Your choice of beer at Falmer

[Working class pride]

Be good to have some local beers as te main thing is to make it an Albion / Brighton / Sussex bar.. be good to have Albion pictures on the wall. One thing tho' when its busy then can there be beer sold by people not at the bar wandering through the bar like they do at the cricket so that you dont have to stand for hours to get a drink Or maybe a "bottles only" corner so that you are not waiting on the "2 pints of larger, 1 pint of harveys, a gin a whiskey & coke and brandy and coke" order that takes forever

 

[Notters]

Be good to have some local beers as te main thing is to make it an Albion / Brighton / Sussex bar.. be good to have Albion pictures on the wall. One thing tho' when its busy then can there be beer sold by people not at the bar wandering through the bar like they do at the cricket so that you dont have to stand for hours to get a drink Or maybe a "bottles only" corner so that you are not waiting on the "2 pints of larger, 1 pint of harveys, a gin a whiskey & coke and brandy and coke" order that takes forever

Good call, sometimes you just need a quick emergency beer? Maybe something for the Gullys Girls to do?

 

[fataddick]

As far as I'm aware, the Club is indeed convinced about there being a demand for real ale. I wouldn't be surprised to find out, though, that the promise that a choice of real ale will be available not only in the Supporters' Bar, but also in the concourse bars, is being questioned in some quarters. Possibly by potential suppliers - just a suspicion, although I have no evidence for that, incidentally.

I suspect this will indeed prove the sticking point. Not convincing BHAFC to allow real ale to be sold on the concourse bars, but convincing the company that buy the beer rights. In the case of most football clubs this ends up being Heineken UK (formerly called Scottish & Newcastle) who will be reluctant to allow a local/proper ale to be sold when they have their own vile fake ale - John Smith's - to push.

There is an excellent brewery just 200 yards from The Valley called Meantime (mostly bottles and keg rather than cask, but they've won loads of world beer awards, and the draught lager and wheat beer in the Evening Star are from them). One of the owners is a Charlton fan and offered to brew a special ale for sale at The Valley, even offering to supply it in plastic bottles so it could be sold by roaming backpacked sellers and not encroach on the concourse bar/draught beer franchises. Despite pleas from various real ale loving Charlton fans, the club instantly rejected the idea out of hand as Scottish & Newcastle wouldn't even consider it. I guess starting from scratch with a new stadium means you might have more of a bargaining position, but I wish you luck - global hypercorps like S&N aren't reknowned for their flexibility.

And for those questioning whether real ale and football supporters' bars are compatible, take a look at (just a quick look, I know you don't like them) at Leyton Orient. The supporters' bar - open to both home and away fans - at Brisbane Road was CAMRA's National Club of the Year in 2008, and runner up last year (it's won the East London and/or Greater London equivalent every year since 1998). So there.

 

[Working class pride]

I suspect this will indeed prove the sticking point. Not convincing BHAFC to allow real ale to be sold on the concourse bars, but convincing the company that buy the beer rights. In the case of most football clubs this ends up being Heineken UK (formerly called Scottish & Newcastle) who will be reluctant to allow a local/proper ale to be sold when they have their own vile fake ale - John Smith's - to push.

There is an excellent brewery just 200 yards from The Valley called Meantime (mostly bottles and keg rather than cask, but they've won loads of world beer awards, and the draught lager and wheat beer in the Evening Star are from them). One of the owners is a Charlton fan and offered to brew a special ale for sale at The Valley, even offering to supply it in plastic bottles so it could be sold by roaming backpacked sellers and not encroach on the concourse bar/draught beer franchises. Despite pleas from various real ale loving Charlton fans, the club instantly rejected the idea out of hand as Scottish & Newcastle wouldn't even consider it. I guess starting from scratch with a new stadium means you might have more of a bargaining position, but I wish you luck - global hypercorps like S&N aren't reknowned for their flexibility.

And for those questioning whether real ale and football supporters' bars are compatible, take a look at (just a quick look, I know you don't like them) at Leyton Orient. The supporters' bar - open to both home and away fans - at Brisbane Road was CAMRA's National Club of the Year in 2008, and runner up last year (it's won the East London and/or Greater London equivalent every year since 1998). So there.

