Passing on the torch

It had been widely rumoured, but it has now been officially confirmed that Humphrey Smith, long-standing Chairman of Samuel Smith’s Brewery, is to stand down in December of this year when he reaches the age of 80. He will be succeeded by his 36-year-old son Samuel, who has already been running the company’s London estate.

It must be said that this news will not provoke many tears, as Humphrey has been, to say the least, a controversial character, and some of his actions have seemed downright perverse. He has imposed draconian and offputting house rules in his pubs, he has gained a reputation for treating his staff in an arbitrary and high-handed manner, and he has kept many properties, both licensed and unlicensed, closed for many years, sometimes stretching into decades, partly due to the difficulties he has experienced in recruiting suitable managers for his pubs.

How much of a change the new regime will bring remains to be seen, but surely there must be some relaxation in the house rules, in particular allowing the use of mobile phones and other devices. It would not be unreasonable to expect them to be kept on silent and for any animated conversations to be taken outside, but it is ludicrous to prevent a customer even checking the times of their trains home. Apparently in London this rule is largely ignored, and maybe Sam will extend this approach to the rest of the estate. Personally I would also allow well-behaved dogs into their rural pubs, as this must be a major factor putting potential customers off. The company showed that they could change in response to commercial pressures when they finally began to accept card payments in the Autumn of 2022.

The most important issue, though, must be sorting out the recruitment of managers, which is the key bottleneck that is keeping so many of their pubs closed. I have heard it said that they will only recruit child-free married couples, which must greatly reduce the pool from which they can draw, although I have seen some examples where single-handed licensees appear to be in charge. The level of remuneration is probably on the stingy side too. They could also consider using relief managers to keep pubs open, as every time a pub is closed for a prolonged period you inevitably lose some customers permanently.

The question is often raised as to whether they could widen their appeal by introducing a second cask beer alongside Old Brewery Bitter. In the past they have tried this with the lighter Tadcaster Bitter, and the strong, heavy Museum Ale, but I think have only offered OBB for a good thirty years now. It isn’t clear exactly what type of beer would sell in sufficient volumes alongside OBB. Possibly in the current climate a paler, hoppier beer in the 4.1-4.5% ABV range, rather like a diluted version of the keg India Ale, would be the best candidate, but it has to be remembered that Sam’s pubs tend to appeal to a conservative clientele, not beer geeks.

Despite all these problems, it has to be said that Sam’s pubs, when they are open, have a very distinctive appeal that is not matched by any of their competitors. They offer comfortable seating, traditional décor with plenty of dark wood, an absence of TV sport and piped music, and only admit children if dining, making their wet-led pubs adults-only. They are oases of calm. They may not offer the widest choice of beer, or the absolute best beer, but in many locations they are the most congenial pubs around. As Anthony Avis said in his reflections on the British brewing industry: “The custom is aimed at the older person, who relishes a good pint, with home-produced food if he wants it, and the surroundings to sit down and talk with his companions in unfashionable comfort – just like the brewery industry advertising of forty years ago represented pubs to be.”

Hopefully Humphrey’s successor will recognise this uniqueness and proceed cautiously in making any changes. As I said when I wrote about introducing card payments a couple of years ago:

Humphrey Smith is now in his late seventies, and one can only hope that when the time comes that his successors will respect the company’s distinctive heritage and appeal while removing the obstacles that deter people from both visiting their pubs and working for them. But there must be a nagging fear that they will end up throwing the baby out with the bathwater.