Inapub magazine april 2018 issue 75 by inapub

inapub

Issue 75 April 2018 Â£4.95 trade.inapub.co.uk

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MAKE YOUR VENUE THE HOME OF SUMMER SPORT ad page 2.indd 30

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PULL O AND K UT EEP SUMM ER S CALEN PORT D INSIDEAR

There’s an irresistible line-up on Sky Sports this summer to help pull in the customers, while you pull the pints. Add that to the World Cup on BBC and ITV, and you’ve got a recipe for success.

Call 08448 245 560 or visit business.sky.com/pubs

a s

@SkySportsPub Correct at time of print: 16/3/2018. World Cup is broadcast live on BBC and ITV in the UK and RTE in ROI and does not require a Sky Sports subscription. THE F1 LOGO, F1, FORMULA 1, FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, GRAND PRIX AND RELATED MARKS ARE TRADE MARKS OF FORMULA ONE LICENSING BV, A FORMULA ONE GROUP COMPANY. Sky Sports requires a Sky subscription, equipment and installation. Scheduling may be subject to change. Further terms apply. Calls to Sky cost 7p per minute plus your provider’s access charge.

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inapub

Issue 75 April 2018 ÂŁ4.95 trade.inapub.co.uk

On the wall

Turn your premises into a canvas

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STEFAN, RORY, LAURA (MARSTON’S BREWERY EMPLOYEES) AND ROB. MARSTONSBREWERY.CO.UK

Sunday’s stories . y a d r u t a S n o t r a st Marston’s brewery is the beating heart of Burton upon Trent. It has been brewing beer in Burton since 1834. We came here for the unique Burton water and settled, becoming interwoven in to the fabric of the town. Burton is to brewing what Silicon Valley is to technology. Burton is to beer what Scotland is to whisky. Without Burton there would be no Marston’s; without Marston’s there would be no Burton. We brew beer, that’s what we do, this is who we are.

Meet the beers at Marstonsbrewery.co.uk /MarstonsBrewery

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this month Brightening up the outside • A Gallic retreat

drink Cider • Low and no-alcohol

eat Bake your own bread • Pizza

play Cup finals • E-gaming

stay Accommodation for hobby groups

back-bar business The new rules on handling customer data

time at the bar Beach pubs • Your work for charity

id you find the foxes to win a free cask or keg of Old Speckled Hen last month? No worries if not, we’ve cunningly hidden a load in this month’s edition as well. Good luck finding them on our look back at the #BeastFromTheEast on page 5, or maybe they are lurking in our feature on how murals can add value to your garden on pages 10 and 11. Perhaps a fox in a beret is concealed on our profile of the Gallic Roebuck Inn, on pages 14-15? Who can say. Also keep your eyes peeled for our new Inapub team member, James Evison, who makes his debut in the EAT section this month with an impassioned defence of the health credentials of pub grub. He’s also penned a useful guide to the data laws that are due to come into force next month – check it out on pages 52- 53. Meanwhile I’ve been drinking all the cider and taking a look at the low and no-alcohol drinks market, on which I think the pub trade is in danger of missing the boat. There’s some great work out there but the wealth and quality of drinks available are by and large are missing from a pub’s line-up. Did you know, that low and noalcohol beer accounts for a mere three per cent of fridge space in pubs?

Editor Robyn Black • Multimedia journalist James Evison •

Find these foxes in the mag and win a cask/keg of Old Speckled Hen!

Contributors Matt Eley, Richard Molloy, Michelle Perrett, Jo Bruce Production editor Ben Thrush •

Chief executive Barrie Poulter •

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Sales manager Leah Gauthier • Subscriptions trade.inapub.co.uk/magazine •

22/03/2018 03:32

RTDs are back in growth and driving significant value for retailers*. No longer just sweet and sugary liquids, the breadth and depth of the category means it is more exciting and innovative than ever before. As Category Champion we have worked tirelessly since the advent of VK nearly 20 years ago to ensure we remain at the forefront. Today we take on the charge of reinvigorating the category; ensuring it remains relevant and consumers view RTDs in a different way. Our portfolio is built on the latest trends and market insight. To learn more or to stock our range, call 01246 216 016 or email info@globalbrands.co.uk or visit www.globalbrands.co.uk

* RTDs are worth £239m in the Total Off Trade, growing +4.6% Nielsen 52 we 09.09.17”

The UK’s leading independent drinks supplier To learn more or to stock the Global Brands range call 01246 216000 or email: info@globalbrands.co.uk www.globalbrands.co.uk

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POSTCARD from the pub frontline Walking in the air is all very well, but this snowman knew how to make the most of his brief time on Earth, as he stopped for a pint outside The Tynemouth Lodge in North Shields, Tyne & Wear. It seems odd to think now, but it was only a month ago the Beast from the East had the nation in its icy grip. As the country ground to a halt in the face of winter’s final flourish, barmaid Vette Storey and her daughter Emily got creative, sculpting the stylish customer up against the wall and leaving him to chill with a beer. Pub manager Damian King told Inapub: “It took them four hours, we kept on taking them out cups of tea.”

“He was built on the Wednesday and he slipped away some time on the Friday or Saturday. “The photo’s been in all the local papers and there was a bit on Tyne Tees news. We’ve had 49,000 hits on our Facebook page. “Everybody was stopping to take a picture. On Thursday a police car stopped to see what was going on – the police ended up getting out of the car and having their picture taken with him.” • For more on how the UK’s pubs embraced the Beast from the East, check out Richard Molloy on p16

Pic: Adrian Don / Electric Pics Photography / www.electricpics.com

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IN THE TRADE THIS MONTH Northern cities surge ahead in on-trade New figures show that the on-trade scenes in Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds are growing at rates more than double that of London. CGA figures for the Northern Restaurant & Bar show indicate that the number of city centre outlets within the three cities increased by more than 20 per cent over the last five years, with independent operators leading the surge.

TOP STORIES ON TRADE.INAPUB.CO.UK Old Speckled Hen updates its image with £1.1m campaign

Bake Off Star to show MPs the need for pubs

Cricketers takes CAMRA crown The Cricketers Arms in St Helens, Merseyside, is CAMRA’s 2018 Pub of the Year, a mere five years after it was boarded up for closure. Owners Andy and Denise Evans took over in 2013 and have since established it as a local community pub with an excellent selection of local ales.

Fullers buys Dark Star Fuller’s has acquired Sussex brewer Dark Star’s brewing operations but has emphasised that it will continue to run as a standalone business. Flagship beers such as Hophead, Dark Star Original and APA will continue to be brewed at Dark Star’s Partridge Green site and the current management team will continue to run the business’s four pubs under a separate vehicle.

Cask Ale Week gets a makeover Cask Ale Week has got a new look for its 10th birthday. The new look, incorporating a very British red, white and blue colour scheme is said to be “more positive” and have a “stronger identity.” Cask Ale Week 2018 will run from September 20 to 30.

Pantone has chosen its colour for 2018 Rebrands of Diet Coke and Sprite ahead of the sugar tax Half of vegans and vegetarians “bored” by menu choices

Kings of craft This year we joined forces with the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) for its Business Awards to find the UK’s Best Craft Beer Bar. There were two categories, city and rural, and we received a record number of entries for each. Our editor Robyn sat on the judging panel for all the awards and said these two categories were particularly tough to judge due to the quality of the entrants. The Cove in Kingsbridge, Devon (pictured), took the crown for Best Craft Beer Bar (rural) for showing that “quality craft beer and a modern yet approachable aesthetic can be delivered to great effect in rural as well as city locations.” Wigan Central in Wigan won the city category for its “laser focus on quality, local draught brews and extensive international bottled ‘beer library’.” Take a look at what SIBA’s Neil Walker has to say, opposite (The Way I See It).

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THE WAY I SEE IT NEIL WALKER

TWEET ALL ABOUT IT

SIBA Awards showcase strength of the scene

The pain of no-shows…

Open to breweries, beer shops, retailers, pubs, bars and restaurants that put craft beer at the centre of what they do, the SIBA Business Awards have gone from strength to strength in recent years. Thanks to the hugely successful partnership with Inapub this year, the awards have seen a huge increase in entries – in fact, entries were 60 per cent up on 2017, which just shows how vibrant the independent craft beer industry has become. Independent craft beer continues to grow in popularity and as it does, more and more businesses are putting craft beer at the centre of everything they do. This is great news for consumers, who are increasingly seeking out craft beer, but presents a challenge for pubs and bars, who need to do more than just stock their fridge with a few well-known craft beers in order to stand out from the pack. The UK’s Best Independent Craft Beer Bar or Pub categories (city and rural) are coveted awards that have been hard fought this year, with four pubs being selected as finalists in each of the two categories. These four finalists are very much the best of the best when it comes to craft beer in the UK and should already consider themselves winners by making it this far, while the overall winners, Wigan Central, Wigan (city) and The Cove, Kingsbridge, Devon (rural) can consider themselves stars of the scene. We very much hope to grow the awards even more next year, so keep your eyes peeled for 2019’s entries to open and make sure you enter!

Paid in full in advance & were informed non-refundable on the day, now they want a full refund, what should I do? Could not resell table. @parkersarms

Neil Walker is the PR and marketing manager for the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA). He organises SIBA’s beer and business awards and works alongside the organisation’s executive team across all communication and marketing activities.

No brainer. Keep it. Had an 8 no show in the barn where we don’t take CC details. If they cancelled in good time I could have sold it to one of the 66 on the wait list! @MarkDBirchall Convert to voucher for future use, short deadline, 4-8 weeks to redeem, and don’t feel bad about it – it’s a fair offer. @spence_jessica No refund I’m afraid, your costs won’t disappear, rates, utilities, living wage, rising food and beverage costs all have to be paid and our industry needs to take a tougher line. Your T&C’s were clear – we respect our customers but our customers need to respect our businesses. @Mattabal

Find the foxes! Count how many of these foxes are scampering through the pages of this magazine, and win a cask or keg of Greene King’s Old Speckled Hen! For your chance to win, email the total number of foxes to oldspeckledhen@inapub.co.uk by April 30.

