Would you like cheaper beer?

JD Wetherspoon

Would you like to drink cheaper beer?
Think that’s a strange question with only one obvious answer?
Well the UK discount pub operator JD Wetherspoon’s is embarking on its first big overseas expansion by purchasing a small number of outlets in the Republic of Ireland. And this expansion in the south of Ireland has a few people upset and worried of the further demise of the traditional family owned Irish pub.

The London-based company is to spend €1.5 million refurbishing what used to be the Tonic Bar in Blackrock, Dublin. The pub will be renamed The Three Tun Tavern and will open for business on July 8th. The Blackrock pub marks Wetherspoon’s entry to the market in the Republic. It has also acquired the former Newport Cafe pub in Cork, which is due to open in the summer of 2014
The chain, which runs almost 900 pubs in the UK, is believed to be in negotiations on another 10 premises and is looking at opening as many as 20 pubs here over in the next 5 years.

The Republic of Ireland, is a tough market to crack, as it’s a heavily indebted and regulated market still dominated by family-owned bars, but the cost of buying outlets and licences in the Irish pub sector has fallen rapidly since the country’s financial crisis. Falling turnovers and huge debts are crippling many of the nation’s pubs all around the country.
According to a report by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland, since 2007, almost one in eight of Ireland’s pubs have closed, bar sales have fallen by a third and employment by a quarter. The industry is just about hanging on.
This is too good an opportunity for Wetherspoon’s to miss. The company’s chairman and founder, Tim Martin, stated that Wetherspoon’s “aim is to invest up to €50m in the Republic of Ireland over the next five to 10 years, with our strong buying power we expect to provide good value with 10-20 per cent cheaper prices than most Irish pubs.”

Who are they?

Tim Martin

Tim Martin, in 1979, set up Wetherspoon’s in the London area. The no-frills pub chain, known for cheap drinks, reduced priced food, and shunning live music or sport on TV has more than 900 pubs and employs about 23,000 staff.
You can find a Wetherspoon’s in every town and city in the UK, and they have a pretty efficient standardised operating system across all of their venues.
Listed on the stock market, in July 2013, it made a pre-tax profit of £77 million (€93.7 million)

Ireland!

feck off wetherspoons

But will the idea take off in Ireland: Would you drink in a British discount chain pub?
Attitudes towards Wetherspoon’s’ introduction to Ireland seems to be mixed, at least from what is seen on the Irish online community. Within days of the announcement a Facebook page “Feck off Wetherspoons” was created having nearly 2,500 followers. On Irish themed forums some commentators were foaming at the mouth at the prospect of a British pub chain moving into Ireland, with one online news network having the headline “The British are coming!”
As you would suspect, many publicans seem doggedly against the development, as it will invariably lead to more competition on price, and a further division of their dwindling market.
Some argued that Wetherspoon’s are too dull and sterile, with standardised platforms, offering cheap pints and average food, with no music or sport showing on TV. If Weatherspoon’s succeed some are concerned that this will push many traditional Irish pubs out of the market. Irish pubs conventionally the centres of friendly conversation, music, and watching live sports.

Negative reactions

The issue obviously affected some so much that they were pushed to set up a Facebook site. The site has over 2500 likes
https://www.facebook.com/feckoffwetherspoons

There are some who set up a rival version, welcoming Wetherspoon’s to Ireland, but has only about 41 likes so far!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bring-JD-Wetherspoons-to-Ireland/127948097294246

Bring Wetherspoons to Ireland

The negative reactions tend to focus on the soulless atmosphere in Wetherspoon’s and/or British pubs comparing it to going to McDonalds for a beer!
Another issue is that cheap drink attracts a certain clientele and might end up as all day drinking houses for the unemployed and alcoholics.

Some views are just outright anti British whatever about the price. One stating on a forum that they “would never drink in a British owned pub in Ireland”, while another post stated with gusto. “No. No. No. No. British “McPubs” not welcome here. Stay across the water”

Positive reactions

Positive reactions centre on the fact that more competition usually leads to cheaper prices. Competition is always a good thing. Consumers are really just interested in one thing, and that’s the cheapest price. Many feel that Irish publicans have ripped off the public for a long time now, and that if a discount chain arrives into Ireland, prices across the board might come down. A change is good for the stagnant industry.

Real ale

The “Indigenous or traditional culture” tag doesn’t seem to wash either when you consider that pubs up and down the country show English Premier League football, British horse racing, and with many patrons reading fare set as “The Irish Sun” or “Irish daily Mail” (shudder) for example, all the while probably drinking Budweiser, Heineken, or even, a Guinness with its long established Anglo – Irish roots. It’s a capitalist free market world, and competition is what the consumers want. Actually, Weatherspoon’s are just as likely to help the local Irish economy as their modus operandi is to source local beers in the UK so one could quite easily see them do the same with local breweries and up and coming craft beer start-ups, giving them a chance to expand.

