Beer sales suffer from big freeze

• Total beer sales down 5.1 per cent
• Pub beer sales down 8.8 per cent
• Supermarket and off-licence beer sales increase by 0.5 per cent

January’s big freeze hit beer sales, according to the latest UK Quarterly Beer Barometer. Pub beer sales fell by 8.8 per cent in the quarter and overall beer sales were down by 5.1 per cent on the first quarter of 2009.

The exceptional and severe weather in January, which prevented many from going to the pub, was the major contributor to the fall in sales.

Given the continuing fragility in the beer market the BBPA is asking the Government not to increase pressure on the sector unnecessarily by increasing beer taxes in the Budget on 22 June.

The year-on-year change in beer sales is improving – the rate of decline easing to 3.5 per cent in the year to March 2010 from 4.2 per cent in the year previously – indicating that there are some signs of an underlying improvement in the sector.

The five per cent increase in Beer Duty in the 2010 Budget came into effect as the quarter was ending, with fears that an effective increase of 8 pence per pint is likely to have a further depressive effect on future beer sales. The tax increase put a further cost burden of £161 million on the sector, at a time when many pubs are struggling.

The 8.8 per cent fall in pub beer sales means that 6.9 million fewer pints were drunk each week during January, February and March compared with the same period in 2009 – a loss in volume that leaves many pubs under continued pressure.

Sales of beer in supermarkets and shops increased by 0.5 per cent in the first three months of 2010, compared to a fall of 10.1 per cent in the same period in 2009.

Pub facts

• There are approximately 54,000 pubs in the UK.
• Eight out of ten adults count themselves as pub goers and over 15 million people drink in a pub at least once a week.
• Over 600,000 people rely on pubs for their employment.
• Over 80% of pubs are small businesses run by tenants, lessees and owners.
• The average pub spends over £70,000 per annum on locally sourced goods and services.
• The pub food market continues to thrive. UK pubs now serve over one billion meals per year.

2007 popular pub names

Red Lion	759
Royal Oak	626
White Hart	427
Rose and Crown	326
Kings Head	310
Kings Arms	284
Queens Head	278
The Crown	261

Drop in underage pub drinkers

The number of underage drinkers who consume alcohol in pubs and bars has fallen to less than one in 10, government figures have revealed.

Among 11-15 year-olds who claim to drink alcohol in the on-trade, the proportion fell from 13 per cent in 1996 to seven per cent in 2008, the statistics showed.

However over the same period schoolchildren who drink at home rose from 52 per cent to 64 per cent and at parties with friends from 23 to 33 per cent.

Drinking outside, in places such as parks, among the age group increased from 21 per cent to 27 per cent.
However, the NHS Information Centre report showed that the number of school-age children who admitted to having drunk alcohol in the past week fell from 26 per cent in 2001 to 18 per cent in 2008.

Other findings from the study found that in 2008, 72 per cent of adult men were drinking within government guidelines – 21 units a week. For women, 80 per cent said they drank within safe guidelines – 14 units a week.

The figures showed a slight decrease in overall alcohol consumption, but a steady rise in alcohol related deaths to 6,769 in 2008.

Jeremy Beadles, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association said: “While we should be concerned by the rise in alcohol related-deaths, it’s clear government efforts to combat alcohol misuse should continue to be focused on the minority of people who drink excessively, not the vast majority who enjoy a drink in moderation.”

But Chris Sorek, chief executive of charity Drinkaware, said it was “shocking” that alcohol-related deaths are again on the increase.

“And with a rise in prescription items dispensed to treat drink dependency - it’s vital now, more than ever, that we act to educate people on the effects of drinking too much before more people come to harm,” he added.

The Star Beer Festival

The Star Inn, Wenhaston is holding a bank holiday beer festival. The date is Saturday 29th, Sunday 30th& Monday 31st from noon – 11pm

Included over the course of the weekend there will be a Barbecue from 12pm - 8pm with live music and tasting notes on the below beers ...

Everards Tiger 4.2%
Everards Sunchaser 4%
Fullers London Pride 4.1%
Meantime London Pale Ale 4.3%
Nethergate Umbel Magna 5%
Nethergate Three PoINT NINE 3.9%
Nethergate OlD GROWLER 5%
Nethergate Suffolk County4%
PURity UBU 4.5%
Purity PURE GOLD 3.8%
ADNAMS BITTER 3.7%
REGATTA 4.3%

For more information on these beers please see here.

