Two items came to my attention today that I wanted to pass along to you.
Changing habits threaten Irish country pubs
It seems that the traditional Irish pubs are declining in number, according to BBC News. Fewer pub licenses are being issued and more pubs are shutting their doors. Publicans cite three reasons: 1) The ban on smoking, 2) more stringent drunk driving laws, and 3) more young people are buying their alcohol retail or heading into the cities for more “sophisticated” bars.
[Pub owner] Richard [Dunne jr] stresses that country pubs are much more than simply places to get a drink. They are central to rural life.
“The whole ethos of the rural pub is not just from a drinking point of view,” he says.
“It was a place where people met, it was a place where people celebrated football games, where they celebrated weddings, where they came after funerals, where they came after births. It was a way of life.”
There is a plan to use public money to provide nightly free or low-cost bus service to a network of country areas.
(via Knut Albert’s Beer Blog)
Washington, DC Brew Pub Scene Is a Glass Half-Empty
The Washington Post reports that the nation’s capital is suffering from a dearth of brewpubs, and the ones that are here are part of larger chains. According to Greg Kitsock, Washington, DC’s three brewpubs are a paltry total when compared to, say, Seattle (15) and Portland, Oregon (23).
“There are definitely thoughts to establishing the market further,” says Gordon Biersch’s regional manager, Joe Cominsky. But he draws a blank when asked why more entrepreneurs aren’t opening brew pubs here.
If you take a look at the Beer Mapping Project’s Washington, DC map you’ll see what he means. Although, if one is willing to travel a bit further, there are other brewpubs available, especially up near Baltimore, and most of those independently owned. I guess people in the District don’t want to journey too far into the suburbs. For me, the trip would be worth it, but then I commute 100 miles a day. Although as my friend Max is wont to say: “No bar too far.”
(via Beer Activist)
