monday links

One link, one paragraph

The link. I apologize if you find this behind a paywall. I thought the post was supposed to be, but it opened for me . . .

The paragraph:

The point about snobbishness is fair. Sure, there are a few people in there with early morning pints. And the clientele does tend to be older. But the reason you notice the older punters is that in some cities Wetherspoon’s are the only pubs where you do see them. When I lived in a part of north London where most pubs sold high-margin craft beer to affluent customers (I’m not saying that’s a bad thing either, unless every pub does it), Spoon’s was also the only pub where the posties, teachers and students drank; and perhaps more tellingly, the only place where you saw people of colour in numbers that reflected their part in the community.

One link, one paragraph

The link.

The paragraph:

Despite this, there is a vibrant independent and modern beer scene in the county–if you want a DIPA, you’ll be able to find one. Locals may want cheaper, more trad beers on the whole, but the thousands of visitors coming in from the cities boosted a desire for stronger, weirder beers, which Matt (Clarke) and his peers were only too happy to accommodate. Making both styles ensures locals aren’t priced out of the pub while visitors get the beers they’d expect to see back home.

Locals aren’t priced out. Added for emphasis.

One link, one paragraph

The link.

The paragraph:

How can a working journalist afford to buy a bar? “It’s not a fun story,” (Dave) Zirin told me. “My mom passed away and left me a small summer place. I could have kept it and had a place in the summer, or I could have sold it and had a retirement fund, or I could have sold it and bought a bar. I bought a bar.”

One link, one paragraph

The link.

The paragraph:

Politics and business practices aside, there are also those who are baffled by the reverence in which the beer itself is held. It is, the critics say, a classic example of the boring brown bitter everyone was so fed up with about 20 years ago. Now, we happen to disagree, and consistently find cask Bass to be a subtle, interesting beer not far removed from Harvey’s Best in terms of character. But that’s all very subjective, of course.

I’d really like you to read the final paragraph as well. So, what the heck, start at the top and work your way down.

One link, one paragraph

Walken/walkon cooler at Dark City Brewing (you know if you know)

Walken (or walk-on) cooler at Dark City Brewing (RIP) in Asbury Park, New Jersey

The link.

The paragraph:

But can the likes of (Christopher) Walken really pass on the pub-going habit? The youngest generation of drinkers have proven their penchant for nostalgia and a keenness for the analog age in other areas of the economy. Whether they’re thrifting clothes from a decade of their choosing, buying the latest print magazines to leaf through, or patronizing a vinyl listening café, Gen Z has already put consumer dollars behind pre-digital products. While retail sales of alcohol are declining (meaning people are drinking less at home), spending at bars is still strong.