tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post4675977788409921229..comments2024-03-25T18:49:00.608+00:00Comments on The Pub Curmudgeon: A brewery as they used to beCurmudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-38846143920877186102012-02-13T21:43:19.721+00:002012-02-13T21:43:19.721+00:00Good luck to Joules and their approach. There'...Good luck to Joules and their approach. There's a lot to be said for keeping your market local and half the fun of visiting a different part of the country, for the first time, used to be the opportunity to sample beers one hadn't come across before. All that changed with the advent of Beer Agencies and the rise of free houses selling beers from far and wide.<br /><br />I'm not suggesting we go totally back to those days, but some beers just don't travel that well and never taste as good as they do in their heartland.<br /><br />Btw. Harveys don't sell their beer outside the South East.Paul Baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09678639237696546268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-35798625043713697852012-02-09T21:57:35.366+00:002012-02-09T21:57:35.366+00:00There's obviously an overlap between "rea...There's obviously an overlap between "real ale" and "craft beer", the latter being an American term, I believe. However, "craft beer" seems to have become synonymous with what I would call gimmicky beer, ludicrously strong (or weak), full of bloody coriander, passed through the digestive tract of a wombat or whatever. (Oh God, that's going to give BrewDog ideas) Joule's is just good drinking beer and nothing wrong with that.<br />Two facts: The original Joule's was taken over by Bass in the 70s as Cookie says. The new brewery seems to be a sort of phoenix from the flames.<br />Also, the original Mr Joule who started the brewery back in the 1800s was the bloke who came up with the unit of energy (or whatever, I failed physics O-Level)that now bears his name. So there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-72671377100922646532012-02-07T13:06:17.214+00:002012-02-07T13:06:17.214+00:00"classic drinking beers" - the crafterat..."classic drinking beers" - the crafterati will run a mile ;-)"<br /><br />From Joules website<br /><br />"A wonderful thing is happening in Britain, we are re discovering our ale heritage; small batch producers brewing the highest quality beers with regional variations and interesting hop varieties."<br /><br />Are these not "craft beers"? or does traditional not count?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-56120654347030223102012-02-07T12:03:50.403+00:002012-02-07T12:03:50.403+00:00This still going? Protzy has them down as eaten by...This still going? Protzy has them down as eaten by Bass Charrington in his Burton book.<br /><br />Scrub that. I am not a beer geek.Cooking Lagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02830924433230427226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-76275432938544001072012-02-06T23:11:33.332+00:002012-02-06T23:11:33.332+00:00Each failed brewery will have its own unique story...Each failed brewery will have its own unique story, but over-extending the pub portfolio does seem to have often been a factor.<br /><br />@Martin and Bill: ooh, "cracking pubs" serving "classic drinking beers" - the crafterati will run a mile ;-)Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-24727265607006039382012-02-06T19:37:35.249+00:002012-02-06T19:37:35.249+00:00Smiles nearly went out of business by over-extendi...Smiles nearly went out of business by over-extending their property portfolio but bought themselves a few years by selling all but one of their pubs to Young's. They did acquire another pub shortly before gioing down the drain but the main cause of their downfall seems to have been the dramatic deterioration in their beer quality once they outsourced the brewing. Smiles went from a "must-have" to an "Oh God, isn't there anything else? Actually I'll have a Guinness".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-26798939191240247282012-02-06T18:12:14.245+00:002012-02-06T18:12:14.245+00:00The only Joule's pub I've been to is the R...The only Joule's pub I've been to is the Royal Oak in Wrexham and it's a cracking place. It's locally known as "The Embassy" because during WW2 the local Free Polish Army garrison used it as their watering hole and it became known as The Polish Embassy. It's a long skinny pub, only about four yards wide but very comfortably set out with a real fire. It serves the Joule's core range and usually a guest beer. If all the other Joule's pubs are as good as this, I want to go to them.Billnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-40308976167370905772012-02-06T15:54:09.828+00:002012-02-06T15:54:09.828+00:00I hope they thrive. The four I've visted were...I hope they thrive. The four I've visted were all cracking pubs, attracting a wider range of custom than you might expect, and just felt like a great place for a leisurely evening of pub conversation, with or without food.<br /><br />I enjoyed their beers a lot, but they are more in the style of classic drinking beers like Bass than the sort of unusual beer that free houses and beer fests stock.<br /><br />By the way, I'm intrigued by reference to Copper Dragon - haven't seen as much of them in last couple of years when they were ubiquitous in Lancs/Yorks borders.Martin, Cambridgenoreply@blogger.com