For T&Cs see p29 of the March 2018 issue

47%

of people now eat out once a week CGA Future Shock Report

Find us online every month at trade.inapub.co.uk @inapub

Inapub

@inapub_

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Bundaberg Brewed Drinks

Strewth mate! Classic Aussie soft drink Bundaberg is getting a UK push via a new distribution deal with Barr Soft Drinks. Six flavours, all described as “craft brewed premium non-alcoholic beverages” are available in the range available to us Pommies: Ginger Beer, Root Beer, Blood Orange, Lemon, Lime & Bitters, Peach and Pink Grapefruit. You little ripper. 01204 664 295

SCT Pork crackling

This cracking crackling from family firm SCT (Savoury Crunchy Treats) comes in a total of nine flavours. All are made with a secret ingredient to make them super scrummy and while the Classic Salted version is the best-seller, closely followed by Chorizo, our personal favourite is the Sage & Onion. The company is also proud of its “full-tobursting” pots – “no opening a bag to find a handful at best”, explains co-founder Robert Parkin. 01202 875 280

Stuff

What’s new in the pub this month

McCain skin-on fries

Skin on or skin off? It is a tale as old as time (or the trend to keep skin on chips). McCain Foods is launching two new options – Staycrisp medium and julienne skin-on fries, for pubs looking for a rustic-looking dish. And they are crispy and stay hotter for longer, we are promised, as well as being gluten-free and delivering “big flavours”. Cracking – or, should we say, crispy? – stuff. www.mccainfoodservice.co.uk/ignite

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Carlsberg 1883

Fancy a taste of the past? Carlsberg has brewed a twist on its very first lager, produced in the 1800s. Carlsberg 1883 is a Danishstyle dark lager, available exclusively to the on-trade until June. It was brewed using the brewer’s original 134-year-old yeast and the resulting beer has fresh aromas of malt and caramel with sweet biscuit taste. 01604 668 866

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this month. Blossom Hill Pale Rosé

Those pesky millennials have been giving the rosé category a hard time of late, says brand owner Treasury Wine Estates with more and more drinkers switching to fruit cider, Prosecco and mixed spirits. This new release aims to win them back, with its drier, crisper taste profile and social media support bidding to woo millennial women in particular. 0208 843 8378

Spitfire Heritage Gin

To commemorate the RAF’s centenary this year, Spitfire Heritage Distillers has created special bottles of its gin and vodka and will give £3.50 for each bottle sold to the Royal Air Forces Association for the duration of this year. The company’s flagship Spitfire Heritage Gin pays tribute to the women who flew wartime aircraft, via its botanicals such as borage (for courage), Rosemary (for remembrance) and Blood Orange for the women who paid the ultimate price. spitfireheritagegin.com

Rosie’s Pig Raspberry Roller Cloudy Cider

Once upon a time there were only one or two flavours of cider. Not any more! Westons are now looking to take it to the next level with this Raspberry and Cucumber cider. The reasoning is pretty sound, with 87 per cent of all fruit ciders being berry-flavoured. Available in cans and 10-litre bag-in-box. www.westons-cider.co.uk

Dr Oetker Professional sweet pizza

Pizza for pudding? Well, these chocolate or salted caramel pizzas from Dr Oetker Professional might tempt you. The firm aims to help pubs tap in on the “indulgence trend”, and called on independent pubs to achieve “cult status” by offering something truly different in a competitive marketplace. That is indeed fighting talk. We’re fully expecting you to get a pizza the action. 0113 823 1400

Bud Light

Most of us open a bottle to celebrate our birthday but instead Bud Light is launching in bottles to celebrate its first birthday in the UK. The 3.5 per cent ABV lager was launched last March in cans but is now also available in a 300ml bottle. Brewer AB InBev hopes the new format will attract the more than 40 per cent of UK beer drinkers who only drink bottled beer (Kantar Worldpanel 2017). www.ab-inbev.co.uk

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outside

Beautiful on the by MATT ELEY

In a market where traders from coffee shops to supermarkets can be considered competition, standing out from the crowd has never been more important. And one of the most impactful ways of doing this visually is to get artistic with your outside space. Whether it is part of a wider city arts scene, as in Bristol, or a moving tribute, like the memorial artwork outside Glasgow’s Clutha Bar, which was destroyed in a tragic helicopter accident, murals can stir a variety of responses. They have been a part of culture for tens of thousands of years, and murals are today a firm favourite among many publicans. The Gunners in London’s Finsbury Park is a shrine to Arsenal football club, and its mural of club legends Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp stands as a memorial to the side’s glory years at the start of this century.

Brighton, meanwhile, has several stunning pub murals – including the tribute to musical icons at the Prince Albert, which was also where Banksy’s “Kissing Coppers” originally appeared. Getting media attention of either the traditional or social kind is one reason to consider livening up your garden with a mural. Nick Livingstone of Star Pubs & Bars’ 7 Saints in Prestwick spent £9,000 transforming a concrete jungle into a Tiki-inspired garden complete with mural. He says: “The main feedback from customers has been through their behaviour. They show their appreciation of the mural by using it as a backdrop on their social posts, which is great as it promotes the 7 Saints bar and garden to a wider audience.” And murals can

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this month.

PROMOTIONAL CONTENT

The changing face of the outside space by Ben Williams, national account manager, Fever-Tree

A monument to happier times for Arsenal fans at The Gunners in Finsbury Park, while it’s flamingoes a-go-go at 7 Saints in Prestwick

work for whatever kind of venue you are. Take the Fox & Hounds in Putney. The Stonegate pub is a fairly traditional sports bar with an outside space that has been transformed by a mural that gives the feel of being in a stadium. General manager Colin Woods says: “I wanted it to look like the TV screen was the scoreboard in the stadium. At first when the artist was doing it I wasn’t sure if it was going to work but he was layering and it all came together.” Meanwhile, the outside space at BrewDog Brighton has been brought to life by a mural referencing beer and pop culture. It was created by a couple of graffiti artists (Sifer +Jate), one of whom works at the bar. General manager Maria Barney says the work has created quite an impact. She advises: “Make sure you agree in advance what the mural is going to look like, or what the theme will be at the very least. It’s easy to let creative people have free rein but you need to make sure that what ends up on your business accurately portrays what you want or need. Use someone you know you can trust.” Not everyone will have budding artists on their bar team, which means you may need to find local talent. Catherine Lovegrove, who has created numerous designs for hospitality businesses, says:“Often pubs and restaurants like to have an unusual twist on a local theme or a design that reflects the owner’s interests. If someone says they don’t have any idea what they want for their mural, it is always possible to find a theme. Often they

Think back ten years ago or more and you would be more likely to refer to a space outside the back of a pub as a beer garden than a pub garden. Umbrellas and ashtrays, exhibiting the branding of mainstream lager companies, dominated them and many of the glasses being held by the customers also contained that amber liquid. More recently, however, the industry has begun to shift. As people are searching for a more quality eating and drinking experience, premiumisation has begun to dominate the pub garden scene. Couple this with the immense return of gin as many people’s favourite tipple, and the increased awareness of premium tonics, pioneered by FeverTree, and you’re now just as likely to see people drinking a Gin & Tonic in a pub garden as you are a beer. In the spirit of togetherness and community, our aim, starting with the summer of 2018, is to raise the profile of pub gardens to once more make them a real hub of activity in local areas, as Gin & Tonic gardens. By providing hints and tips about the nation’s favourite G&T combinations ideas on how to improve the aesthetics of the pub garden, Fever-Tree are inspiring publicans to transform their pub gardens into Gin & Tonic gardens this summer and beyond. With community being the focus of our plan we believe that by all working together everyone will benefit and have somewhere to take full advantage of the Great British Summertime. Raise a glass to the nations favourite summer drink, whilst soaking up the hours of sun. Cheers!

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HOW TO BEAUTIFY YOUR WALLS COLLABORATE So the pub and the artist’s expectations are both met BROWSE Look at an artist’s back catalogue before commissioning The Farm is one of many pubs in Bristol to have livened up its garden with a creative paint job on the building’s exterior

“

Often pubs like to have an unusual twist on a local theme, or a design that reflects the owners’ interests

A mural referencing beer and pop culture catches the eye at BrewDog Brighton

discover that they have very good ideas towards the end of the conversation.” Other factors you need to consider before commissioning an artist are price – a small work can cost £750, she says – and the condition of the area you want painted. Catherine adds: “They last as well as the surface that is prepared for them. Acrylic paint is very colourfast and very durable and one of the key things is a good varnish.” Working with your local authority is also a sensible idea. They have powers – especially in Conservation Areas – to ask you to remove anything unbecoming, so it’s best to keep them happy from the outset. This was an issue at The Antelope in Warwick. The pub is linked with the Royal Warwickshire regiment (the pub was even renamed after the regiment’s mascot) and displays military memorabilia at the pub. Around six years ago the pub worked with local artist Chris Wildsmore to create a design paying tribute to the servicemen. Tim Riches, licensee at the Admiral Taverns pub, says “The council thought the original design was an 18 and they wanted a PG. They didn’t think it was appropriate, so we went back to the drawing board and came up with something everyone is happy with.” The striking design can be seen for miles around and is often featured in local press stories, especially those involving the regiment. And you never know, your investment could pay off in the long term. Art by Banksy has been known to lift property prices and “Kissing Coppers” sold at auction for £375,000. You just need to find the next Banksy. Or the current one.

SEE SOME SKETCHES Get the artist to provide sketches of their plan before they start work KEEP IN TOUCH You may need the artist to return to touch up the work THINK LONG-TERM You want a design that will last rather than date quickly so keep this in mind at the planning stage REMEMBER THAT TIME EQUALS MONEY The more detail you want, the longer it will take and the higher the price will be CONSIDER A MURAL-TO-GO If the mural is for a site that is under construction, a technique called marouflage can be employed - the mural is painted on primed canvas in the studio and installed on site, glued to the wall. Tips provided by Catherine Lovegrove

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SEEK A RICHER LIFE Exciting new TV campaign Distinctive new premium point of sale From the UKâ€™s No.1 Premium Ale*

*CGA Brand Index MAT to 2/12/2017 & Nielsen Scantrack MAT to 27/1/2018

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FAMOUS FOR

A TASTE OF EUROPE

Jo Bruce finds a little slice of the continent in a Cheshire village

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We offer a taste of Europe but without the current hefty price tage of going there

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It was a month before the Brexit decision in 2016 that European-inspired “bistro inn” The Roebuck Inn in Mobberley, Cheshire, opened its doors. Owner Tim Bird says the timing was great PR for the grade II-listed country inn, which has a rustic, continental vibe. It had been two years in development before re-opening, after being closed for five years. He says: “I think after Brexit The Roebuck helped to offer an important sense of nostalgia wanted and needed by those choosing to staycation after the vote. We serve European nostalgia here.” He adds: “We offer a taste of Europe but without the current hefty price tag of going there.” Tim and his business partner, the former La Tasca managing director Mary Mclaughlin, together run the eight-site Cheshire Cat Pubs & Bars. They acquired the inn with the aim of bringing letting rooms to affluent Mobberley. They already had the two other pubs in the village and with all three within just 800 yards of each other in this village of around 4,000 people, the Roebuck Inn needed to offer a very different flavour. So they created a business that customers could use in a different way from the other pubs, and a petit hotel and bistro was born out of this very English inn. The pub has Gallic charm aplenty, with six bedrooms featuring French antique beds and reclaimed radiators, an entirely European drinks list, a food offer embracing classic bistro dishes and a terraced beer garden complete with resident doves (named after European liqueurs including Benedictine and Frangelico).

Last May a Riviera-style drinking area was added at the front of the pub, where customers typically enjoy olives and a glass of wine or English pastis and water and feel like they are on the continent.

