Union Jack Pub
Discussion
They are indeed alive and celebrated their 3rd birthday last month!
Www.facebook.com/unionjack.lemans
Www.facebook.com/unionjack.lemans
I hope it will be possible to get through the door as there isn't any major football tournament this year, it was rammoed in there Friday last year! Probably due to the s
te weather during the drivers parade as well, most people gave up watching that and headed for liquid reinforcements somewhere!!
te weather during the drivers parade as well, most people gave up watching that and headed for liquid reinforcements somewhere!!
porkynut said:
Don't want to be the bringer of bad tidings but was in there last week and Phil is closing down in a couple of weeks.
Poor economy, french hike in beer duty (350%)etc etc
so no Union Jack in June.
160%, but with brewers price rises As the start of the year on top of the duty increase, we're seeing more and more of this across France currently .... Poor economy, french hike in beer duty (350%)etc etc
so no Union Jack in June.
Always sad when a business has to close but French bars are not the same as English pubs and we all know our pubs are closing at around 2 a week.
As a whole the French just do not like English beer. We have tried to introduce London Pride to the French at Bounty but they just do not have the taste for it that's why we only stock it during a race event.
As a whole the French just do not like English beer. We have tried to introduce London Pride to the French at Bounty but they just do not have the taste for it that's why we only stock it during a race event.
As someone who works in the industry in France, it is very sad. The impact on our volumes is very significant.
As for real ale, it will never sell well in France, the view of beer is a drink for when it's warm. Wine is for everything else and cask ale doesn't travel well and there's no history of cask ale production in France of any significance.
They do have many darker beers, but volumes are tiny and they're usually Belguim and not French.
As for real ale, it will never sell well in France, the view of beer is a drink for when it's warm. Wine is for everything else and cask ale doesn't travel well and there's no history of cask ale production in France of any significance.
They do have many darker beers, but volumes are tiny and they're usually Belguim and not French.
India Pale Ale by the nature of its birth is brewed in a way that should help it travel well.
In Helsinki last week I was drinking Timothy Taylors Landlord, and it was superb, but from a bottle.
Some will travel better than others, but in general with shortted shelf like and better weather (hotter) English ales don't survive well in the continent. You'd need a supply chainadapted to the requirements of cask ale to distribute consistent quality in any real volumes and that won't ever happen.
Lagers are much easier to transport and produce with long shelf lives.
In Helsinki last week I was drinking Timothy Taylors Landlord, and it was superb, but from a bottle.
Some will travel better than others, but in general with shortted shelf like and better weather (hotter) English ales don't survive well in the continent. You'd need a supply chainadapted to the requirements of cask ale to distribute consistent quality in any real volumes and that won't ever happen.
Lagers are much easier to transport and produce with long shelf lives.
I am somewhat confused here about beers that travels well.
I bring cask (hand pump) London Price from Portsmouth which has travelled down from Fullers in London on a lorry. I then bring it over by car or in a trailer and within 24 hours it is as clear as water and a great pint (as other will agree, well bitter drinkers anyway lol).
So why would a beer that has been on the back of a lorry being delivered from the brewery not travel well?
I bring cask (hand pump) London Price from Portsmouth which has travelled down from Fullers in London on a lorry. I then bring it over by car or in a trailer and within 24 hours it is as clear as water and a great pint (as other will agree, well bitter drinkers anyway lol).
So why would a beer that has been on the back of a lorry being delivered from the brewery not travel well?
Just consider your proposition . . Delivered from the brewery directly to you, (no additional link in that Supply Chain, now distribution site, no secondary or tertiary handling, no stock rotation, not stored until ordered etc) another drive and after 24hrs you're serving it. Fine, cask ale will travel, I've organised thousands of these very deliveries to customers.
Now scale that up to a serious commercial proposition to distribute nationally in a country the size of France .....
There's good reason why we have chilled warehouses and 21 days shelf life on cask ale, why the guidance is to consume a firkin in 72hrs, why it should be kept in cellar conditions for the best experience and cellar management is key to a quality pint of cask ale rather than most of the pints these days which are from poorly cleaned lines, cellars full of everything else other than just beer from foodstuffs to cleaning products and all the other waste in a pub.
At the first BTaP I shoved a 9 of CBB in the TVR, drove to the event, tapped it and we were drinking it before the end of the evening. No problem. But doing it in significant volumes nationally is a completely different proposition to guarantee consistent quality through a range of beers.
Is it possible to serve a great pint of cask in another country, yes, of course it is. Is it possible to supply thousands of bars across a country the size of France consistently as a commercial proposition, no it is not, without significant investment. The rule of thumb in brewery logistics has always been you should try to treat cask ale the same as milk, very carefully and gently.
So for all these folks getting anxious, my comments are to demonstrate the challenges of national distribution of cask ales to develop a market in a country like France, not for the few casks taken over for Le Mans or other bars/events.
Let's not start on how many could actually tell what's a good pint and what's not
Now scale that up to a serious commercial proposition to distribute nationally in a country the size of France .....
There's good reason why we have chilled warehouses and 21 days shelf life on cask ale, why the guidance is to consume a firkin in 72hrs, why it should be kept in cellar conditions for the best experience and cellar management is key to a quality pint of cask ale rather than most of the pints these days which are from poorly cleaned lines, cellars full of everything else other than just beer from foodstuffs to cleaning products and all the other waste in a pub.
At the first BTaP I shoved a 9 of CBB in the TVR, drove to the event, tapped it and we were drinking it before the end of the evening. No problem. But doing it in significant volumes nationally is a completely different proposition to guarantee consistent quality through a range of beers.
Is it possible to serve a great pint of cask in another country, yes, of course it is. Is it possible to supply thousands of bars across a country the size of France consistently as a commercial proposition, no it is not, without significant investment. The rule of thumb in brewery logistics has always been you should try to treat cask ale the same as milk, very carefully and gently.
So for all these folks getting anxious, my comments are to demonstrate the challenges of national distribution of cask ales to develop a market in a country like France, not for the few casks taken over for Le Mans or other bars/events.
Let's not start on how many could actually tell what's a good pint and what's not
My basic philosophy on beer in other countries (around the world not just Europe)is "go local"
I enjoy a good ale here at home in the UK like the next person, and we have some good local beers where I live, but I do not hanker after it when I am away because there is always something "local" to imbibe in.
This fascination with taking/drinking UK beers at Le Mans is a bit alien to me - "when in Rome" and all that.
Bob
I enjoy a good ale here at home in the UK like the next person, and we have some good local beers where I live, but I do not hanker after it when I am away because there is always something "local" to imbibe in.
This fascination with taking/drinking UK beers at Le Mans is a bit alien to me - "when in Rome" and all that.
Bob
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