Bit by bit the Nanny State continues to infiltrate our lives... The strength of well known ales is being quietly reduced on draught, and sometimes in bottles too. It was cider rather than beer that first drew my attention to this trend - although an ale drinker I will drink cider in a pub on occasion - the occasion being the lack of real ale on tap or a suitable bottled alternative. If you buy Strongbow in your local off license or supermarket it's strength is 7.5%. So when I found no suitable ales on draught in a pub Strongbow seemed a good value for money alternative - more 'bang-for-your-buck'. Or so I thought.... Eventually, I noticed - it wasn't the same strength! It's 7.5% in a can or bottle at an off license, but only 4.5% in a pub - for supposedly the same beverage! What's that all about then? So I started paying more attention to the 'small print' on the pumps at the bar... For many years one of my favourite beers has been Old Speckled Hen. It's quite strong at 5.3% in the bottles I was used to buying it in, and thinking I was getting good value for money I would drink it in pubs when I saw it on draught too. Then I noticed - it was weaker on draught at only 4.5% - again for supposedly the same beverage. Ever get the feeling you are being cheated? Why is this happening? Maybe it's to do with the duty being paid to our greedy government on stronger drinks? If so - why isn't this being made clear - you are not getting what you think you are paying for.
Brewers and pub chains seem to be bowing the the Nanny State. When BrewDog introduced their well known Punk IPA it's strength was 6% - now it's been reduced to 5.6%. What's that all about then? If it ain't broke... Ironically, BrewDog also brew a beer they call 'Nanny State'...
A year or so ago I was in a Wetherspoon's pub in Islington - to avoid being ripped off by the overpriced and poor quality bar at a well known nearby music venue. I noticed they were serving a tempting looking very strong ale I hadn't seen before at what appeared a reasonable price. It was around 8% in strength so I thought a pint of two of that as liveners would be ideal before heading to the gig. So I asked the barman for a pint. I was refused a pint and told I could only have a half! I protested that I was all grown up now (and then some) and could handle a whole pint - and surely as they were advertising it at £*.** a pint they were legally obliged to sell me a pint of it or they would be breaking the Trade Descriptions Act. This cut no ice with the barman so I asked for two halves instead - he wouldn't serve me two halves either and gave me a look implying I was pushing my luck and he was going to call security. I walked out in disgust at being treated like I was a kid who couldn't handle my booze instead of a responsible adult capable of making my own decisions about what to drink. I wasn't already pissed by the way - this would have been my first drink of the day, but I was pissed off with Wetherspoons and their Nanny State behaviour after this.
Hear, hear. A couple of separate but related points. I'm curious to know the meaning behind any of this, and for that it's necessary to hear the reasoning from the person who made the decision in each instance. You never know, there *might* be some sense behind it!
ReplyDeleteYes, I did think about posting on both subjects separately but as they both involve the dreaded Nanny State I lumped them together. I'm curious as to why these two rock stations are banning words in songs which the BBC mostly seems to still play in all their unedited glory. I think people at certain radio stations are being way over-cautious and it reflects badly on them.
ReplyDeletePS: I've split this into two separate posts now.
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