International flavours

As you might expect, the menu at The Roebuck Inn leans heavily towards continental classics such as the best-selling boeuf bourguignon, thyme-roasted baby chicken, French onion soup, baked lasagne al forno; oven-baked meatballs, 35-day aged entrecote steak with Café de Paris butter and fresh fries, and pizzas as well as crêpes suzette, affogato and crème caramel on the pudding menu. But more international flavours are also featured to keep locals on their toes. “We offer dishes such as curried Thai monkfish and curried lamb shank to give our customers a taste of something they can’t find in the village, to stop them travelling into town to find it,” Tim explains.

Old World, new tricks

The creative drinks list features a collection of European digestifs, aperitifs, Ports (with serves including half-bottle decanters), wines and European “beers of the season” list. The drinks menus are sewn into old National Trust hardbacks on gardening, inspired, Bird says, by the fact that everything that goes into the drinks featured comes from the ground. “The wine list takes its inspiration from the New World but with an Old World way to offer a point of difference,” says Tim. “So we offer a Spanish grape varietal which is equivalent to a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, for example.”

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this month.

The Roebuck Inn, Mobberley, Cheshire

Signature dish: Fresh frites, prepared by a local farm. Design tip: ‘We use reclamation yards in Europe as find them more cost-effective than ones in the UK.’ www.roebuckinnmco.uk

Among popular aperitifs are the Aperol Spritz, the Cholmondeley Chaser (a cocktail of gin, elderflower liqueur, tonic & fresh garden mint) pink Champagne and the “Seven Deadly Gins of the Season”. Liqueurs are also good sellers at The Roebuck, with limoncello, Lazzaroni amaretto and Frangelico proving particularly popular. Tim says: “Some of our liqueurs and digestifs aren’t huge sellers, such as Apfelkorn, but they offer a point of difference and a talking point for customers and make a statement about what we are about.” Events are another important part of the business, including weddings, with couples attracted by the exclusive use and rustic, family-feel nuptials and French style service the pub offers – and of course the doves.

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RICHARD MOLLOY I guess my morning routine isn’t much different from most other landlords and landladies: breakfast, tea, check the news, prep the pub, open the doors. It’s all too easy to despair from beneath the avalanche of bad press pubs receive. Whether it’s health experts bemoaning British drinking culture, tabloids highlighting Saturday night brawlers or the constant references to pub closures and declining on-trade sales, the mainstream press like to stick the boot in. One can imagine the suburban armchair warriors reading their Sunday paper, tutting and proclaiming their bemusement as to why pubs exist at all. Even amongst regular pub users there is a danger of taking the British local for granted. The traditional local with the landlord and/or landlady living above the shop and providing comfort for the community is seen as out of date by sections of the general public and the big boys of the pub industry. I inwardly scream every time I see a sign asking me, a 43-year-old adult, to leave the premises quietly, presumably because the neighbours want to go to bed at 10pm. Well you know what? Don’t live next to a fucking pub then! I reserve the right, as an Englishman and a drinker, to leave a pub, drunk, at 11:30pm and sing loudly with my arm around my mate’s shoulder. I’ll tell him I love him and I will shout farewells over the rooftops as we part company. This is Britain. This is what we’ve always done and I’m fucked if I’m going to be quiet on the way home just to appease the boring Strictly brigade whose idea of a good night is television and a glass of supermarket wine. And just as the local boozer seemed on the ropes, something simple yet out of the ordinary happened and made us all realise just what the pub brings to our lives and how much we would miss it if it went. It snowed. Not just a bit of snow. A shitload. And fast. It hit everyone and caught us all with our pants down. And as the workforce skidded home and the mothers

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As the workforce skidded home and the shops closed, the pubs stayed open. Cheers filled the room every time a whitedout regular crossed the threshold. It was beautiful Richard Molloy is director of four-strong pubco White Rose Taverns and the microbrewery Platform Five. Read more of his work on trade.inapub.co.uk

cleared the supermarket shelves; as the mail stopped being delivered and the buses shed their loads; as the cars were being abandoned and the trains were stranded; as the cinemas and the theatres and the shops and the garages and the offices and the schools closed, the pub stayed open. Their lights like a beacon in the carnage. Their open fires dried the jeans and skirts. Their beers eased the worries and their spirits lifted the spirits. The uniquely British attitude of “let’s just go to the pub until this all blows over” kicked in and anyone who was lucky enough to trudge through the drifts to a pub on the first day of spring this year will realise just what pubs can do. Many took the opportunity of a couple of snow days to take an extra drinking day. Nobody was going anywhere the next day, that much was clear, so they did what so many Brits do in this situation: they got pissed with their mates down the local. It was beautiful. Families flocked in, shedding hats and gloves, and parked their brand new sleds. Cheers filled the room every time a regular crossed the whited-out threshold. There were snowball fights, snow angels were carved and snowmen built. It was messy. It was laughter in the face of adversity and it was one of the most quintessentially British things I have ever experienced. And the next day, when nobody could go to work and everything was closed, the landlords and landladies went downstairs and did what they do seven days a week, 365 days a year: breakfast, tea, check the news, prep the pub and open the doors.

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22/03/2018 04:53

08/11/2017 09:51

drink I’ve never won even a single penny on the lottery. This is not surprising in truth, given that I never buy a ticket. I was reminded of this, in a roundabout fashion, when I saw entries for this year’s Beer & Cider Marketing Awards were open. This is a competition I have enjoyed judging since its inception back in 2015, in part because it is one of those awards that pits big against small; craft against conglomerate; local against international. And if you think big budgets always win out, you’d be wrong — it’s amazing how ineffective you can be with a couple of million quid. And it’s so glorious to see those small budgets come alive. In fact, last year’s standout entry fits in this mould — a simply wonderful, whimsical video by Glamorgan Brewing to promote its Welsh Cake Stout. The entire judging panel adored it. Similarly, when judging this year’s Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) Awards, it was quite often entries from the

with ROBYN BLACK

much smaller operations that stood out in terms of passion and creativity. Indeed, you may have seen on page 6 we joined forces with SIBA this year to try to find the UK’s best craft beer bars — one urban and one in the country — as part of those awards. The number and standard of the entries really warmed the cockles and I was proud to be involved in choosing the winners. That was coupled with a feeling of frustration, however, to know of pubs and bars that would have been in with a decent chance of winning, yet not to see their entry. We know you are busy and, let’s be honest, filling in forms can be an absolute ballache. Or perhaps you never enter such awards because you think you are too small, not high-profile enough or whatever, but let me reassure you, you will always get a fair hearing. Therefore it is always, always worth entering competitions such as these. After all, much like the lottery, you have to be in it to win it.

If you think big budgets always win out, you’d be wrong — it’s amazing how ineffective you can be with a couple of million quid

COMMERCIAL BREAKDOWN

SMIRNOFF • Equalising music Smirnoff and Spotify have launched the latest salvo in their joint drive to New Zealand Wine Growers • International encourage people to listen to more Sauvignon Blanc celebration Licensees running a “stand out” promotion for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc next female artists. The Smirnoff Equaliser month could win a trip to Kiwi country. It must run for at least two weeks and incor- uses technology to analyse listening habits and porate Sauvignon Blanc Day on May 4. Visit www.nzwine.com/en/ for details. create Spotify playlists BUDWEISER • Budweiser and MatchPint featuring an Budweiser has joined forces with MatchPint to encourage fans to go to the pub to watch the football, from the equal number of men Fifa World Cup this summer and beyond. Brand owner AB InBev has also announced a partnership with the FA. and women.

APRIL 2018

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Winter Queen

A blend of whiskies from the Scottish Longmorn and Glenrothes distilleries plus some from the Zuidam distillery in the Netherlands, the whisky honours Elizabeth Stuart, the Scottish princess who spent most of her life in The Hague. Tasting notes include, “chocolate and desiccated coconut” and “Scotch pancakes topped with bacon and coated in maple syrup”. www.fusionwhisky.com

Southern Comfort Black

This new 40 per cent ABV take on Southern Comfort is made with a different blend of whiskies from the original, plus the brand’s signature blend of fruits and spices. It is aimed at younger spirit drinkers who are becoming interested in American whiskeys and is being supported with a campaign, as part of which drinkers will be able to access “The Blacklist,” a database of stockists. info@hi-spirits.com

Look out for... Graff

Touted as a “unique, improbable marriage of beer and cider”, Graff is the creation of the cider-makers at Hawkes, who have fermented Braeburn and Bramley apples together with a caramelised and malty beer wort and American Ale and Sauvignon Blanc yeasts to create this co-fermented beer/cider hybrid. It is available in both keg and 330ml craft cans. www.wearehawkes.com

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Offshore

Cornish brewer Sharp’s has rebranded its Sharp’s Pilsner to cash in on the trend for Pilsner-style lagers it is expecting to see this year. Now called Offshore, the beer comes in at 4.8 per cent ABV to make it more accessible to drinkers and will be rolled out across the on-trade this month. 01208 862121

Time flies when you’re having fun and ViVAS is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Since 2008 ViVAS have been blending Bibendum’s passion for wine and Bidfood’s efficiencies of delivery to the on trade and we have gone from strength to strength. With over 10,000 accounts trading with ViVAS in the past 12 months we now have a strong foothold in the UK on trade and a range and service we can be proud of. With over 650 Wines, Beers and Spirits available to be delivered to you exclusively by Bidfood, ViVAS offer full support packages for customers; including a wine list print service, staff training packages and market insights to help you stay bang on trend.

To speak to someone about your Wine, Beers and Spirits needs please contact us on info@vivas.co.uk

www.bidfood.co.uk/vivas 21/03/2018 01:51

A Fresh Start. After 50 years, it’s time to change your kegs.

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DraughtMaster is an innovative dispense solution that uses compressed air and recyclable PET single skin kegs to serve fresh pressed beer direct from the brewery.

For more information on how DraughtMaster can transform your beer sales call 0845 604 0294 carlsbergwedelivermore.co.uk

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26/01/2018 12:06 09:15 26/01/2018

12 by ROBYN BLACK

Ciders for

summer

It’s coming up to cider season! Here’s our pick of some of the must-stock brands out there – a mix of old friends and exciting new ones that we think will add some zip and zing to your range this spring and summer. 1

Thatcher’s Family Reserve

A great alternative to Prosecco, this is a Somerset sparkling apple wine, recreated from an original Thatcher’s family recipe for “Champagne cider” from the early 1900s. It comes in a wine-sized bottle with a proper caged cork for popping and is said to have “fine, delicate” fizz. Available across the on-trade this summer, this posh take on cider is made from Katy apples, which are also used to make another Thatcher’s classic – its single variety Katy Cider, which turned 21 last year. Either are worth bringing to the table to show how cider really can be something swanky.

Kopparberg Strawberry & Lime

Smirnoff Cider

Fruit ciders remain popular, particularly this one, which has been Kopparberg’s bestseller for several years now, outstripping many others in the market. Its success has even resulted in a nonalcoholic version of the drink – Strawberry & Lime Alcohol Free was launched back in 2014, joining two others (Mixed Fruit Alcohol Free and Pear Alcohol Free, two of the other best-sellers in the core range). For the first time this year the Swedish company will be putting dedicated spend behind these three non-alcoholic ciders as part of a total £6m marketing investment in the brand over the next 12 months, confirmed Kopparberg senior marketing manager Rob Salvesen.

