Think for a minute, if you will.... what if you could open a bar or pub tomorrow?
The biggest question I could think of is: What would you serve???
Think of it as your dream pub or bar, you perfect choice of beverages! What would they be??
Now don't fall into any trap here, there's so much more to think about other than just cask and keg. Well you can consider those two, and how many of each to put on, but you also have to think about: What wines would you serve? Would they be by the bottle or only small servings? What selection of spirits would you keep? Which soft drinks would you make available? Would you make cocktails? What about shots? Would you sell bottled beer? How big a range of bottled beers would you get, and where from? Would you sell bar snacks? How good would they be? Would you serve any kind of food at all? Would you serve to appeal to a beer geeks dream? Or just follow the mainstream route to try make money?
These are just the easy questions. The amount of planning and question answering that goes into the opening of a new watering hole is unending and merciless.
So lets forget about that now and just have a bit of fun for a bit, lets go back to the question: If you could have your dream bar, what would you serve? You know, if money and everything else was no issue.
I know what I'd like to have to make me keep drinking at the same place again and again.
Now that's just for cask and keg.
For my bottled beer selection I'd stock a range of around 50 Belgian and German specialties. From Corsendonk to St Bernardus. From Jever to Schlenkerla, the bar would have a bottled beer for every taste. (as long as it was Belgian or German in taste!)
Sack off all the other spirits, I'd force punters to purchase from my fine selection of single malts! My selection would include a playlist of the greats: Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Lagavulin, Edradour, Jura, Highland Park, Port Ellen, Dalmore, Teaninich and Blair Athol to name a few. Accept no substitutes! :)
No Wine.....
This would be my dream bar. It won't be to everyones tastes, but sometimes it's nice to just imagine what you could do if you decided to open a bar tomorrow. And just remember,
What would you serve???
would those cask lines change breweries? What about Darkstar?! No bottled American beers?
ReplyDeleteSteve - Like I say these are my tastes. In my perfect world the cask lines would stay the same brewery but interchange their different beers :)
ReplyDeleteI'm going to stick to draught USA beer, they could possibly be rotated, but with those 4 I'd be pretty happy every time, if the beers from the breweries were interchanged as well.
let me know when it opens;)
ReplyDeleteI'd love to implement a 'winner stays on' ethic. Basically I'd start with a broad selection of keg craft and cask ale, then drop the brand that sells the least that week. Keep changing the brands that fail, and every week have a ballot box with vote slips for customers to choose the next beer to come on (subject to availability).
ReplyDeleteChris - I actually really like that idea! I do suspect you may get quite a few on the bar regularly though which never get voted off. - but then again, if it ain't broke!
ReplyDeleteI got a little worried there when I took a look along the bar, I thought the first on the right after the keg was FOSTERS!!!!
ReplyDeleteCheers Phil
@filrd
I think my dream pub would have 18 cask lines, around 12 keg lines, as many bottles as I can cram in the building, a nosey beer geek making himself known on twitter... oh, hang on :)
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, yours is pretty close to mine. 8 cask lines, all rotating. I'd want Kernel on keg, as I have tried this and it was GOOD. 2 contrasting US guests, a Belgian, and a couple of Lagers, one probably being Moravka or at least a British one, the other rotating. About a Dozen or so Whiskies, including a few rare and unusual, a couple of good Gins, Rums & Vodka's. About 60-odd bottles depending on space, mainly US and Belgian, with some Mikkeller and De Molen as well.
Your still just describing the Grove aren't you Brian??
ReplyDeleteWhat's wrong with Fosters Phil? ;)
Well, maybe. A very streamlined version...!
ReplyDelete