Spoons give Heineken a kick

[Greg2013]

I agree it is a very broad sweeping statement but to be fair i am ONLY looking at it from the point of a consumer and while i recognize that not all Pubs are rip offs at least around here most of them appear to be.I am sorry but to the consumer it is all about the price of a pint,at the end of the day that's all that matters.Maybe if more publicans banded together outside the ilk of the Vintners Assoc. and told the likes of Diageo  to feck off things might change ?

You making a living does not offend me at all,what offends me is the high price of a pint,around here a pint of Guinness is 5.50 and Bulmers is 6.00.As long as the price difference between the supermarkets and the pubs exists to the extent it does pubs will continue to lose customers,its that simple,and the impetus for changing that has to come from the pubs themselves not the consumer,so maybe it is time publicans stopped bemoaning costs and actually banded together and did something about it ? Remember you are their consumer,the power is with you,so use it.

[LordEoin]

Went to a do last year and the barman was selling cans for €2.50 (or pints for the normal price)
No bad pints and great value! 

[Oh Crap]

I'm not bemoaning costs, as I said most of the cost are the same for all businesses....but tarring the every one with the same brush is not fair. Some of us are trying to make changes, for instance I installed a three tap font for rotating beers that are not the big 3, I was told to "remove it or we will not supply beer" what do u do...I moved the tap to being the first and most obvious position on the bar, small stand but  a stand all the same. My point is a small rural pub has NO standing with big breweries as we don't sell large amounts.  I just take offence to people tarring me with the same brush as those that don't care about customers.
As for spoon's, I'd love if they could force hino to reduce prices and then the rest would follow, slowly...

[Greg2013]

I'm not bemoaning costs, as I said most of the cost are the same for all businesses....but tarring the every one with the same brush is not fair. Some of us are trying to make changes, for instance I installed a three tap font for rotating beers that are not the big 3, I was told to "remove it or we will not supply beer" what do u do...I moved the tap to being the first and most obvious position on the bar, small stand but  a stand all the same. My point is a small rural pub has NO standing with big breweries as we don't sell large amounts.  I just take offence to people tarring me with the same brush as those that don't care about customers.
As for spoon's, I'd love if they could force hino to reduce prices and then the rest would follow, slowly...

Ok well apologies no offence meant, i hope you can see where i am coming from as a consumer and i will try to see better where you are coming from in future,however it still boils down to what i pay out of pocket,whoever is to blame,sorry but that's just the way it is.

Maybe you can explain why you "have to" buy from the big 3 as that is the part i am not getting ? Could you not sell a craft stout instead of Guinness and just tell Diageo to feck off completely ? It is a selfish outlook on my part i know that but i also think it is an aspect most consumers do not understand,that being why do publicans always say that they "have to" buy from the big 3 and they have no choice ?

That last is a genuine question btw and i am sure the others here watching this post would appreciate a publican explaining why that is from their point of view.

[derfel]

Sit down near the bar in a craft pub sometime and listen to customers. You will hear a lot of "oh I couldn't drink that" or " I only drink Guinness/Heineken/whatever".
It's very hard to convince people to try something different.
(generalisation alert)
The bartenders in the Porterhouse in Dublin do a great job convincing customers, but I think most of those are foreign and open to trying new drinks. The Irish just don't seem as keen.
I think it'll work for Wetherspoons purely on price - there are plenty of people who don't care what they're drinking, as long as it's cheap.

My local "craft beer" pub has a couple of mainstream taps. nice and quiet, unmarked but they're there. I think a mix is best. I abhor the anti-competition practises of the large breweries though.

[irish_goat]

As much as I can't stand Diageo, you can't just drop Guinness if you're running a rural pub. We ran out of Guinness in the B&C once and a few customers left without even bothering to try any of the Irish stouts we had. Greg, you yourself called yourself a "Guinness man" and every rural pub will be full of people who've been drinking Guniness their whole life and wouldn't dream of trying something new. "Stick to what you know" was a classic line I heard time and time again when trying to offer people samples of craft beer in the Bull and Castle. My response was normally, "you weren't born drinking Heineken, were you?"

[Oh Crap]

If you don't buy from diagio or heiniken,you won't have customers....it is that simple.  You can offer as many stouts as u like or lagers but less then 10% would consider trying them. I'd love to tell them to feck off and serve craft beer but let's get real people will not try them if the pub down the road has their favourite drink.

[Greg2013]

You know all fair points guys and lest ye think otherwise i have nothing against any publican personally,Brian i agree the Irish in general are not that adventurous in their choice of pints that is true.Irish Goat yes i like my Guinness no doubt,i suppose being into home brewing and craft beer now i have opened my own horizons and palate so yes it is difficult for me to understand those not willing to try true craft beers as a viable alternative.

I am simply trying to wrap my head around the stranglehold the big breweries have over the pubs here and why Irish punters in general(the likes of us aside) are not doing more to help change that.Does it simply come down to the old Irish attitude of "i couldn't be arsed" ? It sure is a pity for the craft beer industry here,i look across the water and population aside they seem to be infinitely more accepting of variation in their beers and i wonder why is that and why are the Irish just so bloody stubborn ? I have several friends in UK that scratch their heads in disbelief that we can't even get the macro english ales on tap in most pubs here.

[Greg2013]

If you don't buy from diagio or heiniken,you won't have customers....it is that simple.  You can offer as many stouts as u like or lagers but less then 10% would consider trying them. I'd love to tell them to feck off and serve craft beer but let's get real people will not try them if the pub down the road has their favourite drink.

Really so it is down in a large part to the Irish consumer not being willing to try new beers for the most part ? That is a great pity but i can see what you mean now and i genuinely meant no offence by going off like that.

[googoomuck]

Check out Simon Lambert and son on Facebook, they have 12+ taps I think and only 3/4 for Guinness, Carlsberg or Heineken, smithwicks and bulmers I think. The pub is in wexford town, staff will try to get customers to try alternatives to commercial stout, lager and cider.  Point is it works in a reasonably large town but if that pub was in my village it would be closed. People go to Simons to try the guest beers or to enjoy a pint of O'Haras ale. It's a go to pub for these drinks.

[googoomuck]

[beanstalk]

And most under a fiver! fair play!

[Kevin O'Roundwood]

That's great! A big board in plain sight with prices. The odd time I get to order a craft beer I've to brace myself for when the barman hands over the pint and says how much...

[molc]

Yum. I love seeing a chalk board of drinks when I go into a place

[Pheeel]

Now I want a pint