Rubbish Beer

[Lummers]

Am I alone in thinking the quality of the (real) ale at the club (not how its kept but what is actually purchased) is bloody awful? I like bitter, normal supping real ale, chestnut coloured nectar! What the club sells is (in my humble opinion) like the cheapest of the cheap own label, lager coloured, p*** water. The alternative 'stronger' ale is 9 times out of 10 above 5% which I'm afraid takes it out of my mid-week supping strength limit. It has become so bad that I have taken to mixing half and half in an attempt to get a reasonable colour/flavour without blowing my head off.
If I am alone in this crusade then fair enough I will put up and shut up (or drink elsewhere). Do let me know what you think. It has rather put me off using the club of late which is a shame as it probably needs all the custom it can get!

[CHARDSTAFF]

Well yes Lummers this problem is most certainly ongoing and been brought to our attention by more than one person. To be frankly honest with you i am neither a real ale drinker or a barman but do understand the certain lack of variety in the beers kept and served at the club. I therefore have took it upon myself to try and rectify this problem by attempting to introduce in the short term some variety of darker bottled real ales, i.e Spitfire etc, to help with this ongoing problem, also some darker cask ales will be acquired in the long term. Please bear with us as suppliers have to be contacted and bottles purchased and delivered and staff trained on how to open the bottles but i promise that action is happening and things are going to change.

[Lummers]

and staff trained on how to open the bottles

Please can I sit in on the 'How to open a bottle of beer' training session. I can probably spare the 30 seconds 

[CHARDSTAFF]

If you wish i will let you run the training sessions as maybe they may be more involved than you think!

[Russell Brown]

Please can I sit in on the 'How to open a bottle of beer' training session. I can probably spare the 30 seconds 

Oh I think there might need to be a very intensive training session involving many many bottles.

I'll help with the disposal of the opened ones 

[ROBGIDDINGS]

I feel that the point being made by Paul is something that was an issue by many people a while ago while i also sat on the committee.

At the end of the day, it’s a members club and we want to attract people to the place, not lose them. The quality of how the real ale is kept is great; however the variety is poor which the issue is.

The suggestions, maybe keep one of the normal ales we have been having for a while now as a variety session, and then have guest ale that varies in price depending on the gravity and cost per barrel. If I’m happy to pay £2.90 for a Guinness, then I’ll pay that for a pint of real ale!

If pubs can do it, then I’m sure the club can too!

[CHARDSTAFF]

The problem with the beer is totally understood by certain members of the committee. As par normal other people on the committee like to get in the way of change but plans are in place to get things changed within the club and the real ale problem is top of the list. I hope you understand that change takes time and i promise you will see the change happen. Some of us are not stuck in the past and want better things for all the members.
Oh and by the way Rob are the new stage lights to your liking?

[Lummers]

Chris, have you considered an armed uprising to bring about faster change? Revolution rather than evolution!! 

[CHARDSTAFF]

Well Lummers the revolution has happened and the cause of the beer problem has been sourced and rectified and now different beers are to be purchased (Hopefully to your liking) and sold in the club. I hope that this brings in new and old custom as the traditional busy Sat night is becoming a very quiet affair ( apart from the noise the bands make).

[Lummers]

Was it a bloody coup? 
I will certainly be up for giving it a good go!
You now have to shout it from the rooftops to let everyone know. Stick it in the Gazette, put it on the A board outside, stick an ad in the KC shopper - whatever it takes.
This might be a make or break opportunity for the club - let's hope the former!

[CHARDSTAFF]

Watch out this Halloween weekend for a different beer on sale in the club. Hob Goblin will be available for all on this spooky weekend!!!!

[Lummers]

I thought an update was well overdue, particularly as some at the club have worked very hard to improve the beer selection. On the whole this has worked well with some very nice ales being offered from time to time over the past months. Timothy Taylor Landlord, Charles Wells Bombadier, Fullers London Pride, Everards Tiger, Adnams Broadside, Digfield Barnwell Bitter to name but a few. My thanks to those that pushed for these as they have been very well received (by yours truly) and all appear to have sold well.
However, if I am honest there does still seem to be a default position whereby the cheap and nasty ales are the fallback. Last night was a classic - the supping ale was 'Swedish Blonde', about as tacky as the name suggests; the premium ale was a 4.7% IPA - just the job if you want to lose your licence in the morning! Where is the stock middle ground? Why still summer ales in the middle of winter? Will we get 'Winter Warmer' in July? Why is the club different to every other pub in the area in that it doesn't have a stock supping ale, a normal 4%-ish bitter always available? I'm sure it is down to margin and this odd (Imho) view that only the cheapest beers will make the required profit.
On a related subject (now that I am in full flow) and by way of feedback to ponder...
My son turned 18 last week. I got him and a friend application forms to join the club. The response from both was very negative. Along the lines of; 'We don't care how cheap it is, if Carling and Carlsberg are the only lagers on sale we ain't joining. Let us know when they start selling something decent like Stella and we'll join then.'
As I am not a lager drinker I'll leave it there on that one