To be honest we couldn’t decide between this and Diageo’s other venture into the cider category, Pimm’s cider, which hit the market back in 2015. Both have injected some much-needed energy into the category but in the end we felt this, which leverages the mighty Smirnoff brand, probably has the edge in terms of innovation – if only because it takes cider into the late-night occasion, where it doesn’t usually play. At four per cent ABV, three flavours are now available to pubs and bars: Raspberry &

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“

There’s no shortage of weird and wonderful flavours to choose from amongst the Brothers line-up

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Pomegranate, Mandarin & Pink Grapefruit and Passionfruit & Lime. And if late nights aren’t your thing, then there’s always that four-strong Pimm’s Cider range to choose from…

Brothers Coconut & Lime

There’s no shortage of weird and wonderful flavours to choose from amongst the Brothers line-up – the classic festival tipple Brothers Strawberry, the more autumnal Toffee Apple or the retro-sounding Rhubarb & Custard, perhaps? This one is our pick, though, because it’s made with bang-on-trend coconut water, mixed with lime juice and pear cider. Designed to be drunk chilled and over ice with a slice.

Bulwark Original

Interest in Canadian products is on the rise in the UK, according to the makers of this super-premium cider from Nova Scotia. Bulwark Cider was launched just a month ago in the UK at The Maple Leaf, the Greene King-owned Canadian pub in central London. It is made from five North American apple varieties – Golden Russets, Northern Spy, Cortland, McIntosh and Honey Crisp – a blend that is said to result in a cider very much like a, “crisp and pleasing lightly sparkling white wine.” The 5.8 per cent ABV cider is aimed at sophisticated cider drinkers and goes well with food, says co-founder Germain Bergeron. “We are proud of our products and craftsmanship and given the UK consumers’ interest in cider, artisanal products,

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the 0.5 per cent ABV version of its flagship Stowford Press range last year.

Mortimer’s Orchard range from Weston’s got a new addition to its line-up last year in the form of a “sparkling, clear, berry-coloured cider”

and authentic foods and drinks, we believe the time is right to launch a full juice cider fermented with 100 per cent juice content with no added sugar,” he explains.

Mortimer’s Orchard English Berry

The hugely successful Mortimer’s Orchard range from Weston’s got a new addition to its line-up last year in the form of this “sparkling, clear, berry-coloured cider,” which is made from a unique blend of bittersweet, sharp and sweet apples all matured in traditional oak vats and blended with berry fruits. At the launch last May, the company said it had developed the cider in response to market research that had identified draught fruit cider as a boom area for the category and, at the same time, to plug a gap in the market for a super-premium version. Weston’s has been quick to identify trends in the cider market in recent years, unveiling Caple Rd, the UK’s first craft canned cider as far back as 2015. It has more recently seen the potential for low- and no alcohol ciders with the revamp of

APRIL 2018

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Peacock Mango & Lime Cider

Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Cider

Strongbow Dark Fruit

Curry-lovers are used to ordering a lager with their curry, but many experts think cider makes a better match (something to do with it having less tannins than wine but more than beer, making it a perfect foil for spices). So, Kingfisher Beer – the Indian lager so well known to curry fans – launched this cider in November 2016. The original apple cider went down well, so the company expanded the range last year, adding this Mango & Lime version. Sceptics should take note – both of the ciders were developed with the experts at Aspall, a family owned cider company with some 275 years of cider-making under its belt (albeit recently snapped up by Molson Coors for an undisclosed sum) and this tropical version is said to be a perfectly balanced cider offering the “soft sweetness of mango” against “zesty lime”.

Next month this cider will celebrate its first birthday. Despite its clearly American heritage, it was launched in the UK on-trade first ahead of a roll-out across the rest of the world, due to the popularity of cider with UK drinkers in pubs and bars. “We are increasingly seeing drink brands outside of the cider category experiment with the traditional boundaries of cider, triggering consumers to think differently about how they drink it,” Charlotte Ashburner, head of marketing at brand owner Brown Forman, said at the time. The drink is a 5.5 per cent ABV blend of apple cider and Jack Daniel’s whiskey designed to be drunk ice cold, straight from the bottle.

Since its launch into the on-trade four years ago, it’s no exaggeration to say that this pre-mixed take on that 90s favourite, cider & black, has transformed the fruit cider market, taking it from bottles on the back

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WEâ€™VE HAD OUR BEST YEAR YET. MARTIN THATCHER HAS BOUGHT A NEW TRACTOR TO CELEBRATE. *

Thatchers Gold is the8 fastest selling draught apple cider in the category. It looks like Haze is doing well too, growing at 133%.**

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bar to the taps on the front. It also reinvigorated draught cider sales and is now one of the leading draught ciders on the UK market, spawning several other draught fruit cider offerings as well as more additions to its own brand line-up, including Strongbow Cloudy Apple here in the UK and Strongbow Cherry Blossom in other markets.

Avalon

Unlike the world beer category, world cider hasn’t come to much, but nonetheless there are some interesting examples out there for those who care to look for them. Importer and distributor Morgenrot, for example, offers this Spanish cider – or sidra – produced in Asturias, allegedly the cider heartland of Spain. It’s a carbonated, unfiltered dry cider said to have “clean aromas of summer orchards and hints of applewood” and is named after the legendary Arthurian island of Avalon – Ynys Afallon – the place where King Arthur’s sword was forged.

Friels Hopinfused cider

Designed, no doubt, with the hope that some of the glitter and glamour of the craft beer category will rub off onto cider, there’s been no shortage of hopped ciders on the market – Weston’s version with Purity Brewing, Pure Hopped, and indie brand Pilango Hopped are two that spring to mind, for example. This one, from Aston Manor,

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is a medium dry cider made from 100 per cent fresh pressed red Falstaff, Katy and Windsor eating apples, infused with a blend of Challenger, Sterling and Archer hop extracts, described as “fruity and crisp with a refreshingly smooth finish.” It’s even upped the glamour factor with the vintage inspired branding and jumped on the craft can juggernaut with a 330ml can format alongside a 500ml bottle and a mini-keg option.

Old Mout Kiwi & Lime

Last autumn’s mega-successful tie-up with ex-Really Wild Show presenters Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan to save the Kiwi bird (of which there are just 50,000 remaining in the world) has boosted the profile of this already popular offer from Heineken. Launched back in 2014 the “New Zealand-born” cider, made up of familiar flavours paired with an exotic twist such as Strawberry & Pomegranate and Passionfruit & Apple, was aimed at bringing more 18- to 24-year-olds into cider. The brand was founded all the way back in 1947 but hit the big time back home in New Zealand in 2008 when it became famous for putting rather more unusual flavours such as feijoa and boysenberry in its ciders.

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More than zero by ROBYN BLACK

Tasteful arrangement: more customers are choosing low- or no-alcohol options but they are not prepared to miss out on great-tasting drinks

Back in 2011 several drinks companies signed a “responsibility deal” to tackle alcohol harm. With that in mind, it is easy to look at the spate of low- and no-alcohol drinks launched since then and believe it is more a case of producer push than consumer pull. But you’d be wrong.

What’s more, you’d be missing out on a lucrative part of the market — not just that oft-touted figure of one in five UK adults who are teetotal (YouGov) but also the 50 per cent of people who now moderate their alcohol intake (Ipsos) and the 15 per cent who say they would visit the pub more if there were better non-alcoholic drinks available (Poplus Pub Survey 2017).

No compromise

“In the past few years there’s been a significant shift in the way people are consuming alcohol — they want healthier choices with-

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out compromising on taste,” observes Jerry Shedden, category and trade marketing director at Heineken. “It’s clear the market is in demand, as the low- and no-alcohol segment of beer and cider is seeing strong growth.” This neatly illustrates a step change in the drinking public’s attitude to low- and no-alcohol beer. As Anheuser-Busch InBev’s on-trade sales director, Rory McLellan, points out: “Twenty years ago no-alcohol drinks had a negative pre-conception for tasting bad. Thanks to new de-alcoholisation technology, it is now possible to extract the alcohol from beer at the end of the brewing process, leaving a beer with the same taste but without the alcohol.” This improvement in quality has meant brewers are able to take their big brands into the category: Heineken 0.0, Budweiser Prohibition, Krombacher Low Alcohol and Carlsberg 0.0% are all recent entrants.

Beyond beer

Of course, it’s not all about the beer category (or cider for that matter, with a handful of entrants in that market, including Weston’s Stowford Press LA and three variants from Kopparberg) — the spirits boom has also influenced this sector. Examples include the nonalcoholic distilled spirit Seedlip; The Duchess, a pre-mixed non-alcoholic gin & tonic, and Monte Rosso, a non-alcoholic aperitif from Britvic’s incubator company

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drink.

“

Tonic is now a go-to choice at the bar for those seeking a refreshing non-alcoholic drink

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Wisehead Productions. “We set out to elevate the non-alcoholic drinking experience with a range of zero proof drinks, which have the depth of flavour you’d usually only expect to find in the alcohol world,” Wisehead Productions co-founder Ounal Bailey says. The result so far is a range of two aperitif-style drinks, Monte Rosso and T&E No 1, as well as a range of sodas under the London Essence Company brand. This latter part of the market has also been targeted by Global Brands with its Franklin & Sons range of soft drinks and tonics. “We know consumers are becoming more discerning in their choices, so offering a ‘traditional’ lemonade or orange flavour just isn’t enough,” says Jen Draper, the brand’s head of marketing. “The Franklin & Sons soft

drinks range is a range that contains tertiary food-led flavours… to elevate the core flavour and add another angle to the drinks.”

Just the tonic

The spotlight on tonic in recent years has also boosted the idea of it as a standalone drink, an idea currently being promoted by tonic producers including Halewood Wines & Spirits with its Lamb & Watt range. With the global tonic market set to rise at a compound annual growth rate of 6.1 per cent between 2017 and 2025, this is no short-term fad, according to James Stocker, Halewood’s marketing director. “Tonic is now a go-to choice at the bar for those seeking a refreshing nonalcoholic drink and with summer not far away we expect to see this sort of behaviour grow,” he says. It is the same story over at Coca-Cola, which a few months ago

21/03/2018 13:44

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22/03/2018 05:11

Picture perfect: delivering a well-served drink matters whether it is alcoholic or not

“

Mocktails can be just as creative as cocktails and licensees should make the most of flavours from adult soft drinks to keep their offer fresh and exciting

launched a new premium line under its Schweppes brand, Schweppes 1783. Amy Burgess, trade communications manager at Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP), suggests licensees look to drinks such as this to create simple but exciting mocktails for punters. “As nearly one-third of people say they’d consider ordering a mocktail if offered, this is a great opportunity to maximise sales,” she says. “Mocktails can be just as creative as cocktails and licensees should make the most of flavours from adult soft drinks like Appletiser or the new Schweppes 1783 range to keep their offering fresh and exciting.” The team at Red Bull are also getting into this area and have developed a series of mocktail recipes for variants in its range — but warn that the delivery must be good for customers to buy into the concept. “Delivering poorly served long mixed drinks has a long-term impact on customer loyalty,” says Sophia Blawat, on-premise marketing manager at Red Bull UK. She points to CGA figures, which show 37 per cent of customers would leave a venue and not return after receiving a poorly made drink. And there’s the rub. With consumer demand (pull, if you will) for low- and no-alcohol drinks coming from all sectors of the market now, not just the teetotallers who have no alternatives, it’s not just about choice but quality too.