The point is that its p to Harveys maybe with Dark Star to show they can supply beer at a competitive price and take on the big brewers. Its up to tem, nobody owes Harveys a living. We all want a Sussex bewery to supply the beer, so a Sussex brewery has a head start. Its now up to Harveys and Dark Star use that goodwill and win the contract.

 

[Questions]

I reckon real ale is quicker than gas-pumped lagers which always seem to take an age to get filled. I know that when I've introduced my German friends to hand-pulled beer they're amazed how quickly glasses get filled up.

And emptied I suspect Gwylan

 

[fataddick]

The point is that its p to Harveys maybe with Dark Star to show they can supply beer at a competitive price and take on the big brewers. Its up to tem, nobody owes Harveys a living. We all want a Sussex bewery to supply the beer, so a Sussex brewery has a head start. Its now up to Harveys and Dark Star use that goodwill and win the contract.

The first thing that would need to happen would be to separate off the contract for providing real ale from the general alcohol contract. That exclusion will be the difficult thing to get the big breweries bidding for the stadium alcohol contract to agree to. I don't think it's practictal for Harveys, Dark Star or whoever to be bidding against Heineken for the whole shebang - apart from anything else Harveys/Dark Star ONLY do ales (no lager or cider etc) so presumably wouldn't be able to provide the other things competitively. Dark Star for one have certainly managed to get their beers in surprising places - eg small barrels of Festival on the bar at the Dome during the Brighton Festival - presumably as negotiated exclusions from whatever ties exist in those venues. I'd guess people are looking at a similar arrangement?

 

[attila]

The point is that its p to Harveys maybe with Dark Star to show they can supply beer at a competitive price and take on the big brewers. Its up to tem, nobody owes Harveys a living. We all want a Sussex bewery to supply the beer, so a Sussex brewery has a head start. Its now up to Harveys and Dark Star use that goodwill and win the contract.

Absolutely correct. Fataddick, I am assured that when the club did the tender they made it clear that they wanted real ale as part of the deal. Whichever of the majors gets the contract will have their own house national ale: I presume that everyone who likes real ale (and maybe some who don't) would like Sussex breweries to provide it. The breweries in question certainly know what is happening: so everything will be done according to what is commercially viable on both sides. One more time: the point of this poll was/is simply to get some idea of the demand for real ale relative to other drinks in one sector of our fanbase: I know loads of us love it, I know we are a minority but I think we are a much more substantial minority than the national trend and so far this poll does seem to bear this out. No business plan is going to be based on an NSC poll, but it does give an idea. Let's keep it going for a few more days to give the greatest number of people the chance to participate in the poll, if they want to do so.

Oh, by the way, morris dancing is WORSE THAN CRYSTAL PALACE, so are blues covers bands and horrid fol de rol finger in the ear folkies. That's what I started Glastonwick. And I only have a beard sometimes, and then only 'cos my wife likes it.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

And I only have a beard sometimes,

...and you play a mandolin.

 

[Working class pride]

The first thing that would need to happen would be to separate off the contract for providing real ale from the general alcohol contract. That exclusion will be the difficult thing to get the big breweries bidding for the stadium alcohol contract to agree to. I don't think it's practictal for Harveys, Dark Star or whoever to be bidding against Heineken for the whole shebang - apart from anything else Harveys/Dark Star ONLY do ales (no lager or cider etc) so presumably wouldn't be able to provide the other things competitively. Dark Star for one have certainly managed to get their beers in surprising places - eg small barrels of Festival on the bar at the Dome during the Brighton Festival - presumably as negotiated exclusions from whatever ties exist in those venues. I'd guess people are looking at a similar arrangement?

OK, so if I ran Harveys then i would contact one of the major Lager / cider brewers to make a joint bid. There is a perception at times that successful companies are "bad" and I just dont buy into that. Harveys and dark Star, its up to them, ts a free market, they have allot of goodwill, now use initiative with that good will and make a bid, but no whinging, they must stand on their own two feet

 

[Questions]

I know Dark Star are using Meantime for their lagers needs at the moment. God that is a match made in heaven............... get them in there.

