Alcohol-free pub

Zippie84

TheLastMohican wrote: »

I meant the idea is pretentious. It's a cultural thing. You can have groups of people playing cards, mah jong, dominoes etc in a dry cafe in mainland Europe and eastwards but not in Ireland or perfidious Albion. It won't fly.

[

Got any update on whether the alcohol-free nightclub in Templebar is still open / still alcohol-free?

I've no idea, but internet suggests it is, and has been open for over two years.

The dry bar in Liverpool that this Glasgow bar is based on seems to also be still doing alright.

wretcheddomain

Zippie84 wrote: »

how can it be a universal slur ('universal' meaning 'applicable to all cases') against something in general?

Especially when they have said 'it's not always fun'.

I should have been clearer. When I referred to 'pubs in general', I meant pubs of all types and varieties, including the type of clientèle every given place can generate.

The other poster universalised these different categories under one banner, giving the false impression that pubs in Dublin always descend into chaos.

humanji wrote: »

No, it's what happens in plenty of bars on a weekend night. There's no point pretending it doesn't happen, we all know it does. Not every place has people falling all over themselves, but some people would still prefer a place where there's no alcohol at all. There's nothing wrong with wanting that. And it's a bit odd that some people seem to see it as being so alien a concept.

Of course it happens, only a fool would deny it. But, all that means is that folks should actively avoid such places in the first place, in the same way I would as a drinker of alcohol myself.

Irrespective of that, alcohol-free pubs are merely Late Night Cafés - nothing wrong with that, of course, but as long as people don't falsely attach the label 'pub' where it does not belong.

Macavity.

It sounds more like an alcohol free community centre. I think it's a good idea though.

Zippie84

wretcheddomain wrote: »

The other poster universalised these different categories under one banner, giving the false impression that pubs in Dublin always descend into chaos.

Maybe that's how you interpreted it, but they really didn't, though.

Saying 'it's not always fun being sober and surrounded by drunks.' is surely not a universal slur against pubs.

Saying something is 'not always fun' suggests that it sometimes is / sometimes might be.

Universal means 'applicable in all cases' which that hardly is.

Saying 'it's never fun being sober and surrounded by drunks.' now that would be universal.

I don't see how saying that 'it's not always fun being sober and surrounded by drunks.' can be 'giving the false impression that pubs in Dublin always descend into chaos.'

Sorry, but very strange conclusion, in my opinion.

Zippie84

Macavity. wrote: »

It sounds more like an alcohol free community centre. I think it's a good idea though.

Out of genuine interest though, have you ever gone to a pub with a group of friends and you and they didn't drink?

Jamsiek

Gowlasauras Rex wrote: »

But in big cities there is no need to drive because of the public transport so can have a few drinks. Would probably be better in smaller towns were people drive to town an won't have to get a taxi home.

I don't think it's going to work. A novelty for 6 months then will close

What about people that are recovering alcoholics that don't want to be in a pub full of drinkers?
They might want to go out for a chat with friends or watch a band or a show.
They could do very well, good luck to them.

wretcheddomain

Zippie84 wrote: »

Maybe that's how you interpreted it, but they really didn't, though.

Saying 'it's not always fun being sober and surrounded by drunks.' is surely not a universal slur against pubs.

Saying something is 'not always fun' suggests that it sometimes is / sometimes might be.

Universal means 'applicable in all cases' which that hardly is.

Saying 'it's never fun being sober and surrounded by drunks.' now that would be universal.

I don't see how saying that 'it's not always fun being sober and surrounded by drunks.' can be 'giving the false impression that pubs in Dublin always descend into chaos.'

Sorry, but very strange conclusion, in my opinion.

Now you're just being needlessly pedantic.

If there is no context given, it can easily be interpreted that way. The interpretation does not have to be the correct one in order for it to give a false impression.

The right thing would have been to put his/her experience in context, instead of providing a negative impression of the Dublin pub scene.

Zippie84

wretcheddomain wrote: »

Now you're just being needlessly pedantic.

If there is no context given, it can easily be interpreted that way. The interpretation does not have to be the correct one in order for it to give a false impression.

The right thing would have been to put his/her experience in context, instead of providing a negative impression of the Dublin pub scene.

Not being needlessly pedantic at all - except obviously if you're interpreting it that way. Just being factual.

The poster didn't even specify anything about the Dublin pub scene at all.

Just 'it's not always fun being sober and surrounded by drunks.'

No context? Probably doesn't need one. Cos all their saying is that it is not 100% of the time fun being sober and surrounded by drunks... seems like a reasonable and factual statement to make...

Egginacup

humanji wrote: »

Because it's not always fun being sober and surrounded by drunks.

If there's one thing worse than being sober in the company of drunk **** it's being sober in the company of sober **** :pac:

wretcheddomain

Zippie84 wrote: »

No context? Probably doesn't need one. Cos all their saying is that it is not 100% of the time fun being sober and surrounded by drunks... seems like a reasonable and factual statement to make...

It's only factual if they're the type of pubs you attend.

