All change here please

A little while back I wrote a piece asking how much has changed in 2 years - for me personally, for the pub, for the pub industry and indeed the drinks industry as a whole. I came to the conclusion that actually not a lot has changed.

Well now my personal life has. I'm currently working my 3 months notice at Kilvert's, which will see me finish at the end of February. Then in March, all being well, I start a 3 month brewing diploma with brewlab, up in Sunderland. I suppose I'll have to get a shirt made asking barstaff to take the sparkler off to save me getting a sore throat every time I go out. Then, once that course is finished find a flat in Nottingham and go work for a brewery.

I sent my CV and cover letter over to Castle Rock brewery - the reason I sent it to them is 2-fold, and actually has nothing to do with them winning CBOB this year.

1) They are brewery growing, and as a business grows the people in the business can grow with it. I'd hate to feel like I've got myself into a job where I can't grow and learn more.

2) I didn't think they'd be interested in me for brewing purposes. They have a good team working under the Head Brewer, and I wasn't sure that they'd need someone else on the brewing side. However, they do have a portfolio of 22 pubs which could offer an alternative way of working with the company. Having studied in Nottingham I loved the city, so that was a main attraction for me. The second bit was getting a job I love - in the pub and ale industry.

I've just got back from meeting the team up there and doing a tour of the brewery, seeing their new 40BBL kit in action. It was just an informal chat, get a feel of how they do things up there and what they are looking for, and for them to get a better idea of what I was looking for. I'm happy to say that I should be back up for the SIBA fest in February to talk in more detail with them.

I'm also sending out my CV to a few other companies, mainly near cities as that's quite a big pull for me. I don't know what I'll do if I don't get a job sorted by the end of Brewlab course - probably have another damn good chat with myself and get it together.

I've got to say I couldn't have done all this without the support of one person in particular, who made me realise what I've done and what I'm doing, whilst good, isn't all I've got. I can go further, develop in different ways through new experiences. I want to keep learning - there's so much going on in this industry and I don't believe it's dying. I believe it's finally updating and restructuring. I want to be part of that, to study the details and maybe look at them in a different light. That's why I'm giving up so much - a family business, a family, and friends. And this one person helped me when I most needed it, so thank you.

I love the countryside, and often laugh at the London-based national news. I recently asked on twitter why the fact it's snowing in winter has made the headlines 2 weeks after it started. The response came swiftly - because it's snowing in London. The idea that an underground strike is national news also made me laugh. London has buses, cabs, underground, overground and pavements for those that like to use their legs. That 1 day without 1 form of public transport is worthy news over here where we get a bus every 2 - 3 hours (someone else on twitter asked if this was because of the snow - nope. This is 'public transport' as we know it) and the service stops at 6pm is madness. I'll miss it though. Every day when leaving the house I look over the Beacons and think 'that's beautiful'.

I'll come back - I'll always have family over here and a group of friends that I could well imagine still being friends with in 40 years time. If this weather keeps up it'll also be an affordable snowboarding holiday as well. Sorry for the poor joke - I've decided to try and keep 'personal' bits out of the blog from now on, as the written word can often be misconstrued and I don't want someone to think I've missed them out or aimed something at them when nothing could be further from the truth.

I'll write shortly about some of my highlights from the past four years - I've had some wonderful experiences that I really don't think I would have got anywhere else - possibly similar, but the detail I can still remember them in speaks volumes. And my life ambition still remains the same - a country pub, home-made food, micro-brewery out the back, livestock in the garden and somebody else to do all the boring bits. Well, we can dream, can't we.

In the mean time, you'll have to excuse me from blogging duties. The festive season is upon us, and I've got a lot of strong beer to sell before the VAT increase.

Cheers

Get Connected (Orange phone shop)

Please, do not use this company:

A little over 8 months ago, I took my phone into the store I got it from, explaining that the battery lasted about 4 hours on standby - no calls, messages, internet, anything. I left the phone with them, they told me it'd be sent off to be repaired and back to my house in 7 - 10 days.

2 weeks later I went back to find out where my phone was. Really sorry, came the reply from the different member of staff, you should have been told 2 - 3 weeks. Pissed, I accepted this and left.