The Music

Saturday 29th

7pm - The Low house blues band

Sunday 30th 

3pm -Bridget & Friends – Folk session

6pm - Mark Anthony

Monday 31st  

3pm - The Night Rollers



The Food

A Barbeque is on offer at only £6

Choose from Organic Red Poll Beef burgers, organic lamb
burgers, clarkes butchery sausages, mushrooms filled with
goats cheese. 

In a Stradbroke bakery Bun

Then help yourself to salads.


Pop along and see us - for more information call us on 01502 478240.

How to... taste beer

Professional beer tasting might be the best job in the world, but it’s also one of your most important responsibilities, there are some pieces of advice that need a lot of hammering home to persuade people that a little chore is worth doing. Then there are some that probably don’t.

The advice that you should taste your beer every morning before opening undoubtedly falls into the second camp.

You should taste your beer before opening to ensure it is up to scratch. This quality control check will avoid people being put off by a dodgy pint and make it more likely that they will come back to your pub. It is especially important with cask beer – as a live product, it continues to evolve and change in nature in its container.

“They need to be, because quality control is so important.”

Next, you should swirl the beer in the glass, and then take a good sniff to check the aroma. The gap left in the glass allows the aromas of the beer to circulate, something that is a big determining factor in taste.

Finally comes the drinking. Take a sip of the beer at first, and then take a bigger slurp over the entire tongue to really assess the taste. Make yourself aware of which parts of the tongue receive different elements of flavour by checking the diagram (right). For most beers, the really important part is found at the back of the tongue, where the bitterness receptors are.

This does not necessarily mean you have to swallow the beer. Even once it reaches this point of the mouth, you can train yourself to spit it out as you would wine in a wine tasting.

If your beer tastes sour or vinegary, this means it is almost certainly off, something that is generally caused by the beer having been on too long.
If your tasting detects either of these problems (and it is much better that you do so, rather than having your customers do it for you!), stop selling it immediately, then determine the cause of the issue.

“It is important to me to taste a sample of the beers every morning, as imperfect taste is the least obvious at the point of dispense and we pride ourselves on delivering the perfect pint every time.”

Election 2010: The Publican's guide to the political parties' pub policy

On Thursday 6th May, millions will vote in one of the most anticipated and hyped general elections of our time.

But, as a publican, which way will you vote? If you’re still undecided, or want to check the main parties’ policies towards pubs, read on…

Alcohol duty

Labour’s regime on alcohol duty has been a massive issue for the trade. In the past two years beer duty alone has been hiked by a whopping 26 per cent. In the last Budget, Alistair Darling announced he would be extending the alcohol duty escalator until 2015. He also slapped a 10 per cent above-inflation rise on cider duty. However this will expire in June and have to go through Parliament again. Labour is planning to change the definition of cider so that higher-strength versions are taxed more.

The Tories have committed to raising taxes on “drinks related to anti-social behaviour”, such as super-strength lagers, ciders and “alcopops”. However shadow home secretary Chris Grayling has said “local traditional products” will not be affected. Labour’s recent 10 per cent cider duty increase would be scrapped.

The Lib Dems promise to review the system around alcohol tax to ensure it tackles “binge-drinking”, without “unfairly penalising responsible drinkers, pubs and important local industries”. They also vow to review the beer duty escalator and “explore the possibility” of a preferential rate of duty for draught beer.

Who wins you decide!

Some History...

The Star Inn is was built in 1839 and has traded continuously since 1841.

It still retains the warm welcome that should be a part of any pub visit, this welcome extends to dogs, children and muddy boots, hence its popularity with walkers, who are keen to enjoy the views from the five heaths of Wenhaston.

What makes our public house so accessable is that The Star is situated on the bus route that connects Southwold, Halesworth and Lowestoft, so it’s possible to take a tour of the countryside and coast, enjoy an interlude at The Star and not have to worry about driving.

You can explore some of the local history in the area, and even take a trip to some local surroundings including the Nursery situated just down the road.

We hope we will continue to make yet more history!