Craft Beer is a "phase" we are going through

Lovely Bloke

..according to Sligo publicans and the VFI :rolleyes:

Link

The White Hag @whitehagbrewery

Our application for licence for a craft beer experience at the Sligo fleadh was rejected - the @TheVFI_IrishPub reckon craft beer is a 'phase that will die out' and objected on behalf of 5 local pubs who feel we would detract from their business during the fleadh, with 300k people in town! Thoughts?

Am I shocked at the VFI - no, I am not.

Clowns.

evolving_doors

In there first

schemingbohemia

Is this a licensing issue decided upon by a District Judge or by the people running the Fleadh? There's not a huge amount of detail in what they're saying.

quadrifoglio verde

schemingbohemia wrote: »

Is this a licensing issue decided upon by a District Judge or by the people running the Fleadh? There's not a huge amount of detail in what they're saying.

District court id guess as they're the only ones who can grant licences (unless the fleadh can as well, but id doubt that).
Seemingly the vfi objected.
However thats what lobby groups do, they object if it goes against their members interests....id wish they'd educate their members on the benefits of having some craft beers.
All they need to do is look to the states to realise that this isn't a phase.

schemingbohemia

Well then part of the brewery's ire should be directed at the Judge, though that won't help with future events. Presumably the DJ would have had to justify the decision or is it the case that they just go - No, Next!?

Saruman

Seething rage.... off to calm down.

coylemj

Devil's Advocate......

Is a 'craft beer experience' just a fancy name for a pub in a tent? The local publicans are paying business rates and sky-high public liability insurance premiums all year round so why should they roll over and let someone pitch a tent and take a big slice of the business generated by a festival that's not likely to come back to the town for another 20 years or so?

Not in the pub business - just airing the other side of the argument.

irish_goat

coylemj wrote: »

Devil's Advocate......

Is a 'craft beer experience' just a fancy name for a pub in a tent? The local publicans are paying business rates and sky-high public liability insurance premiums all year round so why should they roll over and let someone pitch a tent and take a big slice of the business generated by a festival that's not likely to come back to the town for another 20 years or so?

They will make a fortune off this and the likelihood is that the town will need more bars, in Derry we had 5 "pop up" bars open for the week as well as a lot of bars putting extra temporary bars in their beer gardens.

What right do the pubs have to exclusively cash in on the event anyway?

BeerNut

coylemj wrote: »

why should they roll over and let someone pitch a tent and take a big slice of the business

They're expecting 300,000 people at the Fleadh. None of those pubs will be short of customers. Independent beer is very very far from being a "big slice" of the trade in any context.

Why should they allow it? Because it will give the visitor one more thing to remember about the time they went to the Fleadh in Sligo.

munchkin_utd

are microbreweries not exempt from needing a licence, or is that only when you have really really small output that even a normal commercial microbrewery would exceed?

coylemj

munchkin_utd wrote: »

are microbreweries not exempt from needing a licence, or is that only when you have really really small output that even a normal commercial microbrewery would exceed?

They still need a retail (pub) licence to sell the stuff regardless of the quantity they produce. Not sure if it's still called the same but fado fado you could apply for an 'occasional' licence for a local event, that's probably the type of licence the White Hag people applied for.

oblivious

munchkin_utd wrote: »

are microbreweries not exempt from needing a licence, or is that only when you have really really small output that even a normal commercial microbrewery would exceed?

Brewers licences has some very limited direct sales. selling for a tent at a festival you need a standard pub licence

Tigger

i live in sligo
i live 5 miles from the white hag
the pubs in sligo sell very little good beer (swagman tries foleys try better)
this makes me sad

i was at this and the clew bay sunset went down a storm

http://www.mayoman.me/mayos-new-craft-beer-a-big-hit-at-westport-food-festival

oblivious

Tigger wrote: »

i live in sligo
i live 5 miles from the white hag
the pubs in sligo sell very little good beer (swagman tries foleys try better)
this makes me sad

Contacting the chamber of commerces would be a help

Tigger

oblivious wrote: »

Contacting the chamber of commerces would be a help

lol

do you know how commercial rates work ? if they arent paid the next tennant (not landlord ) is liable , after the downturn most councils were put under pressure to waive the back rates by the chamber.
sligo don't , they let the biggest pub in sligo stay closed for 4 years due to back rates. i tried to open a business in sligo in 2012 the worst year of the recession imho and the back rates were 15,000 . rent was only 8k and i'd hace created 3 jobs and paid a landlord who would have then had a decent income for his wife to spend etc etc
no chance of a waive thats 2.5years ago and its still an empty unit

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=55126550

coylemj

oblivious wrote: »

Contacting the chamber of commerces would be a help

The local chamber of commerce would probably have no standing in a district court hearing related to an application for a pub or occasional licence plus the local publicans are probably numerically the largest group in the chamber so the chamber isn't going to take a stand against them. What I mean is that grocers, shoe shops, opticians and electrical retailers don't give a XXXX about craft beer so why would they support the chamber of commerce in adopting a stance that goes directly against the local publicans?

