Regular readers will know of my admiration for the Tynemill pub chain. I am lucky to be able to travel around the East Midlands and visit their wonderful pubs, all of which have a great attitude towards cask ale, other quality beers, and good food.
Well, Tynemill is soon to be no longer, as the pub group is to change its name to mirror the brewery which they own.
I see this as a positive move. Castle Rock is a thriving brewery with good products, and, in my view, breweries should be seen to be owning pubs rather than pub groups.
I cannot see that the pubs will be affected in any adverse way; I refuse to believe that they will cut down on guest ales in favour of expanding the range of their own beers in their pubs. Please prove me right Castle Rock!
7 comments:
Why would it be so bad if they cut down on guest ales in favour of their own beers? As long as there was genuine variety, I can't see why that's so bad. I'm rather a staunch defender of freehouses, as long as they offer a full range.
Sorry to hear you've been ill, get well soon.
Part of Tynemill's success and a reason I keep returning is their guest beer policy. I would hate them to use the name change as an excuse to sell their own beers only.
Yes, but if you were also guaranteed a range of different beers from Castle Rock, surely that'd draw you in too? I wish someone would open, say, a Dark Star tied house in London. I'd be all over it.
Hey, something about UK pubs I can actually comment on.
I agree about the quality of Tynemill pubs - good atmosphere, decent beer. I would be worried if they switched to just Castle Rock beers because there's so little variety in them. They brew an incredible number of very similar bitters.
On my occasional visits to Nottingham I've always enjoyed Castle Rock ales.
I live in the town that is Greene King HQ, and there are not that many alternatives, but give me a GK pub with a good choice and well kept ales over a mediocre free house any day.
The difference hear though Stonch is that these are existing free houses with a good varied range. There might be a suspicion that changing the name allows them to get more of their own stuff in.
I too love tied houses (which is I think what you meant) if the brewer is a good one and it's a new venture, but changing their priorities under the auspices of a name change is just not cricket.
Quite right Ron - I've been to quite a few of their pubs over the past few years and they're great places.
Their beer range is very similar and the guest beers offer some welcome respite from the Harvest Pale/Elsie Mo style....
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