Sam Smiths

The brewery don't have a website but ...

That's only 45 out of 300-odd. We had a thread a few months back about Sam Smith's pubs in the North-West which you will still be able to find on Google Groups.

They're fairly common in Yorkshire and scattered across many parts of the North-West, but apart from the cluster in London very thin on the ground elsewhere.

One of the few that don't. Sam Smiths are a privately owned, extraordinarily secretive company. They do wonderful brewery tours ( on arriving, you're given a handful of diced carrots to feed the cart horses with), but nobody (CAMRA BLO's included) know exactly what makes the company tick, and who's in control.

But they brew decent beer at ridiculously low prices. Rather like Holts of Manchester, it shows that you can be a profitable company by selling cheap beer (and we're talking £1.20-£1.30 here)

And because their pubs have no TV or piped music they tend to be civilised places.

Couldn't agree more! I discovered Sam Smiths Oatmeal Stout when I was on holiday in Glasgow, and looked them up on the BITE website. My local Smiths pub is The Gazebo in Kingston-upon-Thames. Perfect place for a riverside pint.

I'm off to Morecambe for the weekend soon, and I was well chuffed to discover that the nearest pub to my hotel is also a Smiths outlet! : )

I used to frequent the Dover Castle, W1, when I worked in the area. Nice pub, despite the fact that you always smelt like an ashtray on leaving the building.

Cheap prices were always a draw. However, beer quality varied wildly, depending on the cellarmanship skills of the latest South African bar manager (they seemed to be on a six-month rotation).

Mind you, sometimes the air was so thick with cigarette smoke you couldn't possibly have tasted what you were drinking anyway.

d.

PeterE27/07/2006 20:01

AFAIK Sam Smiths now have no music of any kind - live or recorded - nor any function rooms to hold events private or public with music - live or recorded - nor any folk clubs or sessions - ALL of which they used to have in addition to other electronic entertainment.

The music/entertainment ban was as a result of the rise in PPL charges and known further PPL charge increases for 2005 2006; also the increases then projected for PRS charges; and the increased costs for premises Licences and various extra certificates, or extra renewals required.

It had nothing to do with being *civilised* if that's not too ironic in itself. The decision was about maintaining profit margins and avoiding increased overheads.

I'm more often inclined - as a musician and live music organiser - to support pubs with good beer, and/or good food and a reasonable live music policy.

I'm not a fan of much modern thudding music, but some pubs are deathly and about as welcoming as a doctor's surgery. Their beer is OK and cheap.

CR

Yes, but it has the effect of making their pubs more appealing - in general - to those who prefer to drink in a quieter atmosphere.

Well, yes, you have an interest in the subject. But pubs that have live music generally only have it for a few hours a week, and virtually never at lunchtimes. And if I and my friends were looking for a quiet drink we wouldn't want to sit in a pub with live music however good it was.

On Thu, 27 Jul 2006 18:55:39 +0100, M. Platting wrote (in message ):

Are we certain the beer makes a profit?

I'm certain that the brewery makes a profit, although I know that's not quite the same thing. The family are one of the richest around here (West Yorkshire).

My local Sams has just been refurbished. It's now sporting placards advising the clientele that Sams sell no "media advertised" drinks of any kind, thus enabling them to keep the prices down. OBB was GBP 1.27 a pint. Still tasted like tapwater though.

I was in a popular Sam's pub in Bradford last night. The OBB was £1.39 a pint, and tasted very good indeed. I saw the placard you mention, too, plus another one instructing the bar staff how to serve the various beers.

I'm pleased to say that this one doesn't seem to have undergone any recent refurbishment (although it obviously has at some time in the past).

It does have a fruit machine, though, so it doesn't look as though "all" entertainment has been banned.

It also has a (somewhat hidden) cracking city-centre beer garden.

Mike Roebuck06/08/2006 17:21

Oh goody. That should liven things up a bit then...

CR :>/