Bath Hotel Sheffield

[Doom]

fair point about cost of transport. BUT! transport is only one factor, and of course importing does not guarantee quality. You can get Peroni from Italy, or even Quilmes from Argentina... both command a premium price, but both are absolute tosh (er, allegedly, if there's any lawyers reading...). I suppose that was my point - people will pay extra for the privelege of something being imported, but will question paying more for summat local that costs more because it uses quality ingredients etc. Within the real ale sector, there's breweries knocking out beer for £50 a firkin, but they're generally crap (allegedly again).

 

My own view is I'll question price differences between pubs i.e. why does beer x cost more in this pub than that one, but am more accepting of beer x costing more than beer y in the same pub, if it actually is a better beer

 

we're all (well most!) willing to pay £2.50 for a pint of beer in the pub rather than paying a quid for a tin of Spesh, on the basis of quality - I wouldn't then begrudge a further 20 or 30p for a better quality beer. At the end of the day, no-one expects to find a bottle of Chateau d'Expensive 1965 for the same price as a Chilean Shiraz, even though Chile is a lot further!

 

btw we've been in the Bath Hotel once, but lately we struggle to get enough beer for our regular customers!

 

I'd generally be happy to pay more for a better quality ale.

 

Me and my mates tend to like the stronger beers and always said we'd happily pay an extra 50 pence/pint at Wetherspoons if they had a regular strong beer we liked.

 

The Swim answered our prayers when they put Jaipur on regular at £2.30/pint.

 

Where I object is breweries like Brewdog using the 'Craft Beer' label as an excuse to charge silly prices.

 

In the Brewdog in Nottingham Punk IPA is £3.00 for 2/3 of a pint.

 

Why would I want to pay £4.50/pint for a pint of 5.4% beer when Jaipur is just as good (if not better) and only costs £2.30 at Wetherspoons?

 

I understand Wetherspoons is particularly cheap and would happily pay more for Jaipur, but I certainly couldn't justify £4.50/pint (I'd probably go up to £3.50 max).

 

Regards

 

Doom

[kirkyb]

I'd generally be happy to pay more for a better quality ale.

 

Me and my mates tend to like the stronger beers and always said we'd happily pay an extra 50 pence/pint at Wetherspoons if they had a regular strong beer we liked.

 

The Swim answered our prayers when they put Jaipur on regular at £2.30/pint.

 

Where I object is breweries like Brewdog using the 'Craft Beer' label as an excuse to charge silly prices.

 

In the Brewdog in Nottingham Punk IPA is £3.00 for 2/3 of a pint.

 

Why would I want to pay £4.50/pint for a pint of 5.4% beer when Jaipur is just as good (if not better) and only costs £2.30 at Wetherspoons?

 

I understand Wetherspoons is particularly cheap and would happily pay more for Jaipur, but I certainly couldn't justify £4.50/pint (I'd probably go up to £3.50 max).

 

Regards

 

Doom

 

That does seem a little bit steep was it on keg or cask as we all know if it's on keg you might as well bend over the bar! I've had Punk IPA on keg and cask recently and even for a pint on keg it was about £3.80 and that was at the Shefield Tap who in my opinion have started to take the Michael with some of their prices. As for pints of Jaipur in Wetherspoons I've had so truly suspect pints to the point that i wished that I had had a pint of Ruddles and dropped a Pernod in there! Also I would rather have a pint in nicer surroundings and pay more for it than get a cheaper pint in less so nice surroundings but that's just my personal preference. Trying to compare the price of beer in Werherspoons which can be a not so great pint in a not so great surroundings with a pint of the same beer of better quality in better surroundings is like comparing a Ferrari with a fiesta they both have 4 wheels an engine and an exhaust but one is a lot better overal package. A cautionary note that contradicts everything I've just said would be the bar at the newly refurbished Beauchief hotel terrible pint of Sequoia that must have been sat in the cask for a week it was rank!

[jemson]

I`ve been lucky with my pints from Wetherspoons recently but it can be roulette. My plan is to get my Jaipur from Swim (one of the more reliable spoons imo), sneak it out and sit in Bath with a smug look on my face! Might even use a CAMRA voucher to make Jaipur sub £2!!!

