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The Thoughts of Chairman Mick
by Mick Lewis
Ember Inns pubs in North London are part of a national initiative started by Bass Breweries. This will promote beer as a quality pub drink and the staff will be trained on beer quality. But before you get too excited about the number of new entries in the next Good Beer Guide, it is being trialed using Staropramen. You will also be able to try the drink before you buy it. Pity they can't do the same with their real ale.
The British Beermat collectors Society "Best set of Mats" has been won by St. Austell Brewery. It's a good thing that they don't supply Central London, where most pubs these days seem to have a policy of not using them at all.
The news that pubs will be opening early next summer to show World Cup matches at 6am may not be all that it seemed. It appears that the police are none too happy with the idea of dealing with potential trouble at unusual hours, and there may be objections from them. There'd be no problems if they showed Orient matches live, as most of the customers would be asleep.
Bulmers, who apparently now call themselves a long drinks producer, rather than a cidermaker, have invented yet another new drink - Strongbow Spice. Flavoured with spices and citrus zest, at least it might now taste of something vaguely natural.
Over the years, CAMRA Books have produced many fine titles and one of the latest is Lynne Pearce's 'London Pub Guide'. I should state that the London Branches of CAMRA had very little input into this guide and herein lies the problem. A number of the entries go against current CAMRA policy and even though one CAMRA Branch vetoed a number of pubs in its area, they were still included. I also wonder how much real research went into this guide, as we all know how misleading one visit to a pub can be. For example, the entry for the Freemasons Arms in Hampstead. It correctly mentions the skittle alley but says that it is "Ideal for placating fidgeting youngsters and their fed-up parents." Has she actually seen the alley, as it's certainly not suitable for children, as most adults have difficulty playing.
It also seems that pubs in SE London sell a beer called Youngs Best. If anyone ever finds this fictitious beer, please let Sherlock Holmes know.
And finally, I was baffled to find a number of entries where Lynne clearly didn't like the pubs. Surprising as this is supposed to be a selective guide where you would assume that all of the entries are recommended. London CAMRA Branches have already decided not to stock this guide at local beer festivals, and my only recommendation, to quote from an old CAMRA publication) (rather than a new one) is "Avoid like the plague."
Mick Lewis
Reproduced from the Full Pint, Issue 13.
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