Pub beer sales down

 According to the British Beer & Pub Association's Beer Barometer, pub beer sales are down 4.3% on last year.

Press Release from BBPA 
Pubs remain hardest hit by beer tax rises – BBPA third quarter ‘Beer Barometer’

• No case for further tax rises, says British Beer & Pub Association Chief Executive Brigid Simmonds

Despite a positive quarter in total beer volumes, Britain’s pubs are still suffering from lost beer sales from sharp recent rises in Beer Tax and VAT. In contrast, supermarkets and off-licences reported growth on the same quarter as last year, the latest BBPA Quarterly Beer Barometer, released today, indicates.

Pub beer sales have remained disappointing, falling by 4.3 per cent from July to September– equivalent to 45 million fewer pints sold over the quarter compared with last year, or 488,000 fewer per day. While the rate of decline is slowing, it has not bottomed out. The BBPA is pointing out the key role of beer tax hikes in the disappointing figures. While real disposable incomes have fallen, huge beer tax rises are making one of life’s simple pleasures, a beer in the pub with friends, more and more unaffordable.

Overall, sales of beer were up 1.6 per cent on the same quarter of 2010. However the BBPA sounded a note of caution, as third quarter 2010 off-trade sales were particularly weak, partly as a result of surplus stocks being run down following the Football World Cup. This contributed to the comparative success of the supermarkets, with a 9.1 per cent increase in sales in the third quarter.

Brigid Simmonds, Chief Executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, comments:

“It is good to see some growth in the beer market overall, and we are seeing some new pubs opening, with successful operators innovating, and broadening their offer to consumers.

“However, there is no doubt that pubs continue to bear the brunt of Britain’s punitive tax policies on beer. We’ve seen Beer Tax rise by 35 per cent since March 2008, with Britons now paying an astonishing 40 per cent of all the beer taxes collected in the entire European Union. This is still shutting pubs and costing jobs, in a sector that could create growth in the economy.

“We know that given the right tax and regulatory environment we can grow the sector, hiring more staff, adding to the nation’s wealth and maintaining our proud pub heritage. We certainly don’t need the further beer tax rises the Government is planning under a misguided tax escalator policy. Instead, we want to welcome everyone to support their local pub and play their part in their local community.”

There is a reason apart from tax why pubs continue to lose sales but both the BBPA and CAMRA fail to see the elephant in the room:

Time for a change in the law to save the pub?

Milliband announces plan to Save British pubs and bananas

Labour leadership hopeful and banana fan David Milliband MP has announced plans to Save British Pubs. In what some may say is a cynical attempt to grab headlines, the son-of-a-commie has put forward a three-point plan and offered to 'stand up for pubs', especially those that serve bananas.
According to David Millibanana, “One of the biggest problems facing pubs is the ‘tie’ – forcing some pub landlords to buy their bananas and other services solely from the pub companies (‘pubcos’) they rent from.

"This means many of them pay over the odds, which reduces their profitability and increases the price for drinkers and banana fans alike.”

He says licensees should be allowed to opt-out of the tie. “Tackling this anti-competitive practice would help ensure a fair price for drinkers and help community pubs stay open and continue to serve bananas.”

The Labour Party had 13 years in Government to do something about this but did nothing except hoist on the industry more tax and red tape. Has he finally had his Damascus moment and realised that after 13 years of misrule the industry needs help? He calls for a dedicated pubs Minister to be reinstated; a pre-election gimmick brought in during the last months in the Brown Bunker when the bonkers PM was desperate to appeal to voters after his disastrous reign.

There is an elephant in the room with regards to why pubs are closing at 40 a week at the moment; the smoking ban. The industry is too afraid to address this matter and no politician has the guts to stand up against the health lobby. The Brew Wales editor is an occasional smoker and always has a cigar or two on National No Smoking Day as a big screw you to the Nanny State. If a majority of customers wish to smoke in an area of a pub or club set aside for that purpose then why shouldn't they be able to?

German courts support German pubs!

No suprise here then that the top constitutional court in Germany has forced a reversal of the smoking ban in that country.
The court said a ban on smoking in small one-room bars in two states – Berlin and Baden-Wuttermberg – was discriminatory as similar pubs that had extra rooms were legally allowed to offer one for smokers.
The situation differs to that in the UK where a total smoking ban covers all public places, meaning a level playing field for all businesses.
Smokers should also be permitted to light up in one-room venues, the court said.
The ruling is likely to set a precedent for other German states.
In an emailed statement, the court said: “Lawmakers could totally ban smoking in all bars and restaurants. But if they decide to allow exceptions for some barkeepers, then these exceptions must also apply to small pubs which are most hit by the ban.''
The ruling upheld a complaint lodged by the owners of two small bars in Berlin and a disco operator in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, who argued the ban had cut their revenues by more than 30 per cent.
Hans-Juergen Papier, the court's president, said the law would need to be redrawn by the end of next year.
He said until then, smoking should be permitted in bars and restaurants of less than 75 square metres that lack a separate smokers' area.
About one third of Germans smoke, which is one of the highest rates in Europe.