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22/03/2018 05:14

eat Nanny state. This is the instinctive response to the news that Public Health England (PHE) is calling on food producers to reduce calories on products by 20 per cent. But this may actually be an opportunity for pubs to illustrate the healthiness of their food offer. Food has so far avoided legislative action, with the current focus in the UK being on sugary drinks. It’s worked too, as major brands have changed recipes to reduce the sugar tax burden – most infamously Barr’s Irn-Bru. The latest advice from PHE on calories should ring a few alarm bells though. We’ve seen the slow creep from health guidance to legislation before, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a sugar or even “calorie tax” were extended to food products within the next few parliaments.

with JAMES EVISON Where does this leave pub grub? Well, joyfully, in a pretty good position, especially when measured against other fast food and casual dining chains. Admittedly, some pub classics such as fish & chips may be chock-full of calories but pub food is overall a great, healthy choice. Don’t believe me? If you look at the sugars and calories in pub favourites, the figures will probably surprise you. Popular pub grub such as soups, ploughman’s with brown or no bread, potted shrimp, scotch eggs and even pork scratchings have low to moderate calorie counts and/ or low sugar counts. When compared with popular fast food brands, as well as Indian and Chinese restaurants, the data reveals the pub as one of the best options for a healthconscious eater. It’s time for pubs to promote that fact.

Happiness is a warm bun

Moreish idols

Should burgers be all about the bun? The argument has been raging for years now, it seems. Brioche? Seeded? Even ciabatta? Whatever your preference, one question has remained unanswered: the meat-to-bread ratio. Well, now you know… 69 per cent of the burger is pure bun. This is according to a study by influential burger blogger, Burger Lad, in collaboration with burger bun brand Americana. Therefore, it is critical that pubs ensure the right bun is available. Fortunately, the study found that pubs are well on top of this trend, with 71 per cent already ensuring a high-quality bun is being served alongside a gourmet burger. If you aren’t already premiumising your bun, there is a clear reason to do so: apparently consumers are on average willing to pay £1.25 more for the burger to come in this bread. And how can you ensure a great bun? How about your very own bakery, as Inapub discovered in this month’s bread feature on p35-37.

You may have long wondered: what’s the most addictive food? Fortunately, this is a question researchers at Colorado State University were eager to answer. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they found processed foods are the most addictive, and the top ones are also high in fat. Here’s the top 10:

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1. Pizza 2. Chocolate 3. Crisps 4. Biscuits 5. Ice cream 6. Chips 7. Cheeseburgers 8. Cake 9. Cheese 10. Bacon There is a tempting challenge here: create a dish including all of the top 10. Answers on a postcard…

21/03/2018 23:27

STEAK, ALE & MUSHROOM PIE Lee Crowley, head chef

The Ebrington Arms Chipping Camden, Gloucestershire Roasted carrots Beef sauce

“This is a standard chef’s beef sauce. We make a two-day stock, reduce it right down and finish with two litres of red wine, port, juniper, peppercorns and bay leaves “

“These come from Drinkwater’s Farm less than a mile away. We just wash them and roast them in their skins, nice and heavy.”

Roasted parsnip

“We usually have these on here, though we do like to change the garnish every so often,.”

Salt-baked celeriac

“This is baked in salt pastry which we make on site.”

Kale

“This is grown just down the road, in the same village. We just blanch it in salted water and add a bit of butter.”

Puff pastry

“We buy ours in, because puff pastry takes about five hours to make. This comes from our base supplier, A&M Bailey in Stratford. It’s a fully encased pie, I think a pie has to be unless it’s something like a cottage pie.”

Steak, ale & mushroom filling

“We take diced beef chuck and slowcook it in the pub’s own Yubby Bitter. We add some button mushrooms, a load of bay leaves and thyme and cook it for a good eight to 12 hours. It’s one of those where we have to work a day ahead.”

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Roasted new potato

“We roast them quite heavily to get a nice bit of colour on them.”

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eat.

Flour power by JAMES EVISON

The idea of “breaking bread” and sharing something among friends is a natural fit with the community spirit of a pub, so adding a bakery to a local makes perfect sense — and is something more and more licensees are considering.

Indeed, the idea of having your own bakery is a no-brainer when it comes to increasing profits and efficiency for a food offer. Not only can an on-site bakery provide bread for the menu within the pub, such as sandwiches and side plates, but it can also sell standalone baked goods to take away. But how feasible are they? Several projects by Pub is the Hub — the non-profit organisation helping communities purchase and run their locals — have

Rules of the bread game Choose your produce: The Pendruddocke Arms uses both fresh and frozen breads in its offer. Being able to say the bread is “home-made” can help sell some items but frozen cuts down on wastage. Up-sell: Premiumise your breads. Gone are the days of “brown or white?” when it comes to sandwiches: now you need to offer Italian, French, sourdoughs… ensure you have a range available and make sure staff are offering them. Show it off: Present your breads to your customers in an attractive display. There is nothing quite like showing off the fresh produce available.

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created bakeries as standalone businesses or to support the pub. One such example can be found at The Penruddocke Arms, which earlier this year decided to create a bakery and shop in an unused pool and darts room. The licensees, Matt Keel and Carly Hunt, made the move after the closure of a shop and Post Office in their nearby village.

Meeting a local knead

Matt tells Inapub the bakery created a unique selling point for his shop. He says: “We looked at purchasing the community shop down the road, but it was a bit too far from the pub to keep an eye on. The games room wasn’t making any money, so we thought about turning it into a shop — then we had the idea of adding a bakery to it.” Obviously, the first question for the prospective licensee thinking about a bakery would be: who gets up to bake in the morning? Matt is a chef, which helps. He says: “I get up in the morning and bake the pies, loaves, baguettes and Danish pastries for the shop. The recommendation

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“

It was crucial we weren’t throwing anything away for our bakery to be successful

is to do three bakes a day, but we often find morning and lunchtime is sufficient. “The bakery supplies all the bread for sandwiches and baguettes in the pub too.” Indeed, one of the most important elements for Matt was to ensure there was no wastage from the bakery to make it

commercially viable. He says: “If we have any Danishes left over from the morning baking that we haven’t sold, I will use them to make desserts in the evening for the pub. It was crucial we weren’t throwing anything away for it to be successful.” As well as baking pies and produce to sell

Speciality Breads challenges chefs to prove their creativity Kent-based artisan baker Speciality Breads is supporting the roll-out of its latest brioche and spiced fruit bun frozen doughs with the launch of a “Prove It” competition for chefs. To enter, chefs simply need to prove their imagination by creating a masterpiece using one of Speciality Breads’ new frozen doughs. To entice the UK’s most innovative chefs to share their bakery creations, the baker is offering a gourmet stay package for two at London’s Capital Hotel, including a five-course taster menu plus drinks at Nathan Outlaw’s Michelin-starred restaurant, as an incentive. Chefs taking part in the campaign will receive a free case of frozen dough samples. They are then requested to share a picture, gif or video of their handiwork on Twitter with details of the bread using @SpecialBreads and #JustDoughIt, or by email: comp@specialitybreads.co.uk. The competition will be running until April 30, with all entries being judged by Speciality Breads’ team of artisan bakers on quality, appearance, originality and consistency with the brand image. Simon Cannell, managing director of Speciality Breads, said: “Hopefully our ‘Prove It’ competition will not only show how versatile and easy our frozen doughs are but will also showcase how creative our UK chefs are.”

36 APRIL 2018

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at the bakery, Matt also produces a pizza takeaway offer and is now considering a delivery service for older, vulnerable residents in his community. This sounds like a lot to do, but Matt doesn’t see it that way. “The bakery oven looks after itself, really. Once you turn it on and put the bakes in, as well as any homemade stuff we might do, that’s it.”

Open all hours

“The shop doesn’t really close,” he says. “When the official hours are over, pub-goers know they can ask me or Carly to nip across and get them milk or bread. As long as the pub is open, the bakery is open.” Matt is also driving loyalty from shopgoers to the pub. “We have seen trade in the pub increase since the shop opened,” he says. “We have created a loyalty card system — if you spend £10 in the shop, you get £10 off your next meal in the pub. We are trying to feed both businesses off each other. “We’ve discovered a lot of users from the bakery who aren’t regulars of the pub.” But what is the workload like of running a bakery, on top of a pub? “It is hard work, I would say that,” he says. “You should definitely go into it with your eyes open but, having said that, we haven’t had any negatives from doing it yet.”

Getting the dough

Matt and Carly approached all of their suppliers, as well as Pub is the Hub and the local authority, for assistance in their venture — and this is something he is eager to encourage licensees to do. Their beer supplier, Greene King, even offered £400 for the fridge to store produce. He also says for him and Carly it was “too much of a gamble” to spend £2,000 on an bakery oven, so he found a bread supplier that would pay for all the equipment, provided they purchased bread. “Obviously, if you have the capital to buy an oven outright that’s great, as it gives you the freedom to choose your own breads. “But if you are starting up a bakery, finding a good, reliable supplier, as we have done, could well be preferable.”

To celebrate the launch of our new range of frozen doughs, we’re giving away a Gourmet Stay Package for two at London’s Capital Hotel including a 5-course taster menu plus drinks at Nathan Outlaw’s Michelin-starred restaurant. We’re asking UK chefs to prove their creativity with one of our new frozen doughs and share their masterpiece with us. Can you rise to the challenge? To get involved please visit: www.specialitybreads.co.uk/comp

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21/03/2018 23:42

Prime time for by JAMES EVISON

Barrel & Stone’s Gone Trufflin pizza

pizza

One of the big issues when it comes to our favourite Italian food is that publicans can be overwhelmed by choice. Should you get in a pop-up pizza van? Pricey wood-fired ovens? Frozen or fresh? Whether you want to develop a complex artisanal offer for customers, or a simple and quick pepperoni, there is a range of options out there for every publican. Pizza is the on-trend food of the moment. Last month Ei Group launched its Barrel Top pizza concept, illustrating how pubcos are jumping on it. But there are already a number of options available to independent licensees and tenants. One such example is the pizza firm Barrel & Stone, which already has 80 partnership sites, and has plans to launch around 490 deals with pubs and restaurants in the next 12 months. Russell Hardiman, former licensee of The Pinkneys Arms outside Maidenhead, co-founded Barrell & Stone. He drew on his own experience behind the bar, and his personal issues around hiring chefs and developing compelling pub food offers with a good profit margin.