5 weeks after the phone had been sent off I went back. At this point I should highlight it's a 60 mile round trip to get to this store. I wanted the contract ended - I use the phone for work and paying over £30 a month when I don't even have the phone wasn't good enough. O, by the way, it was a different member of staff again. I'll save time here - every time I went in it was a different member of staff


The person behind the counter offered a speedier resolution. I take out a new contract, a business one, and they would buy out the remainder of my contract - £200. All I'd have to do is wait for a form to be sent out, fill it in, wait for my first bill, and send the two off. 4 weeks after that I'd have a cheque in my hand for £200. Simple.

The form never came. For the past 7 months, every month, I have gone in. I've had to explain the whole thing each time due to the aforementioned different member of staff there each time I went in. Each time they apologised, spoke to head office, said it was being sent again and they would call me to make sure I'd received it. The form never came, and the phone calls never came, except one. This was the area manager I'd spoken to, who said it was taking a little longer than expected and he'd call me a week later. The second call never came - from the area manager!

The last time I went in, the member of staff again apologised, explained that she was there for the foreseeable future as they had had a lot of complaints about the store. I told her this was the last time I'd be coming into store - if I didn't get it this time I'd be informing trading standards and expect the contract cancelled immediately. A shame because Orange have actually been very helpful each time I've had to call them. A couple of clicks on the computer and the form I needed was printed out. I was speechless. All the time I'd wasted, driving in monthly to be lied to when they could have printed out the form instantly. I signed the form in front of her, went home, got the first bill and sent it off.

Needless to say, nothing has come back, no phone call as promised, and when I called the store it was the same lady. She wrote it in her diary to call me but we haven't got to that page yet. If I really wanted to go ahead anyway I'd have to deal directly with head office. Call the number and press 6 when the options were being read out. I did this. There is no option 6 - it starts the options being read out again. Lied to - again! All the other options just ring and then ask you to leave a message.

So please, by all means use Orange - they've been very helpful every time I've called them since I've been with them 4 years ago. But the store Get Connected can Get Lost.

Cheers

CAMRA support the Supermarkets

Originally posted on the CAMRA forum, but C&P'd over here so everyone can have a gander:


And CAMRA have supported this! I certainly won't be renewing my membership now.

How many beers under 2.8% can you name that are available to pubs in the UK? I can think of 2 - Carling C2 and Brewdog Nanny State.

Camra is supporting this because (Mike Benner) However we are pleased that this widely expected increase will be counterbalanced by a tax cut on low strength beers. Reduced tax on low strength beers is good news for pub goers at a time when 29 pubs are closing every week. This move will incentivise brewers to invest in producing new low strength real ales packed full of flavour."

It won't incentivise brewers at all. I can tell you now, having chosen ales for the bar for just short of 4 years now, ranging from Hobson's Mild at 3.2% to Brewdog Tactical Nuclear Penguin (18%, Bottle), the most common strength beer asked for is between 4 and 5 %. Whilst some people, especially at lunch time, ask for the weakest beer, the vast majority choose something higher. Often coupled with a suggestion that weaker beers taste like (insert animal urine here). 

So primarily, there's just not demand for these weaker beers. Secondly, small brewers who benefit from PBD will not benefit from the reduction in duty - they already have that reduction. Family+ size brewers would benefit, but why would they if demand isn't there?

There is one group who would benefit from this though - the supermarkets. Tesco lager 2%, ASDA 2.8%, Sainsbury 2.6%

So well done CAMRA. At a time when winter warmers are on the bar and European strong beers in the fridge, you accept this, giving the supermarkets exactly what they want. They want 'cost' to be defined as 'duty+vat' so as to not sell below-cost. Now they've cut that 'cost' and CAMRA having stood by clapping as it's done.

I also expect this to be the thin edge. It won't work - binge drinkers who don't want to pay a bit more for their super-strength lager will switch to cider, wine or spirits, which don't attract this 'super-tax'. As it won't work, next year they'll lower the threshold to 7%. Then 6.5% 

And by condoning this action you've also supported the Neo-Pros, who at the next argument will point out that CAMRA supported a move to increase prices in order to reduce binge drinking.

I'm so angry at this!

Cheers indeed