I, as a person who drinks alcohol, actively avoid rowdy places in Dublin. Non-rowdy places do exist, and not to acknowledge this only fuels the false idea that Dublin - or any other city for that matter - is a haven for drunks.

Jamsiek

TheLastMohican wrote: »

Ask anyone that is enjoying a night out about the bunch of non-drinkers that sit, stare and carry stories the following day

I know lots of non-drinkers that don't just sit and stare

TheLastMohican wrote: »

Non drinkers should stay out of pubs - just the same as drinkers should stay out of that pretentious joint in Glasgow

Seriously?

Zippie84

wretcheddomain wrote: »

It's only factual if they're the type of pubs you attend.

I, as a person who drinks alcohol, actively avoid rowdy places in Dublin. Non-rowdy places do exist, and not to acknowledge this only fuels the false idea that Dublin - or any other city for that matter - is a haven for drunks.

They're commenting about people not pubs. They've said that it's 'not always fun being a sober person surrounded by drunks'.

If you believe that it is always fun being a sober person surrounded person surrounded by drunks is true - and always literally meaning always, not just always for you personally - then that's cool.

AndThatsAFact

Burn it to the ground

Egginacup

Zippie84 wrote: »

Well if a big part of their target market is recovering alcoholics then I guess there's part of your answer right there.

Recovering alcoholics deserve all the support they can get but do a lot of recovering alcoholics not go to a regular pub and have a soft drink because the temptation is too great what with there being alcohol on offer?

Zippie84

Jamsiek wrote: »

I know lots of non-drinkers that don't just sit and stare

Ah no, you're associating with the wrong types of non-drinkers.

See, I'm a drinker. But just sometimes.

Many times I won't drink alcohol. Cos I'm on a tight budget. Or cos I am not in the mood. Or I like the taste of coca-cola as much as the taste of any alcoholic drink. Or cos I'm on medication. Or cos I'm there to have a good time, with or without alcohol.

But see there's this really freaky thing - when I go out and drink alcohol I'm great craic, but when I just drink soft drinks, I just sit and stare.

It really freaks people out.

Even more so when by coincidence none of our group are drinking, cos say we're there for the pub quiz, and it's a midweek night and we couldn't be bothered drinking, we all just sit there and stare at each other.

It's so weird, the pub have complaints about us and everything.

Lol

:rolleyes:

Jamsiek

Mint Aero wrote: »

Utterly stupid idea.

Why?

irish_major

This is gonna be a quick road to the poorhouse

Egginacup

humanji wrote: »

You've to buy a very expensive license to sell alcohol, so that's one very good reason. And there'd be plenty of people who don't drink or don't want to a place full of drunks on a night out, that there might be a viable market for it. I can't see it lasting as an idea in Ireland, but I'd definitely give it a chance if there was one near to me.

Maybe it's time for a new license, a cheaper one. Full license and you can sell anything. Cheaper license and you can sell low alc. beer and 3% wine and no spirits.

Personally I couldn't drink any sweet soft drinks like coke or fanta. They are just too sweet and I don't like them. I only have a cola with a burger now and then. And sparkling water and tea isn't something I could drink for four hours either. But I could drink the low strength beer all night no problem and would get a tiny buzz but not in anyway drunk and not nauseous from drinking sugar water.

bucketybuck

Won't be long until they figure out why most cafe's don't stay open all night...

Zippie84

Egginacup wrote: »

Maybe it's time for a new license, a cheaper one. Full license and you can sell anything. Cheaper license and you can sell low alc. beer and 3% wine and no spirits.

That's probably a seperate issue in this case, given that the target market for this establishment seem to have good reason to want an alcohol free bar, rather than a bar with only low content alcohol.

chakotha

It sounds a bit odd but it might do well.

It's hard to just sit around talking for a long period of time sipping a soft drink without getting bored/restless.

With booze you can sit at a table talking for hours and hours.

It might attract groups that would stay for shorter visits.

Zippie84

bucketybuck wrote: »

Won't be long until they figure why most cafe's don't stay open all night...

Might be. Might not be.

Time will tell.

In any case, this one doesn't intend to stay open all night, and isn't a cafe, so probably isn't really comparable.

Also, others who have done similarly seem to be doing ok (although only judging that based on the fact that they're still open).

I'll pop in when it opens and see what it's like - and of course if it's like my usual pubs or if it's cafe-like... although I see which is likely to be the case.

Zippie84

chakotha wrote: »

It's hard to just sit around talking for a long period of time sipping a soft drink without getting bored/restless.

I wouldn't necessarily say it's the case. May be hard for some people - although as someone who regularly goes to pubs with groups of people where several of them including me aren't drinking alcohol, I don't seem to get bored / restless.

I don't drink a lot of alcohol even if I do drink, and I get on well with the people in both groups - and usually the banter is flowing regardless of what we are drinking.

I'll be going to one such event tonight, and I'll likely be drinking irn bru, and was there last monday night, and people were actually commenting on how great the banter was.

The same night I commented about how the pub doesn't do well out of us. I was on irn bru, two friends on coffee, a couple on coca-cola, and I think at least one more had irn bru also. But when I mentioned it a few said it's a weeknight, so they usually just save drinking for the weekend, as they're there for the banter.