Death of the gastropub

He says: “It’s very difficult to keep hold of good kitchen staff. If you have a great chef, he will be in high demand and will be poached by other places. When you add the stresses that chefs face, and the fact the relationship between publicans and chefs can be fractious, we looked for a better solution.” For Russell, this meant buying a pizza oven and working with a friend who had a base mix. The result? Selling 200 pizzas on a single sunny weekend. He is blunt about how he sees the industry changing. “The gastropub is finished. It is about wet pubs with great craft beer and deskilling the kitchen. The capital expenditure to set up and run a large kitchen just doesn’t work. It literally takes years to get your money back – and even then, you could lose the chef, and be back to square one.” Russell’s business model is all about “reducing stress for the publican”. For him, pizza works because it makes life easier for the licensee and has a great gross profit margin. He now delivers not only the food but the ovens and set-up to pubs. He continues: “There are so many

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“

A good pizza and craft beer pairing avoids the staffing costs of a high-level kitchen – reducing it by 60 per cent

publicans that are just tired. A good pizza and craft beer pairing avoids the staffing costs of a high-level kitchen – reducing it by 60 per cent. We’ve also seen an average growth of 4.5 per cent in wet-led pub revenues with our pizza offer.”

Can you top the pizza chains?

One of the key trends for licensees is the movement towards creating artisanal, bespoke offers that set them apart from managed chains. The sourcing of ingredients is key to ensure premiumisation, such as Barrel & Stone bringing produce from Italy. Richard Cooper, senior brand manager for Dr. Oetker Professional, says: “Pubs looking to provide an artisanal offering and showcase new recipes, but limited on time and kitchen skill to make their own pizza dough, can do so with the help of preprepared bases.” “The versatility of pizza means pubs can command a higher price point by using more premium ingredients, too. As consumers become more adventurous in

their tastes, operators have the opportunity to get creative and tap into the latest food trends to help increase profits. “From high-end cured meats and rich cheeses to lobster and smoked salmon, the only limit is your imagination.”

Don’t forget the veggies and vegans

John Steele, national account controller at Futura Foods, also points to the importance of veganism and taking into account not just vegetarian options for pizza, but dairy-free ones too. He said: “With veganism soaring in both popularity and prevalence in recent years – there are now over half-a-million vegans in Britain, with the plant-based market set to reach £4.3bn by 2022* – chefs and caterers are starting to realise they must adapt their menus.” Options for chefs include dairy-free alternatives to mozzarella which are made from rice – suitable for vegans, vegetarians, coeliacs and those with a dairy intolerance. The substitute cheese even has the same “stringy’ effect as mozzarella. As we mentioned at the start, the options are endless. *The Vegan Society, December 2017

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APRIL 2018 39 21/03/2018 23:59

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play with MATT ELEY The forthcoming BT Sport Pub Cup is a timely reminder about the link between pubs and grassroots sport. Supporting a local side is not only good from a community perspective but it can also be very good for business. For a relatively small sponsorship fee and a bit of free grub on the weekend you will have a captive squad – and their partners, families and friends – who should stay loyal to you. And it isn’t just football. On these pages before we have looked at how links with various sports such as rugby, American football and even Aussie Rules can connect you to a host of people who love to play hard on and off the field. They will also like watching sport, which means it is time

for you to turn your attention to the biggest event of the summer, the FIFA World Cup. Past failures mean that most operators are not planning for more than three England matches. This should still be enough for some big trade – and any further progress would be a big bonus. Official beer of the tournament Budweiser has linked up with MatchPint to provide customers with incentives to go to their local to watch the tournament. Now is the time for pubs to start doing the same. Because one day England are going to get it right at a major football tournament and you want to ensure you are ready to capitalise when they do.

Could your football team win you £5k of equipment and a BT subscription? The live draw for the BT Sport Pub Cup takes place this month and it will see which of the hundreds of teams that entered will get to play at six top stadiums around the country. Preliminary matches take place at grounds around the country – Hillsborough, Goodison Park, Easter Road, The Hawthorns, The Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth and Loftus Road – in early May. Winners will then compete at the National Football Centre in Burton upon Trent for the chance to play in the Pub Cup Final at Leicester’s King Power stadium on June 2. The triumphant team will scoop a BT subscription for a year and £5,000 of equipment for the pub they are representing. Bruce Cuthbert, director for commercial customers at BT Sport, said: “Pubs are at the heart of their community and we want to help them thrive by giving their football teams the chance of a Premier League experience and to give something back to their local!” For more information visit www.btsport.com/pubcup.com

42 APRIL 2018

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Grand National

It’s the one day of the year when everyone wants to be in a sweepstake. Make sure they are in yours. April 14, 5.15pm, ITV

The Masters

Roger Federer is the number one tennis player in the world, Phil Mickelson is winning golf tournaments and Tiger Woods is one of the favourites for golf’s first major of year. Is it really 2018? There’s not much in sport that can match the Sunday drama at Augusta. April 5-8, Sky Sports/BBC

Happening this month F1

The fastest things on four wheels are back and there are three Grands Prix this month, in Bahrain, China and Azerbaijan.

Manchester Derby

April 8, 15, 29, Sky Sports

Could City complete a sensational season by confirming their Premier League title win with a victory over their old foes? Those days in League One must feel a very long way away now. Saturday April 7, 5.30pm, Sky Sports

Champions League

It’s an all-Premier League tie in the quarterfinals. Liverpool face Man City for a place in the semis, which also start later this month. The likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are still in the reckoning. April 3,4,10,11,24,25, BT Sport

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National Gardening Day

It’s time to get out and make your back yard beautiful again. Have you seen our feature on murals (p10-12)? Just saying… April 30

St George’s Day: did you know? Many pubs will proudly fly the St George’s Cross on April 23. Do you know the real George? 1. George wasn’t English. He was believed to have been born in what is now Turkey in around 280AD. 2. He was a soldier in the Roman army. Refusal to join in persecution of Christians led to his own execution and eventual martyrdom. 3. The story of him killing a dragon emerged in the medieval times, centuries after George died on April 23, 303AD. It’s probably not true . 4. It wasn’t until around 1222 that St George’s Day was celebrated in England or that his emblem became the national flag. He became our patron saint more than 100 years later. 5. He shares a deathday with another English hero, William Shakespeare. This is why the International Day of the Book is also celebrated on April 23. 6. St George’s Day is also marked in Canada, Croatia, Portugal, Cyprus, Greece, Georgia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Macedonia.

22/03/2018 06:27

The final countdown by MATT ELEY

We’re nearing that nail-biting time of year when the trophies are handed out to sporting champions. Here are some tips on how to make sure fans enjoy those dramatic moments with you.

Big game player: make sure your team are up for the cup and your customers know your venue is the place to watch the big matches

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Make it a royal affair

The FA Cup Final is traditionally the final game of the domestic campaign. This year it shares a date with another big domestic tie — the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle —

on May 19. The Cup Final (and Scottish Cup Final) can be celebrated late into the night, with pubs that have a traditional closing time of 11pm being given permission to blow the final whistle at 1am instead. Make sure you are ready for extra time.

Get May 26 in the diary

Let your customers know

This could be one of the biggest trading days for sports pubs, with Champions League, Championship PlayOff and rugby’s Aviva Premiership being decided on the same day. It should be full of tears, cheers and beers.

Knowing the key dates is one thing — but you’ve got to get the message out there. Sky Business marketing director Tracy Harrison says: “Post the fixtures you’ll be showing to your pub’s Facebook, Twitter or Instagram feed and keep doing so. It’s important to do it multiple times, as you don’t know when exactly your customers will be online to see each post. Repeat posts ensure more people can see it.”

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play. Pic: Carlos Yao

Eyes on the prize: this year’s FA Cup Final shares May 19 with another big match — the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

“

Post the fixtures you’ll be showing to your pub’s Facebook, Twitter or Instagram feed and keep doing so

Ram the message home

Don’t forget to push the message inside your four walls as well. Sky and BT Sport, which between them will screen most of the big events, have a range of social assets and point-of-sale designed to help you promote matches. Use them. Bruce Cuthbert, director for commercial customers at BT Sport, advises: “Create match day offers and specials tailored to the cup final teams and the competitions. But pubs also need to make sure all their customers know their venue is the place to be for these events by promoting their plans both in venue and across social media.”

Keep it interesting

As mentioned above, you can create extra interest with promotions designed around games. First-scorer sweepstakes or half-price drinks until the first goal are simple ways of adding to the fun. Tracy suggests using social channels to promote the competitions, adding: “Create some interaction on social media by offering customers the chance to win a VIP area in your premises for the upcoming matches.”

Top up energy levels

Fans will want to eat but they will want to keep it as simple as possible. This is where handheld options such as burgers, chips, pizzas and chicken wings can take centre stage. Tracy says: “People who have come to watch sport are going to be there for an hour minimum, so they are already a great target audience to upsell food to.”

Keep up the pace

Pick your best players

On high-traffic days you are likely to want fast-service solutions. Lager lanes and buckets of beer will ensure people can get what they want without spending too long away from the big screen.

You will need your best team on the bar for busy days. Ensure they are informed about who’s playing who and they are ready for the action. Team kits or easily identifiable tops could help on a busy bar.

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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY SATURDAY, MAY 5 SSE Women’s FA Cup Final

5.30pm BBC

FRIDAY, MAY 11 European Challenge Cup Final (Rugby Union)

8pm BT Sport, Sky Sports

SATURDAY, MAY 12 European Champions Cup Final (Rugby Union)

4.45pm BT Sport, Sky Sports

SUNDAY, MAY 13 Last day of Premier League

3pm Sky Sports

WEDNESDAY, MAY 16 Europa League Final

7.45pm BT Sport

SATURDAY, MAY 19 Emirates FA Cup Final

TBC BBC, Sky Sports

SATURDAY, MAY 19 Scottish FA Cup Final

TBC BBC Scotland, Sky Sports

SATURDAY, MAY 26 Aviva Premiership Final

3pm BT Sport

SATURDAY, MAY 26 Champions League Final

7.45pm BT Sport

MAY 26–28 EFL Play-Off Finals

TBC Sky Sports

Be part of the action

While the big games are being played out on the big screen, there is also a chance for your pub team to make an impact on the field of play. The BT Sport Pub Cup also takes place in May, giving pub teams the chance to play at some of the best grounds in the country. For more information check out p42.

your homework 10 Do Take a note of everything that works

and everything that doesn’t during the cup final season. Those lessons could come in handy in June when the FIFA World Cup kicks off.

