Pub beer sales slump to low point?

Question

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7102937.stm

Beer sales in pubs have slumped to their lowest level since the 1930s, brewery representatives have said.
The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) says total beer sales for 2007 are down 22% - some seven million pints a day fewer than their peak in 1979.
Since then there has been a 49% drop in pub sales, which has been partly offset by an increase in purchases from shops.


are Pubs slowly dying what could be done to save them

Answer 1

Good people drink too much, I do not drink its against my religion

Answer 2

They've recently built a brand new pub close to where i live, and it's a fair size.



One area is the 'lads' area, pool table, dart board, for the drinkers you could say.



The main area is set out with bigger tables and chairs so people can eat, menus on tables, etc and then at the far end is a sectioned off family area, not a strict rule but the try and keep the majority of kids and families in one place.



Sound ok? Well no, it isn't.



Here the brewery had the chance to build a pub from scratch, it's neither a lads beer drinking pub, it's not an eating pub and it's not a family pub either.

It has no identity, they've tried to make it everything while making it absolutely nothing.



You now have small kids and women going to the toilets in the lads area crowded with huge blokes swearing their heads off (as lads do) because that's where the toilets are.

The lads are also right next to the restaurant so it's a bit rowdy when the football is in, the noise is loud and not what you want when your eating.



This brand new pub isn't just of bad design and planning, it's also exactly like every other pub you go into.

It looks the same, lots of wood, fake books and pictures, there's been no effort into doing something even slightly different.



What a shame, i have this easy walking distance to my house and yet i don't go there, it is as bland as many others, it has tried and failed in each area of pub business instead of concentrating on one or two.



The boys could be kicked into touch leaving the families and the restaurant but that's the only area that is constanly busy and they also sponsor the football team.



I feel the breweries have themselves to blame for not moving with the times, for not giving us something different, something exciting and a place where we will want to be rather than sat at home drinking Tescos own larger.



.......................................................

To Dixie Normous, the answer is NO!

Answer 3

Unfortunately Pubs are a thing of the past, only frequented by sad individuals with no lives or friends. I'm not talking about the town pubs that are vibrant at the weekends but the small pubs that have regular drinkers who like a smoke with their pint.



I'm a non smoker and welcomed the ban but with hindsight the decision to put a blanket ban on smoking was wrong, this has had a terrible effect on the community pubs that were occupied mainly by drinkers who smoke.



The brewery or entertainment company owned pubs are far too gready and do not allow the managers to fluctuate in their taking especially in holiday related towns and cities, they struggle to make ends meet and over do it by filling pubs with karaoke/quiz nights pool & darts teams etc etc. All to try to keep the public interested in the idea of drinking in the pub.



Sadly it's not working.......................



Also its far safer and more fun and cheaper too nowadays to

invite people around to each others houses and sit out in the garden than risk the abuse of a drunk in a pub.



Just my thoughts on the subject, don't want to get into an argument.



ps. Does anyone know if Natty has ever answered a question without mentioning her religion?



Hey Bud, I like pubs as much as you do, it's nothing more than an observation, I'm a musician and I want more than anybody else for the pub to be like it was 20 years ago, I'm sick of me & my band playing to empty houses because of the smoking ban and the inevitable consequences of what I've said in earlier paragraphs. The fact remains people in general are staying at home. And just for the record I'm a real ale drinker too so you wont see me drinking a 90p can of lager. :-p

Answer 4

Since the smoking ban pub gardens I notice are full, they wisely introduced the ban in the height of summer so they could put the spin on it that it would have no effect, however now the weather is getting colder and wetter then only the die hards will still go to the pub, however they'll be sitting there all night nursing a pint because they'll have nobody to talk to.



What's the point in pubs if there is nobody there to socialise with?



Solution - knock all the pubs down and just keep the pub gardens!!!!



I would also like to say that I have not been to a pub since the smoking ban, why should I pay £3 a pint and then have to 'go outside' for a smoke?

Answer 5

Ever since the smoking ban, I quit smoking (probably a good thing) but I also quite going to the pub, because I only ever went there to enjoy a smoke and a pint indoors. Can't smoke in my house. Now I don't smoke, booze is cheaper in the supermarket, the pubs around my place are totally dead during the week, and only have a weak pulse on the weekends. There is just not much fun in it.

Answer 6

Yes, Pubs are slowly dying. Since the smoking ban in Ireland, 6 out of every 10 Freehold pubs have closed. In my town, 4 pubs have closed already. The bigger chain pubs are coping with the lost revenue because they can.

The most obvious way to solve this is to get rid of the smoking ban and use common sense. If a pub wants to allow smoking, then they must have a clearly marked smoking area which is separated from the non-smoking area by means of glass or perspex doors. This has been done very successfully in South Africa which gives everyone the freedom to choose where they want to sit.

