It is set to be the driest January in living memory. Drinks sales in pubs and bars have plunged. Rising numbers of people are drinking low or no-alcohol. And new data indicates that even older people are joining teens and twentysomethings by giving up booze. With three days to go, this has been a grim month for publicans.
The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) says pubs must adapt quickly by stocking more “lo-no” options and opening their doors more regularly to give community groups a cosy welcome on winter days.
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Market researcher CGA tracks drinks sales in pubs and bars every week and in the last fortnight sales have been down by at least 7% compared with last year, with a 19% fall in sales of spirits last week.
The bad weather and the economic climate are partly to blame, but the company’s managing director Jonathan Jones said Dry January was also “making this a hard month for pubs and bars”.
I do wish that people could take their health more seriously without being guilt tripped about struggling pubs.
If we could afford to go to the pub many of us would go out now and then, but jesus wept the price of it all… we can’t even afford to drink at home any more.
It’s too expensive to drink out now.
I’m a real ale drinker and moved from the Midlands to the south coast. I was paying £3.20 for a really good real ale before I moved. I was paying £4.60 for an ale after I moved. The last time I looked they went up to £4.90. I’m sure they’re over a fiver now. For £7 you can get 4 x 500ml bottles from a supermarket for the same beer.
People moan about Spoons but their beers are usually less than £3. I’ve even seen one that was doing £1 for a pint. I used some 50p off tokens I had from CAMRA. Three pints for £1.50. Theres a reason their pubs are always busy.
I’m all for supporting pubs but they’ve priced me out.
Man I’m in London tonight. I balked at the Thai restaurant charging £7 for a pint of Singha - buy hey, that’s a restaurant in London. I haven’t found a pint cheaper since!!
Yknow the way some people eat more meat to spite vegetarians?
That but for dry January.
Damn I didn’t realise how spiteful I was being, all year round!
Good on you, UK people.
It doesn’t help when non alcoholic drinks are extortionately priced, some mocktails are just as, and in some cases more than alcoholic cocktails
It’s not even mocktails, which at least have a number of ingredients and require a bit of effort to make, all soft drinks are way over-priced. There’s some saving buying booze from the supermarket but it’s an order of magnitude more for, say, a glass of lemonade.
As someone who doesn’t drink, it does rankle a bit, especially if they should be encouraging people not to drink and drive. There used to be a “designated drive drinks for free” scheme back in the day, but not today (although the landlord does buy me a drink or two if I drop someone off for him).
There are some really good non-alcoholic beers that I genuinely enjoy the taste of.
Laser crush, or Big Drop Paradiso Citra. Both I enjoy, and don’t have either loads of sugar or wierd sweeteners.
But they are never have the NA option.
I actually think the loss of pubs is a fucking travesty (pubs and working men’s clubs). These places have always functioned as third places, places of community. I mean it’s called a public house, it should be homely but for everyone.
Just go abroad and pubs fucking suck because they aren’t pubs they are bars.
I just want to be able to walk in the front door, get a drink, strike up a convo with someone already there. Maybe play some darts or pool. Just chill out. Fuck I’ve been to the pub just to read a book before or watch TV. I would pay membership to be part of a club like that, but they simply don’t exist anymore.
The real issue is house prices have eroded discretionary income, which is a whole other topic on it’s own, work has gotten more so people have less time and are more tired, and it’s just not legal in certain cases to have what once was.
I really think drinking in a pub is better than drinking at home and a way to fix this is to reduce taxes on pub alcohol so the price is comparable to a supermarket. When I was a teen/ student the aim of the game was to drink as much as humanly possible to not have to get an overpriced drink while out. That’s not healthy. Much better to be out and pace yourself. Now I only really go out if I’m going to get drunk because its not worth it to go for a couple and go home.
Pubs need to be somewhere you want to go even if you’re not getting sloshed.
With the exception of specialists/tap houses, people spending money on alcohol may not be the base income for pubs any more.Maybe the money is in simple, reasonably priced food, and accommodation now.
Pubs need to be somewhere
🎶where everybody knows your naaaame🎶
🎶and they’re always glad you caaaame🎶
They probably need an activity most nights - quizzes, game nights, etc.
I was talking to the landlord of my local on Saturday and he reckoned it had been the worst January he could remember.
The tendency of so-called Gen Z to avoid drugs and alcohol has been documented for years, to the annoyance of some of their redder-nosed elders, and now about a quarter of under-25s do not drink at all, due to rising awareness of alcohol’s effects on health and the fear of drunken exploits being posted on social media.
Even if the cost of living and the climate both drastically improve, it looks like there could be deeper troubles ahead for pubs and bars unless they can find new ways to adapt. I don’t think it’s people being dry just for January they need to worry about longer term.
Covid can’t be helping
I bloody love a good night out, but I am really not a fan of being rinsed. I know it’s London prices and whatever, but the closest pub to me is £6.70 for a pint that isn’t Carling, and something nuts like £8 for a double voddy. Couple that with a pack of cigs (£15) and maybe a cheeky little kebab at the end of the night (£10) and you’re looking at an easy £75 - £100 for one fun night.
It’s rough, because I really do love to socialise. Nowadays I don’t drink or smoke for the first half of the year because they’re too expensive as habits. If I want to go out in the evening to wind down after work and catch up with friends, I don’t want to pay £20 to sit in the pub for an hour or two and then go home - but I can’t reasonably afford to do much more than that – so sod the whole thing.