I think it probably depends on the company, but for me I'd say that if you're with a group of friends and it's hard to sit and chat and have a laugh with them without getting bored / restless, unless drinking alcohol, I'd question my group of friends / my social skills.

Not directing this at person I'm replying to, and saying they should, just that I'd definitely be questioning it within myself if it was the case for me.

Egginacup

humanji wrote: »

No, it's what happens in plenty of bars on a weekend night. There's no point pretending it doesn't happen, we all know it does. Not every place has people falling all over themselves, but some people would still prefer a place where there's no alcohol at all. There's nothing wrong with wanting that. And it's a bit odd that some people seem to see it as being so alien a concept.

Well if fucking non-smokers insist on imposing their fascist, puritanical dogma on my pubs then I insist on being able to go into their clean-living, healthy lifestyle "pubs" and impose my fascist, boozy dogma on them and force them to serve me beer!!

Egginacup

wretcheddomain wrote: »

I should have been clearer. When I referred to 'pubs in general', I meant pubs of all types and varieties, including the type of clientèle every given place can generate.

The other poster universalised these different categories under one banner, giving the false impression that pubs in Dublin always descend into chaos.



Of course it happens, only a fool would deny it. But, all that means is that folks should actively avoid such places in the first place, in the same way I would as a drinker of alcohol myself.

Irrespective of that, alcohol-free pubs are merely Late Night Cafés - nothing wrong with that, of course, but as long as people don't falsely attach the label 'pub' where it does not belong.

There are loads of places that serve alcohol but you would be hard pressed to encounter an obnoxious drunk or even a drunk person at all. Hotel lounges are a fine example. They often have some nice music playing, maybe a pianist or even some old crooner with on the keyboards. Old-timer pubs generally just have chilled out duffers supping away a few and chatting. Rarely does anyone get sloshed or messy.
I'm not against the idea of the booze free pub, I just think it won't work. I think it would work if there was an emphasis on non-alcoholic drinks but there was a selection of beers for me. I'll give you an example. I often used to go to that Italian restaurant on Cow's Lane in Dublin. Lots of the girls I was with would be drinking coffee or nursing a wine and sitting outside. I would have a couple of Peronis which aren't cheap but it was not pub culture so nobody was getting hammered but there was a beer or a wine available and it was nice.

Egginacup

Zippie84 wrote: »

That's probably a seperate issue in this case, given that the target market for this establishment seem to have good reason to want an alcohol free bar, rather than a bar with only low content alcohol.

Well there are only two reasons judging by the posts here why someone would want a place that serves no alcohol:

1. Because people don't want to be in the company of drunks....but my low-alc beer addresses that and allows me to go to their stick-in-the-mud "pub" and not have to drink Mi-Wadi or Complan.

2. It's for recovering alcoholics. The alcoholics who want nothing to do with alcohol anymore should then throw off all vestiges of establishments that helped fuel their affliction. Calling this place a "pub" would be a good start.

Zippie84

Zippie84 wrote: »

Out of genuine interest though, have you ever gone to a pub with a group of friends and you and they didn't drink?

I would probably go to the pub about twice a week on average and and say over the last 10 or 12 years I would say maybe two or three times I've gone to a pub where the majority of the group were not drinking, I can only think of one occasion off the top of my head where all but one of the group weren't drinking and cant think of a time a group of us went an no one drank at all (is possible it happened but I cant remember an instance).

Personally I have little or no interest in going to the pub unless Im drinking as it removes a large part of the point of going.

Zippie84

Giuliana Limited Soap wrote: »

I
Personally I have little or no interest in going to the pub unless Im drinking as it removes a large part of the point of going.

Yep. Can understand that.

I think what many miss though is that for many other people going to the pub is not primarily about consuming alcohol, and that other people's experiences can be very different.

Zippie84

Egginacup wrote: »

Well there are only two reasons judging by the posts here why someone would want a place that serves no alcohol:

1. Because people don't want to be in the company of drunks....but my low-alc beer addresses that and allows me to go to their stick-in-the-mud "pub" and not have to drink Mi-Wadi or Complan.

2. It's for recovering alcoholics. The alcoholics who want nothing to do with alcohol anymore should then throw off all vestiges of establishments that helped fuel their affliction. Calling this place a "pub" would be a good start.

I can see several other reasons why others would want to go to a non-alcoholic pub-type place.

And call it anything we want, pub or any other name, it still is what it is. A place that is designed to all the types of things that pub do except serve alcohol. For me, it's the purpose behind it that's important, not what it is called, I doubt that description of it makes much difference. And who knows if we do continue to see more of these there might a new word made that is more reflective of what it is.

Egginacup

Zippie84 wrote: »

I can see several other reasons why others would want to go to a non-alcoholic pub-type place.

And call it anything we want, pub or any other name, it still is what it is. A place that is designed to all the types of things that pub do except serve alcohol. For me, it's the purpose behind it that's important, not what it is called, I doubt that description of it makes much difference. And who knows if we do continue to see more of these there might a new word made that is more reflective of what it is.

Yeah,


SAD ASS CAFE