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30/01/2018 00:53

Get your head in the game play.

by MATT ELEY

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In September, 10,000 e-sports fans will head to Wembley arena

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I’m in a pub in north London and Spurs v Arsenal is on the big screen. Weirdly, though, I’m the only person who is watching the game. It’s a half-decent match as well. Harry Kane’s already grabbed the opener and he’s bullying the Gunners’ back line for fun. I turn to have a sip of drink. When I look back Arsenal have equalised. I feel irritated at missing the goal, but get over it quickly when I equate my annoyance with the fact that I’m actually just watching a couple of people I’ve never even spoken to playing each other at Fifa 18. And it’s not just these two. All around the periphery of Meltdown on Caledonian Road, gamers are playing against friends in the venue or are wired up to PCs or PS4s to play others online. Meanwhile, big screens around the bar show some of the best gamers in the world battling it out. It may seem bizarre now but e-sports might not just be an opportunity for partici-

pation in pubs — it could also grow into a huge spectator event in this country. Duncan Morrison is the co-owner of the business, which is one of a growing number in the UK dedicated to e-sports. He says: “The industry is growing all the time. The growth in the past five or six years has been exponential.” Meltdown itself is an example of this. It launched in Paris in 2012 and now has 30 franchises across Canada and Europe.

A global game

This reflects the incredible increase in the popularity of e-sports. Various sources suggest global revenues from e-sports are heading north of £1bn a year and, says Goldman Sachs, this is growing at a rate of 22 per cent per year. “Athletes”, as

APRIL 2018 47 22/03/2018 01:31

the best players are known, compete in a range of games, with fans packing arenas to watch them. The prize pot for the International Dota 2 Championship — an online battle arena game — stood at more than £20m last year. In September 10,000 e-sports fans will head to Wembley Arena to watch teams battle for the Counter Strike: Global Offensive Major. Are we likely to see e-sports hitting mainstream pubs any time soon? “I expect the crossover will be pubs showing the major tournaments,” Duncan says. “We stream it all the time and when teams from the UK are competing it can feel like a traditional sports bar.” Meltdown is fairly traditional in the sense that it has your usual beers and spirits on display, and events throughout the week — in this case gaming tournaments — are a big driver of trade. The money comes in from traditional revenue streams, with private venue hire another source.

Game for a laugh

Not your traditional pub games: venues like Meltdown offer a mix of letting customers play or watch e-sports with indulging in more typical pub activities

Naturally, the majority of customers are gamers or fans of gaming, but some just enjoy the casual and friendly atmosphere. Duncan continues: “The gaming is an ice-breaker for conversation, which isn’t always easy in a pub or bar. Most people come here initially because of the gaming but we have regulars who just come in for a drink and the social side.”

And he adds gamers are more sociable than the stereotype of teens who never leave their bedroom would suggest. “With e-sports it isn’t like you have to play for 12 hours — most games last half-an-hour to 40 minutes. By necessity you are playing against other people and most are team games, so you are playing with other people. “Most of those people are sociable but there was nowhere to go. They would chat online but now they can meet in real life, so it was something people were waiting for.” This is why companies such as nightclub operator Deltic have been closely monitoring the e-sports world. In October it held an event at Birmingham nightclub Pryzm dedicated to gaming, which featured gaming rigs all over the venue. More events are planned this year. Tim Howard, Deltic marketing director, says e-sports represent a big opportunity for venues, particularly on quieter days of the week — the firm held its first event on a Sunday. “We used the entire venue and provided people with different experiences and game areas. The market is interesting because gamers can be aged from five to 65, so you can segment this in a number of ways. My feeling is it starts with social gaming and the student market and builds from there. “It has a long way to run and I am sure we will adapt what we do along the way.” Which means it’s a case of game on, rather than game over, for pubs looking to tap into this potentially lucrative market.

E-sports by numbers

100m

League of Legends players worldwide

£8m

191m

People watched e-sports once a month in 2017

22%

3.6m

61%

People in UK have watched e-sports

Estimated UK e-sports ticket sales to events by 2021

Of US male millennials watch e-sports

Of UK e-sport fans are aged between 21 and 35

Stats from Newzoo, YouGov and the Association of UK Interactive Gaming

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18/12/2017 18:23

stay 11

Hobby houses by MICHELLE PERRETT

Licensee Ann France doubles as a wetsuit washerwoman when the divers descend on the pub

Whether it is the cycling club, amateur golfers, bird-watchers, hikers or shooting groups, offering accommodation to groups of hobbyists can be a great business driver for pubs.

Just look at Thwaites tenant Ann France of the Kings Arms, in Burton-in-Kendal, Cumbria, who has a strong accommodation

business catering for diving groups. She says referrals from the local dive centre, which runs dives in an old quarry, have helped the business grow over the last few years. The pub has one group of around 30 divers who stay at the pub around six times a year. “We only had six rooms in the main building, so we converted a derelict barn into another seven rooms and they take all 13 of them,” she says. “That is 26 people in total, plus two camper vans arrive, so there are 30 divers each visit.” She says that as well as the income from the rooms, all of the divers eat and drink on the premises, bringing in additional revenue. They are all provided with freshly cooked hot breakfasts and are given healthy and wholesome food to ensure they are set up for the physical challenges of their few days diving.

Stringing up the bodies

“I am also the wash lady hanging out wetsuits”, says Ann. “The car park looks quite bizarre when they are here as it looks like bodies hanging from the washing lines!” “We are often a barrel of Wainwright light when they are here. They make themselves at home, as we are not in any way posh and pretentious and just want them to relax and enjoy it.” Offering a hospitable atmosphere is something that the Redcomb Pubs-owned Carnarvon Arms Hotel in Newbury prides itself on too. It has 18 en suite bedrooms which are popular with shooting parties due to the pub’s location near a number of estates and shooting parks.

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Horses for courses: The Carnarvon Arms in Newbury caters to the discerning customer base of shooting parties, while Ben Henderson at The Lake District’s Swinside Inn offers mountain weather guides and packed lunches to walkers

“

We are often a barrel of Wainwright light when the divers are here. They make themselves at home

It hosts around 10 to 15 shooting parties each year, with groups usually consisting of around eight to 10 guests. Many of its bookings for shooting groups are from repeat customers and word-ofmouth recommendation. It also promotes its shooting breaks via its website and social media channels as well as through a number of third-party listing services. It offers group booking discounts of around 10 per cent to incentivise these larger parties.

Catering to a community

“The shooting community is small and well-connected, so we want to ensure that all members involved with the trip, from the organiser to the driver and participants, are made to feel special,” says David Keogh, general manager. The pub has to ensure that it caters for the different shooting seasons for grouse, pheasant and partridge. Guests are also provided with bespoke evening and lunchtime menus that fit around their shooting schedules. “We also ensure an extensive range of premium wines and spirits are available throughout the duration of the shooting season for this more discerning customer base,” David says.

On the march

Another area where pubs with rooms can capitalise is walking groups.

Star Pubs and Bars pub The Swinside Inn, near Keswick in the Lake District, was runner-up for the UK Great Outdoors Walkers Pub of the Year Award in 2016. Licensee Ben Henderson says that the location of the pub was crucial when deciding what groups to target for the business. “It is about identifying what market you want,” he says. “Cyclists was a group we initially investigated but we didn’t feel we had the facilities to do this, as they wanted large storage areas for bikes.” Once walkers had been decided on, Ben made links with travel companies that run walking holidays as well as getting bookings via word of mouth. “We offer them incentives to deal with us,” he says. “They organise the walking groups and put us on the route.” He says the additional benefit of having groups stay at the venue is the increase in sales of food and drink. It is also the small touches that help make the groups feel comfortable that help repeat business. For example, during breakfast walkers are supplied with a daily mountain weather guide to help them choose their route. Packed lunches are also offered for an extra charge. Whatever the hobby group, getting them to stay for a few days and spend their money in the pub is a clearly going to be a winner for the licensee. By offering that extra service, pubs will be a winner for hobby groups too.

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back-bar business

The law has changed. Is your data still legal? by JAMES EVISON

There is certainly a lot of fearful chat as far as the General Data Protection Regulation is concerned but don’t worry — if you follow the rules, compliance is quite straightforward. Here are the need-to-knows: It is already law but will be enforced from May 25, 2018 You need to change the way personal data is obtained, stored and secured Penalties for non-compliance will be pretty beefy — four per cent of annual turnover What do you need to do? First, you need to understand the “personal data” you hold and

• • •

where you keep it. This is names, email addresses, phone numbers, bank details, addresses. It can even include biometric or genetic data (but, let’s face it, how many licensees hold that info?) Joking aside, the bit about “indirect identification” does cover digital data (the IP addresses we use when going online, for example). You need to make sure there is no way when data is combined someone can be identified. A simple rule: if you are worried it could count as personal data and the customer has not consented, bin it.

All about consent

This is the crux of the matter for the pub trade and all businesses: did you ask before sending that marketing email to a customer? What you must do is explain how you will use a customer’s data and also get their permission at the point of collecting it — so it is probably time to ditch that fishbowl for business cards on the bar. The basic rule is you have to ask, and if you are not sure if you did in the past, it is probably best to ask again for unambiguous, freely given consent. You also need to have a history of this consent.

Access to your customers

Erasing the past: the General Data Protection Regulation introduces a right to be forgotten, which makes it even more important you know whose data you are storing, where it is and how easily you can get rid of it

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Next there is the access issue: where and how do you store all this information? On an Excel spreadsheet on a publicly accessible computer, for example? Maybe a USB stick in a locked drawer? Hmm… What it comes down to is just making sure the data is

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“

What you must do is explain how you will use a customer’s data and also get their permission at the point of collecting it, so it is probably time to ditch that fishbowl for business cards on the bar trade.inapub.co.uk

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secured. Think about where you keep it and who has access to it. You will probably be surprised how often it has been used in the past by different people (and what customers have had sent to them). There are plenty of solutions on the market for securing this data cheaply and making sure only the licensee or marketing manager has access to it — and can easily tell a customer what information you have. There is a whole host of software and online companies that are easily searchable.

It wasn’t me, officer

Another issue that has arisen is the role of the data protection officer (DPO). You need to have a DPO in the workforce if you carry out large-scale processing of data. They ensure compliance is maintained with the GDPR and all employees are trained on the matter. It is aimed at public authorities, such as those processing data on criminals, and those undertaking “large-scale processing of individuals”. As with most things GDPR, it is best to check if you need one — for example, if you are a medium-sized operator sending out hundreds of thousands of emails. It does not hurt to consult a lawyer, sometimes.

Right to be forgotten

The right to be forgotten was another muchpromoted element of the GDPR. Now your customers will have the right to request their information is completely erased.

This is not an opt-in or opt-out issue — you have to comply. So no more false “unsubscribes”, which are then still held in a database. If the customers asks to be totally forgotten, you must delete any information you have on them. This is why data storage is so important. One location, one list. If your data is fragmented, how can you be sure you have truly erased the individual? This is why it is probably worth investing in a tool where you can easily monitor all your customer information in one place.

Don’t panic

The most important thing to remember is many customers will still want to hand over their details even after the GDPR comes into force. If you are a small operator and do not have a huge list, consider whether it would be easier to just completely rebuild your data in a GDPR-compliant fashion. After all, customers love a promotion. If they are willing to give you their info and fully consent to it, do not be put off from sending them marketing emails just because the law has changed. This is about handing back control to people to access information held about them. Actually, it could be a great thing. Remember, once the initial hit of “I don’t want to receive emails” subsides, you will end up with a really clean, high-quality list of customers, eager to hear about your latest offer or event.