[retrogo]

Its a real shame that Brian has chucked in the towel on his pub.

Could have trained his son up on the bar supervisors license and had him managing that arm of the family business. Its a shame to spoil what was a nice pub. No doubt the IPA (the only semi real ale I like) will go and the place will just be a mock with wheatabix beers that make you either heave or shtt.

 

Sorry, I love the atmosphere in real ale pubs, but real ale tastes revolting and has adverse affects on my insides with grave consequences for those surrounding me.

[Stoatwobbler]

Most beer bloggers have been very silent indeed about any of the gripes people have with Thornbridge, so it's refreshing to see a blogpost like the one below. I think this thread even get's a mention! Well worth a read.

 

http://gettothepub.com/2012/04/25/bath-hotel-thornbridge-too-far/

 

Last year pubgoers all over Sheffield, and some way beyond, were praising the Thornbridge brewery to the heavens. Its outstanding, innovative beers had already won it a sturdy reputation. Now it was starting to do the business with pubs too. Its instant success at the Greystones seemed a case study in how struggling boozers – loved by neither their distant pubco owners nor their local populations – might be turned around by smaller breweries with great products and an ear to the needs of communities.

 

This week the news that Thornbridge is to take over the Bath Hotel has been received here in Sheffield with dismay. Not unanimous dismay. But enough to make you wonder whether the takeover will turn out to be a significant own goal.

 

Some commenters have pointed out the paucity of guest beers in existing Thornbridge pubs. Since the company took on the Hallamshire House last year, for instance, only its own beers have been available on draught. Choice of beer wasn’t the pub’s strongest suit beforehand, though. There’d be London Pride and something local like Five Rivers, which were good, and Doom Bar, which wasn’t.

 

But one of the reasons Sheffield drinkers appreciate the Bath Hotel is its wide-ranging and frequently rotated beer list. Will this be under threat when Thornbridge moves in? Not according to its brewer Matthew Clark, who has promised that “lots of different beers will be on offer too, not just ours and, fingers crossed, not the same stuff you get elsewhere”.

[Bilge]

I think some people have got carried away with the whole real ale thing. I say that as someone who has been a big fan of it since I started going in in pubs in the late 1970s/early 1980s when about 3 out of every 5 pints of beer in S Yorks was keg Stones, Wards or John Smiths.

 

There's nothing wrong with the Bath, so either leave it alone or if it changes hands then I hope whoever runs it doesn't change it too much. It doesn't need to have masses of handpumps with an ever changing range of beer. It's a very small bar anyway so there isn't room. If it has 3 or 4 handpumps and sells the same quality beer that seldom changes it would make no difference to me.

 

The Hallamshire House is very good. I couldn't care less if it only sells Thornbridge beer because it's good stuff and well kept in a nicely refurbed pub. There is room for that kind of model too. We don't always need 12 handpumps with 8 of the beers barely distinguishable from each other.

[jemson]

Stoatwobbler - that is an interesting article. I wonder if the author saw the reaction on here.

 

kirbyb - good to bump into you t`other day. Ale House has Dark Arts on now and the Oscar Wilde champion beer!

[Stoatwobbler]

Stoatwobbler - that is an interesting article. I wonder if the author saw the reaction on here.

 

kirbyb - good to bump into you t`other day. Ale House has Dark Arts on now and the Oscar Wilde champion beer!

 

The blogpost does actually quote from this thread to yes the author clearly has read this thread. Most beer blogs tend to be quite uncritical of Thornbridge so it's nice to see one saying what a lot of people are thinking.

[gravity426]

Like others I'm unsure about this. The hallamshire house is pretty much my nearest pub so I'm a big fan of thornbridge. People say they've ruined the place but to be honest I wouldn't have visited before they took over.

 

The bath is a bit different, I've been in a few times and have enjoyed it, the place could do with a bit of a spruce but nothing major, just hope thornbridge run it with a aim to keep the current feel.

[kirkyb]

Stoatwobbler - that is an interesting article. I wonder if the author saw the reaction on here.

 

kirbyb - good to bump into you t`other day. Ale House has Dark Arts on now and the Oscar Wilde champion beer!

 

Give me a shout Jemson if you fancy a beer at some point