Answer 7

my wife and i went into town (city) on sat night we had a few locally and then got a taxi into city £10 gone the 1st round was £5.50 and by midnight i had spent £50 so we got a taxi home £13 we spent £70 in 3 hours at between 5 and 7 pounds for two drinks if we had wanted to make a night of it there would have been no change from £140 ..that's why people dont go to pubs. my wife's a smoker and she likes the smoke free environment we just cant afford 100 every week on beer when petrol's £1 a ltr and schools want £250 for 3 days in France on a school trip somethings got to give

Answer 8

IF those greedy little piggies with the Labour Party, stopped taking excessive taxes, we maybe able to afford to go for a night out at the pub. A pint and a tab, are over taxed here in the U.K. Dint smoke, Dint drink, Dint eat this, Dint do that. Where does it stop! Next it will be, have a merry Xmas.

Answer 9

Natty what you do for your religion is your business.



As for the rest of us who can enjoy a drink socially and like the atmosphere a pub provides as a social point i think that people in pubs are drinking different things. More wine and bottled drinks. Pubs are also very busy with food sales. A good pub will never die.

Answer 10

why do dumbos answer questions like this by saying "I dont drink". i.e that dummy imposter of a "woman" NATTY. (man)We dont care then if you dont drink. Thats like me answering a question about wearing a veil. I have no experience of it.

Well, Kamran, its like this, most inner city areas have pubs, now these areas are multi cultural, the local population will not drink due to cultural/religious reasons, therefore, pubs shut down. Also big chains like Weatherspoons and Yates and the like have monopolised the market and are really restaurants(!!!) and can force out smaller local pubs through pricing wars.

In my area of London, the pubs have shut because of our population (Muslim).There are no drinking cultures really. There are a few pubs left to serve the thousands and thousands of Spurs fans on Spurs match days.

Answer 11

Pub prices are a rip off. You will find they are offsetting the downturn in sales with increased prices, so they will still be raking it in.



You dont need to go to a pub for company anymore. Just buy a crate of beer from the supermarket then log onto Yahoo answers.

Answer 12

Sorry Dixie, you think sad individuals who have no friends go to the pub you had better take a look at yourself who would prefer to sit at home with a can. The pub is a tradition that has been around for hundreds of years and it should be saved, we don`t want to end up being like the Aussies[though they do have the weather] and have friends round all the time, we want to go out and meet people, going to the pub is one good way of doing it. The publicans don`t put the prices of beer up the government do. Fair enough the supermarkets have cheap alcohol, they buy in bulk and distribute it round there stores, would you like to watch football in the pub with a good atmosphere or sit at home with your 90p can of beer on your own

Answer 13

pub beer sales slump point

Answer 14

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Answer 15

Could say it's because of the smoking ban. then again, the BBPA most probably failed to say that there was in increase in other types of drinks sold. Perhaps, just guessing, as I don't go to the pub very often.

Answer 16

stop the profiteering of the large liquor companies and reduce prices to an affordable level. Then perhaps Mr average might go back to the pub as a social centre.

Answer 17

i reckon pubs will always be around but the prices are far too high - £3 for a pint of lager is just stupid when u can get a can for 80p for tesco. towns generally have too many pubs too and too many gimmicky types. Edinburgh is just ridiculous for the amount of pubs around. Locals will surely always do well.

Answer 18

Could be the No Smoking in public places has affected this, more peple are drinking at home now, because its cheaper, and they can smoke, bring back smoking could be an option

Answer 19

stop massive breweries and companies from taking over pubs and turning them into chains. pubs have become faceless and the staff dont care.

bring back publicans!

Answer 20

Good. We have more pubs (4) in our village than shops (2). Far too many people in this country regard drinking as the onl;y social opportunity they have.

Answer 21

its because of the smoking ban and the prices of beer, i went out to leeds on saturday and it cost £18 for four pints

Answer 22

Actually as my partner and I smoked, we stopped going into pubs really, but since we have both given up ( claps please ) we went into the pub yesterday, as I was off work, and he finished early, it was really nice to go in and not worry about smoke and smoking.

He had a beer, I just had a coffee anyhow ~ shame sales are down, its a national institution. No, honest it is!

Answer 23

Lower the price in line with supermarkets. 3 X 18 cans of bitter or lager only £20 @ Asda.I go into pubs more now, for a meal. Only because there is no smoke.

Answer 24

nothing most pubs are now aimed at youth culture because thats where profits are.people are affraid to go out now because of all the idiots bing drinking and fighting.how to save them keep them traditional.

Answer 25

its expensive to have a good night on

the town these days we used too

go out every weekend but now we

stay in and buy our booze from the

supermarket much cheaper,!!

Answer 26

smoking ban -



people moving from beer to wine - ie rose wine



changing attitudeds

Answer 27

Thats because they put us outside to smoke.



Good morning Kamran xx

Answer 28

Let people start smoking in pubs again would be a start....

Answer 29

well the Muslims should integrate,and join in.