APRIL 2018 53 22/03/2018 01:59

time at the bar

TOP

SEASIDE PUBS

Britain’s finest spots for a beer beside the beach 1. The Old Neptune

Whitstable, Kent You can’t get much more seaside than the “Neppy” – this delightfully ramshackle pub sits actually on the pebble beach at Whitstable. It was washed away twice in the 19th century, and the current building was erected in 1897 using timber reclaimed from the original construction. We can’t think of a better metaphor for the resilience of the pub trade, nor a more atmospheric spot for a pint of Whistable Bay and a portion of whitebait.

2. The Old Forge Pic: Magnus D

Inverie, Knoydart, Scotland With no roads in or out and accessible only by a seven-mile sea crossing or a 15-mile back-country hike, The Old Forge needs to give people a reason to visit. If the stunning location on the loch weren’t enough, there’s also the seafood, the whiskies and the “bring your own instruments, or borrow ours” music policy. When Inapub visited a few years ago we found it well worth the walk.

3. The Pandora Inn

Falmouth, Cornwall You can actually dine on the water here, with tables set out on a pontoon for patrons to enjoy local seafood and cream teas. The pontoon also serves as a prime crabbing ground for kids, with crab lines available from the bar.

4. The Anchor Inn

Pic: Robert Pitman

Seatown, Dorset Perched just above the shingle beach and blessed by picture-perfect sunsets, The Anchor holds its own in the Jurassic coast, an area blessed with outstanding natural beauty and a plethora of excellent traditional pubs. Overnight guests can let the sound of the waves lull them to sleep.

5. South Beach Bar & Grill

Tenby, Pembrokeshire Brains’ development on the beachfront opened in 2012, offering spectacular sea views and al fresco dining.

6. The Anchor Inn

Morston, Norfolk Possibly the only pub in the country with a separate counter to book seal-watching trips. Formerly a haunt of smugglers, these days it is frequented by destination diners who come for its renowned seafood.

7. The Coastguard

St Margaret’s Bay, Dover, Kent Britain’s closest pub to France has a maritime look, with a lighthouse style fascia and boat-shaped planters and lifebelts against the famous white cliffs.

8. The Ty Coch Inn

Porthdinllaen, Gwynedd Named the third-best beach bar in the world a few years back, The Ty Coch is accessible by a mile walk over the beach. Among the services it offers is a defibrillator for anyone needing emergency assistance in its remote location, but hopefully the varied beer selection and hearty fare will be more the kind of thing you’re looking for.

9. The Marisco Tavern

Lundy Marooned in the middle of the Bristol Channel, Lundy’s only pub is the only building on the island to have lighting after the generators shut down for the night.

10. The Ship Inn

Low Newton, Northumberland Drinkers can hear the seals calling from the rocks as they sup on Ship Hop Ale and Sandcastles at Dawn from the pub’s own brewery just across the road.

Pic: Si Emmett

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The eighth annual Young’s Scotch Egg Challenge was given a charitable twist this time around, partnering with community kitchen Refettorio Felix. Refettorio Felix is a collaboration between the global Food For Soul organisation and London food waste charity The Felix Project. Twelve of the best seats in the house were auctioned off to raise funds and specially designed Scotch Egg Challenge t-shirts were also sold to guests on the night for the charity. This year’s winners of the Scotch Egg Challenge, Meedu Saad and Robert Juer from The Smoking Goat Shoreditch, London, will be visiting the community kitchen soon to create a special three-course meal. Meedu and Robert triumphed this year with their Thai-spiced fermented crab with Tamworth pork Scotch egg. Eggceptional work guys.

THE COLLECTION TIN What pubs around the country are doing to help good causes Last year the team at The New World Trading Company (NWTC) pubco raised £100,000 for charity. Staff took on sponsored challenges and held events at the company’s 20 venues. Barnardo’s and the Tim Bacon Foundation, which supports cancer charities, were the main beneficiaries of the cash. The recently re-opened Colebrook Inn, Plympton, Plymouth held a charity race night, raising £120 for the Woodside Animal Sanctuary. Landlord Rob Naylor took on the pub last July with the aim of turning it back into a great village pub, including a return to charitable events.

Since opening last May the team at The Red Lion in Odiham, Hampshire, have raised £1,600 for good causes and have now teamed up the local RAF base to fundraise for the RAF Benevolent Fund through 2018. Ideas include a sponsored walk along Hadrian’s Wall and donating 20p from every pint of Red Mist ale sold. Thirty dogs and their owners joined Joal Tauri and Vicky Jordan, managers of The Carpenters Arms in Limpsfield Chart, Surrey, to raise more than £100 for Dogs Unite, which fundraises for Guide Dogs.

LANDLORD OF THE MONTH Landlady Donna Chater of The Victoria Inn, Bognor Regis, might have lost her hair but she’s gained a crown as our April Landlord of the Month. Donna shaved her head to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK, alongside customer Alison Dodd, whose husband has been diagnosed with Prostate Cancer. The Head Shave took place on February 17 and, together with a raffle and food, the two women raised more than £3,500. “I am shocked and overwhelmed to be named Landlord of the Month, what an honour,” Donna said. “The event went really well and I’m thrilled we were able to raise awareness of a disease that affects one in eight men in the UK. Everyone had a great time and I encourage all

landlords to sign up and turn their pubs into a Men United Arms.” Donna, her staff and customers are now aiming to be shortlisted to be in with a chance of becoming Prostate Cancer UK’s “Favourite Local”, judged by a panel of industry experts including Masterchef judge Gregg Wallace, as part of the Charity’s Men United Arms campaign. For more information visit prostatecanceruk.org/inapub

Are you raising funds for a great cause? Let us know at editorial@inapub.co.uk

APRIL 2018

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trade.inapub.co.uk 22/03/2018 02:55

PLATE OR SLATE? Where the nation’s publicans stand on the really big questions Dan Cramp, The Three Crowns Wymeswold, Leicestershire

Plate or slate?

Menus online or on paper?

Plate. All the way. Clean, white, hot. We are partial to a wooden board for a burger though...

The Three Crowns is owned by the Cat & Wickets Pub Company, in which Dan is a partner with England cricketers Stuart Broad and Harry Gurney. They brought the wickets, Dan brought the cat.

Cocktails or cask ale?

On paper. We are old-school. Written in-house every day and printed on good old fashioned white A4. The pudding/coffee menu recently went up in the world and is now printed on “off-white” card... posh!

Cask ale. We get a fantastic rotation out here with local brewers such as Magpie, Home Ales and Castle Rock. Recently we got 60/60 from Cask Marque for our standard of real ale... but like our charity work; we don’t like to mention it too much.

Wellies or heels? Wellies. We are in the middle of nowhere! Heels would suit the lovely restaurant next door which the village is also home to... but stop and have a drink with us first... who said those Hunters won’t go with your little black dress?

Karaoke or pub quiz? Pub quiz. All day long. Did I mention our charity work? I did? Get a charity involved on your quiz night, it’s great for the soul and the feel-good factor and they can help fill your pub! The prize for best team name was more important than winning the quiz last time.

Mustard cords or skinny jeans? Neither... #lamfrt (Might have to do your research on twitter on that one!) [–it’s an acronym used to draw attention to one’s red trousers – Ed.]

Packet of scratchings or Michelin stars? Scratchings! The perfect pint accompaniment... my old head chef, Nicci, used to make THE best scratchings in the world… don’t tell her, but I miss her scratchings more than her.

Dogs allowed or the only animals are on the menu? Allowed. We are dog-friendly inside and out here. They go with the wellies from earlier and more often than not they are better behaved than the locals! Plus, my amazing manager Szonja loves dogs and would leave if I barred them!

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22/03/2018 03:04

time at the bar

HAIR OF THE DOG Tales of the unexpected from the wonderful world of pubs ighbourhood Something strange in the ne ce of s got photographic eviden A punter is convinced he’ stol. Bri Old Fish Market pub in ghostly goings on at The nth but it mo t las r oze oto while in the bo Tom Dicker took the ph re in the backinted out a spectral figu wasn’t until his friend po r. s onto something siniste ground that he saw he wa g blond hair lon has rminate gender, The apparition, of indete is possibly wearing ?). spectacles (spectrecles st Po l sto Bri the told Tom an not he’s convinced it’s it’s optical illusion and that e of aus bec ost gh a ly feasib ”. ng “the age of the buildi What do you think? Is this a pub-goer from the supernatural realm, or just someone sitting on the floor?

Fear of the park Two publicans in Hull became so fed up with school-run parents, using the pub car park, they brought in a high-tech system to issue a parking pass on the purchase of a drink. It hasn’t been a popular move, particularly with punters attending a recent fancy dress party at the pub. One woman found herself facing a £236 fine after failing to enter her car details on a touch-screen by the bar. Another reveller got done for £60 because, he told The Hull Daily Mail, he did not see the nine warning signs in the car park because “I only had a small slit in my Wolfman costume to see out of”. We can only imagine the howls of anguish that must have provoked.

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Punters exposed What would you do if you found your patrons exposing themselves in the bar? Throw them out? Call the police? One pub in London’s Balham, though, is actively encouraging such behaviour. The aptly named Exhibit bar ran its first naked speed dating event a couple of weeks ago, inspired by the Channel 4 show Naked Attraction. “All guys and girls in attendance will line up facing one another and then reveal themselves to each other,” the event’s promotional page explains. Then, the instructions continued, it was time to get dressed again, grab a drink and begin speed dating. Rather them than us, in the chilly days of this year’s late March. Have you got Let it all Hang Out on the jukebox?

Best-sheller We love Yorkshire puddings. We al so love Cadbury’s Eggs, but we’re just not sure abou Crème t them together. More fool us thou gh, because The Half Penny Farm Oldbury, Birming pub in ham, enjoyed hu ge success with its pudding offer las Easter t month – a giant Crème Egg York And what a dess shire pudding. ert. It features tw o chocolate spon sandwiched betw ge cakes, een white and or ange fondant (th in the middle of e stuff a Crème Egg), an d capped off wi of Cadbury’s Cr th a load ème Eggs on to p. This whole ca inserted into the ke is then middle of a gian t Yorkshire pudd It’s divided the te ing. am at The Inapub pud itself (we’d Inn though – no all give it at leas t the t a go) but the nu truly eggcellent mber of and eggciting eg g puns we shou crack you up wi ld try to th while writing ab out this eggstra and eggstreme ordinary pud. The yolk’s on us.

trade.inapub.co.uk 22/03/2018 03:27

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inapub

Published on Apr 4, 2018

Inapub magazine april 2018 issue 75

Published on Apr 4, 2018

It’s grey and wet - the Great British Spring must have arrived! Undeterred we’re getting summer-ready in this month’s edition of Inapub, wit...

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