Tigger

coylemj wrote: »

The local chamber of commerce would probably have no standing in a district court hearing related to an application for a pub or occasional licence plus the local publicans are probably numerically the largest group in the chamber so the chamber isn't going to take a stand against them. What I mean is that grocers, shoe shops, opticians and electrical retailers don't give a XXXX about craft beer so why would they support the chamber of commerce in adopting a stance that goes directly against the local publicans?

especially in sligo

quadrifoglio verde

Tigger wrote: »

lol

do you know how commercial rates work ? if they arent paid the next tennant (not landlord ) is liable , after the downturn most councils were put under pressure to waive the back rates by the chamber.
sligo don't , they let the biggest pub in sligo stay closed for 4 years due to back rates. i tried to open a business in sligo in 2012 the worst year of the recession imho and the back rates were 15,000 . rent was only 8k and i'd hace created 3 jobs and paid a landlord who would have then had a decent income for his wife to spend etc etc
no chance of a waive thats 2.5years ago and its still an empty unit

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=55126550

Never understood that lark. If a business goes bust, the rates owed should go on the list of creditors with the same priority as revenue. Lumping it onto the next tenant who wasn't responsible for any of it is neither fair or right. But then that's what you get in this fine republic of ours.

Tigger

quadrifoglio verde wrote: »

Never understood that lark. If a business goes bust, the rates owed should go on the list of creditors with the same priority as revenue. Lumping it onto the next tenant who wasn't responsible for any of it is neither fair or right. But then that's what you get in this fine republic of ours.

no one gets the same priority as the R men but the rates man should be next and then written off

oblivious

Tigger wrote: »

lol

do you know how commercial rates work ? if they arent paid the next tennant (not landlord ) is liable , after the downturn most councils were put under pressure to waive the back rates by the chamber.
sligo don't ,

Yes and I am sorry for the way you where treated, but not this is a rates issue. The white hag brewery is an active local business that been impeaded by a vested interest group

Tigger

oblivious wrote: »

Yes and I am sorry for the way you where treated, but not this is a rates issue. The white hag brewery is an active local business that been impeaded by a vested interest group

a group who own the chamber and scare the council
so to answer your question no i havent contacted anyone
i'll live in sligo and do my business in mayo cos sligo is pretty and my friends live there but mayo is much better for local business

OldMrBrennan83

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oblivious

Tigger wrote: »

a group who own the chamber and scare the council

I was afraid it would be like that :mad:

Tigger wrote: »

i'll live in sligo and do my business in mayo cos sligo is pretty and my friends live there but mayo is much better for local business

I hope Mayo works out better business wise for you

Insect Overlord

Patww79 wrote: »

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Feck off with that shite.

oblivious

Patww79 wrote: »

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Some of us just want to be able to have a choice of beer in a pub and support Irish business

quadrifoglio verde

Patww79 wrote: »

They're right though, it's just one of those notions things. It's got to the stage where it's just obscurity people are looking to talk about and no matter what it actually tastes like, if someone else has had it before then it's of no interest. Not that they should have denied the licence though.

I'm one who loves trying different beers. Trust me if the taste isn't what I was hoping for ill slate it. It's not about drinking the most obscure beer that's out there, it's about finding the best beers. New doesn't mean best but neither does popular

Hidden Cyclone

So publicans still believe they're right and their customers are wrong

Best of luck with that.

Sad but in no way surprising

Hidden Cyclone

Patww79 wrote: »

it's just one of those notions things

I'm sure the music industry said the same when Napster came on the scene

BMJD

as someone who has family ties to the area, a strong interest in locally brewed beers, plus the first 3 weeks in August off work - I'll be going somewhere else

Tigger

Hidden Cyclone wrote: »

I'm sure the music industry said the same when Napster came on the scene

if i could download beer i'd never go out

dub_skav

Patww79 wrote: »

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This is neither an original viewpoint, nor a mainstream one.

Get out of here - hipster