Price of a Pint

Don't forget the world oil price is at an all time high, and we transport goods by road consuming oil-based products at every stage of the supply chain. This has probably been factored in to the headline figure.

Indeed. This story is obviously based on a press release from one of the big brewers. The drinks industry has been forcing up the price of beer, particularly cask beer, for about 5 years. The idea that it is becoming cheaper in real terms is simply wrong - the price has risen way above the rate of inflation. Rising production costs and taxes only account for a small part of this increase.

The result of this greedy short sighted policy is thousands of closed pubs and good landlords facing bankruptcy.

Paul

Speaking to a well known Northern Micro brewer last week in Salford he had no complaints about

supplying Wetherspoons. Was not screwed on price and got paid on time.

He also stated that crap micros didn't fare so well. If it wasn't of saleable quality it went back.

There are things about Wetherspoons we may not like but they are the only major pub chain who

try to get more people into pubs. Most other chains just tend to rip-off their customers.

Hence the reason we seem to choose tickers pubs were we can.

This urban myth refuses to go away, presumably encouraged by landlords resentful of local JDW competition. JDW is a huge managed estate and couldn't possibly be supplied by short dated overstocks. The prices are cheap because they negotiate large discounts from suppliers and operate on a lower GP than the rest of the licensed trade (that's why the pubs need to be so big).

Paul

One of the reasons that some micros never have their products in a spoons outlet - plain and simply they would have to ditch all other customers in order to meet the supply deal and make very little out of it, then when the spoons beer of the month turned to something else they have to try and woo the local customers back again. Micros need to be either not so micro or desperate for customers to enter into the deal.

This, if true, is scandalous. Can you substantiate it? Are you prepared to say what you've said here in court?

If Wetherspoons are doing this, they should be exposed. I've copied this thread to them.