Totally agree with your assessment .Cask Marque means they have been shown how to serve good beer whether they can be arsed to to implement it is a different story.I never assume a Camra guide pub will serve me good cask as ihave known so many duff beer pubs that get into the guide.
Don't tell Melissa Cole! From Ferment magazine (issue 37):
"And just before I leave the subject of Fuller's, there is something I want to get absolutely straight because I saw it crop up on social media numerous times and it gives me absolute rage. Much as I love John Keeling, the former director of brewing, to say that the beers have 'gone downhill' since he left or that they 'somehow lack the passion any more', whatever the hell that means, is a disgraceful slur on the professional brewing team that has been running the day-to-day operations of the brewery for years, under the watchful eye of now head brewer Georgina Young. To misquote an old saying 'It's not them, it's you'."
As with all these nationally available brands (Doom Bar, St Austell Tribute, Fullers London Pride, Timothy Taylor Landlord, the list goes on - Dark Star Hophead, anyone?), it very much depends on which pub you are drinking it in. I've argued on this forum with fans of TTLL before now, who seem to find it brilliant while I tend to swerve it, and I've also argued (in pubs) with friends who still swear by FLP and the like, despite these beers' proven (sorry, I meant to say "to me, evident") mediocrity.
My review here shows that even ShDB can be an acceptable drink, bordering on pleasant (my review says superb, but it was a while ago and memories fade), and when I was in London recently the highlight of the day was the pint of FLP that I had here (overshadowed somewhat by Luton Town's dreadful concession of three goals in 28 minutes at Loftus Road soon after).
I would still prefer local beer for local people, because it makes beer tourism so much more fulfilling; and I tend to avoid nationally available brands if there's something else that I either know that I will like or that I am eager (or just prepared) to try. But when in Luton, for example, the StAT is always good here, and if the favoured real ale pub for Town fans is too crowded I am happy to go there instead.
But surely the point is that a nationally available brand (ugh) ought at the very least to be kept in top condition wherever it is available. Instead, these beers are the apparent default option for places that don't "do" real ale. Why don't the lazy buggers who make these ubiquitous beers also follow up to make sure they are kept and served in a way that will enhance their brand's reputation? Have they no pride (sorry, pun arrived unexpectedly).
Or better still, why not leave the TTLL in Yorkshire and the FLP in London, because either they don't travel well or they're being dispensed without care in pubs that don't know (or can't be bothered to find out) how to look after them properly. Or both.
Come On You Hatters!
I find her posts tedious and dull,with a major helping of doctrinaire feminism on the side.I find Rachel Smith at
https://lookatbrew.com/ much more conducive. Beer should be a pleasure, not an opportunity for more millenial snowflake hectoring!
"At that moment I would have given a kingdom, not for champagne or hock and soda, or hot coffee but for a glass of beer" Marquess Curzon of Kedlestone, Viceroy of India.
"At that moment I would have given a kingdom, not for champagne or hock and soda, or hot coffee but for a glass of beer" Marquess Curzon of Kedlestone, Viceroy of India.