this gave me a good laugh over this thorny subject.
I know what a "proper" micropub is and here are my guidelines :-
It should just sell real ale, optionally real cider and wines, soft drinks including tea and coffee, no keg and no spirits. The size of the place is completely irrelevant. There should be no music other than live acoustic, no TV, and no jukeboxes or other electronic machines.
There are plenty of these places around and then we come to the rest.
Many places break one or more of these rules, the most common being selling a selection of spirits (usually obscure gins). Other ones have included a few crafty offerings or maybe a non mainstream lager. You'll also find TVs in some or music systems. I went to one in Standish last week that had a TV on but it was showing Countdown! I had a long stay in Wigan Central last week which is one of the original ones on the Micropub Association list and while it's a great place it's really a small pub rather than a micropub as music was playing the whole time I was there and several people were drinking lager. The best example of all this grief is the Gypsy Rover in Redcar which says it's a micropub on the window but inside they have some mainstream keg products, a large TV screen and live music several nights of the week.
The only suggestion I can come up with is that any new venue that has no cask ale at all or regular live amplified music or a permanently in use TV with BT Sports and / or Sky Sports isn't a micropub.