Visit the Boak and Bailey's Beer Blog site



When breweries resort to publicly shaming a bar for failing to pay for beer it’s probably a sign that establishment is in the process of failing.

We’ve watched the increase in the number of craft beer bars outside the very biggest urban centres with interest, and perhaps a little anxiety: can small towns, or even smaller cities, really support these kinds of niche venues?
We try not to be excessively*triumphalist (‘The victory of Craft is assured — not one step back!’) or*overly pessimistic (‘We’re doomed!’) but, on balance, this is a worrying sign — a small crack in the plaster that might be nothing, or might indicate*that*one side of the structure is about to fall off.
For now, it goes into a slim*file of evidence alongside the time we had a small-town craft beer bar to ourselves for two hours one Sunday lunchtime, and this story*from our Saturday news round-up*about a supposed craft beer bar being turned back into a traditional pub.
We haven’t named the bar or linked to the Tweets in question because, although it was a public exchange, our instincts tell us it’s private business and that*people struggling to pay their bills probably don’t need a pile on. The picture is from the Beavertown tap room and is*a serving suggestion only.
A Bar Too Far? from Boak & Bailey's Beer Blog - Beer blogging since 2007, covering real ale, craft beer, pubs and British beer history.


More...