Conclusion

It’s about time the Irish pubs had a bit of competition as the bar industry has criminally overcharged customers for years and are still doing it. I find it hilarious that publicans are at a loss to why they are doing so badly. It’s got to do with the public finally voting with their feet. Why spend money in overpriced bars when you can have a party in your own home with cheap beer from the supermarket.
The Vintners association of Ireland are also very powerful in the circles of power, second only to the Catholic Church. Price fixing is their forte, profits and squeezing the customers the target. Watch Weatherspoon’s hit the Irish market running.

Also the fact that Ireland has given the world some shockingly bad and cheesy Irish pubs down through the years, we can’t really complain when an English chain wants to break into our market.
See previous article>http://thisdrinkinglife.com/irish-themed-bars-always-shite-avoided-like-plague/

fry up

I have drank in Wetherspoon’s several times, and they were fine, good food and beer for the right price. Weatherspoon’s pubs are where everyone starts the night off, and is also the place for the hangover fry up the next day. I do like the idea of a bar with no music, or a TV blaring out from the corner of the bar. People can chat to each other in total comfort.

burger and a pint

Would I drink in there? Yes. British ‘McPubs’ with cheap pints, good variety in beers, and quality and value in food are strongly welcome here!
Drinking in an Irish pub is still the best place to have a beer in the world. But it’s the people you’re with that makes a night out, not the establishment, and for that reason the traditional Irish atmosphere won’t die out, it might be just rocking away in an English pub chain in Ireland!

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My top rules for drinking

Drinking rules for the discernible drinker, can be taken seriously, or not! 

Alcohol, and lots of it

1) If want to play with the big boys please try and drink your shots straight and neat. There is nothing worse than seeing someone mixing coke with a perfectly good whiskey, or putting orange into decent Russian vodka. STOP THAT! If you can’t handle the taste then don’t drink it, just drink the coke instead. If you want to get smashed then just take some cider and some pills. The only thing, and I mean the only thing, would be a small dash of water with a whiskey, as that’s good for the taste and alcohol content.

2) Sometimes it pays to drink in preparation for drinking. Going out these days is bloody expensive. I prefer a cheap wine and about 4 beers; it’s a great combo in prep for the pub later.  No harm with this, as it can cost and arm and a leg to spend the whole night drinking in a bar so if already in the “zone” before you walk into the bar you can save a lot of quid!

3) If a bird is still ugly after about 7 pints then give up, she isn’t going to look any better, and will be hard to displace in the morning when you have your hangover.

4) Drinking games are for mugs and people who don’t know how to drink, or Americans.  The whole purpose of drinking in a bar is to drink alcohol and have a good time, not to play silly games that restrict your drinking. Can never understand them, surely a punishment for not doing well in a drinking game is to not drink!

5) Always stick about in a bar or club or just around outside, till the very end, as that’s more than likely when the real shit starts.  So many good sessions I have drunk in have started when most people go home. There is always someone up for more fun, ALWAYS.

6) If you sense you did something dodgy the night before then I strongly recommend to try not knowing about the full gory details as no good will come of this. Alcohol the day after is a depressing place to be, and hearing what you got on the night will just make you more pissed off. Better to ignore it, and after a week any shit you did should be forgotten or in the annals of bar folklore. Can always deny any story, or, better, blame it on someone else!

7) Best and only hangover cure is….more drink! If desperate could have some cocktails (yes I know they are mixes but still!!). I am usually back to normal after the 3rd or 4th drink, then I am buzzing again, simples!

8) Don’t be a beer snob. All beer has its own strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes it can be good to have a light beer, like fosters or Budweiser, if relaxing. Nothing wrong with that at all. Can’t all have access, either, to great Belgian or German beers, sometimes we just have to drink what’s available.

9) No woman or non drinker will ever care about your beer stories; in fact they will be frowned upon. Good beer stories should stay in the bar. What sounds hilarious in the bar NEVER sounds good in the real world.

10) NEVER turn down a free drink or on offer to go to the bar. Are you freaking crazy, life is to short for that craic, what else would you be doing? Hoovering?

11) A hard one, but try not to eat when you are finished drinking. Near impossible I know, but the food is just lying there on top of all your nights drinking and will lie there all night just floating around in your stomach. Also the toilet the next day will be like a bomb site. Just go to bed quickly and have a nice fry up in the morning.

12) Don’t count your drinks. Shouldn’t be a problem really to most but its kind of strange if you do. Why would you even try, its not a competition.

13) If you owe someone money its always a good idea to repay them in the bar. They should instantly buy you a beer at the minimum, if not then they are cunts!

14) Toasting is expected when downing shots, its basic good manners. Also I like to toast the first Guinness or decent beer when out for an expected long session.

15) It is ok to drink alone, an oldie but perfectly fine. Might look edgy after all, and if you are there long enough you will meet other like minded people soon enough, if you want!

16) If bored in certain company in a bar just leave. You will look mysterious and cool, and can build up a mystifying persona. No point just dragging out a boring night when there are so many other bars and clubs that you could be in having the great time.

17) If you had a fierce argument with bar staff always try to apologise as soon as possible. They are the gate keepers, you don’t want to make them pissed off, and you don’t want to get a bad reputation.

So these are my drinking rules……drinking rules that you can either take it or leave it…….enjoy! 

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