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

I would imagine Dark Star have the capacity and range of beer to meet the stadium demands, however I fear fataddick has raised the point of big companys flashing the cash to get the contract.

How would a local company manage to match an up front bid and offer big loss leaders that S&C will do, it would be interesting to see how many of the league clubs have these big bland contracts for food and drink.

 

[The Large One]

Whoever gets the contract - including the 'big companies' - they are going to have a contractual obligation to have at least one real ale tap at each kiosk throughout the stadium. If those big companies have done their research, they'll realise that fobbing off the customers with what is not wanted will backfire on them.

It might be that Brighton bucks the trend for beer requirements. Or it might be that other football clubs don't give a stuff what is served at the grounds, as long as people buy it. Who knows?

However, it appears that there is a healthy (if that's the right word) requirement for real ale at Falmer, and as has been correctly pointed out - it's now down to the real ale breweries to make sure it's them whose beer is on that tap.

 

[8ace]

If the Real Ale doesn't sell well enough the club will soon rip the pumps out and replace it with something more profitable.

 

[The Large One]

If the Real Ale doesn't sell well enough the club will soon rip the pumps out and replace it with something more profitable.

You could say that about absolutely anything. So what's your point?

 

[8ace]

You could say that about absolutely anything. So what's your point?

My point is that a minority of Albion fans arguing the toss on this board won't ultimately decide what's on sale at Falmer.

 

[The Large One]

My point is that a minority of Albion fans arguing the toss on this board won't ultimately decide what's on sale at Falmer.

Actually, you're quite right. The club will ignore everything that has gone on during this debate despite asking for a poll, and will just serve what they want to, irrespective of what has been asked for, and the self-important unelected FFA team have just been pissing in the wind for the past six or seven years.

It's just become oh so clear now.

 

[Simster]

Actually, you're quite right. The club will ignore everything that has gone on during this debate despite asking for a poll, and will just serve what they want to, irrespective of what has been asked for, and the self-important unelected FFA team have just been pissing in the wind for the past six or seven years.

It's just become oh so clear now.

Serious question (I'm not reading through 255 posts on this) but is that really the case? Are the club really going to decide on what drinks to sell based on a NSC poll?

Personally I can't believe this subject has attracted so many posts, how many people are actually going to drink at the stadium anyway? There loads of proper pubs in the city FFS.

 

[8ace]

Actually, you're quite right. The club will ignore everything that has gone on during this debate despite asking for a poll, and will just serve what they want to, irrespective of what has been asked for, and the self-important unelected FFA team have just been pissing in the wind for the past six or seven years.

It's just become oh so clear now.

 

[attila]

I'd say we're in a unique position at the Albion compared to the ale fans at other clubs who don't get what they want in their grounds, simply because of our history, the resultant relationship between the fans and the board (pre and post DK's chairmanship) and the fact that we are building a new stadium and therefore the club can set the catering conditions, as everything else, from scratch.
The club want to please us all, simple as that - subject to the fact that what we want is commercially viable.

 

[The Large One]

Serious question (I'm not reading through 255 posts on this) but is that really the case? Are the club really going to decide on what drinks to sell based on a NSC poll?

Personally I can't believe this subject has attracted so many posts, how many people are actually going to drink at the stadium anyway? There loads of proper pubs in the city FFS.

The interest may come from the fact that not that many football clubs offer real ale as a choice, and some Brighton fans are insisting that our club does.

I'm happy to drink at the stadium if I knew that it was going to help the club. I have never bought a pint of beer before in my life with that outcome. However, I won't buy something I don't want to drink - well, I'm sure everyone feels that - even if it means the club is missing out.

So I (and maybe some others) feel that if they want my money, I will put in a request for some real ale. It's not as though I'm asking for other types of beer to NOT be sold there (as some have alluded to). It may be that there are 255 posts because others feel the same - I don't know.

However, as to exactly which beers will be sold, that will be down to the caterer that wins the contract. However, they will be obliged to sell real ale as well as lagers, ciders etc.