Wolverhampton CAMRA Beerwolf Winter 2018 / 19

Another big change for us was the brewery deciding to convert us from metred
beer dispense and over sized lined pint glasses to free flow hand pulls and standard
sized pint glasses. Many of our regulars weren’t happy with this and they started
drinking at a club nearby which was still using the over sized glasses.
RT: What are the biggest difficulties with running a pub currently?
KB & DB: We struggle to compete with
other licensed premises that can chose
to sell a wider variety, as a managed
pub we have to buy our stock from the
brewery that we are tied to, so we are
more restricted on what we can offer
the customer. We have recently had to
throw beer away that has not sold and
therefore has gone past its best, this is
because of a reduction in turnover due
to the increase in local competition. We
refuse to sell beer past its best as our quality is important to us and our business.
RT: What advice would you give to an aspiring licensee?
DB: Don’t do it! But seriously it is a big commitment, it isn’t like a 9 to 5 job, it’s
more a way of life than simply a job. As a managed pub we are salaried by the
brewery and they also pay our staff but they give us a budget to spend on running
the business which can be a balancing act.
RT: A lot of pubs are closing for good across Britain, is there anything in particular
that CAMRA can do to help pubs in your opinion?
KB & DB: More and more people are drinking at home who in the past would have
been going to the pub, the supermarkets are able to sell alcohol a lot cheaper than
pubs as they treat it as a loss leader to attract shoppers in who also buy other
products that they make money on. It would help pubs if there was a more level
playing field and we could offer a competitive price for drinks. A combination of
minimum pricing in the supermarkets and less tax on the beer in pubs would help.
RT: The Gunmakers is CAMRA LocAle accredited (see page 26). How do you ensure
the consistent quality of your ale?
KB: First of all we order the casks a week in advance of when we intend to serve
them, this ensures that the ale has conditioned properly in our cellar, sometimes
ale comes from the breweries and it isn’t quite ready to be served straight away. If
a cask is moved in the cellar then it is left to settle for at least 24 hours before it is
served. I sample the ales to make sure they taste as they should and we keep
track of how long the casks have been on as ale should be drank within 4 to 5 days
of being tapped. Also we listen to our customers feedback.
RT: What is your favourite ale and what is your best-selling/most popular ale?
KB: I like Banks’s Amber Bitter myself and it is our best-selling ale. We alternate
Banks’s Sunbeam and Wainwright as guest beers which also sell very well. We are
one of the few pubs that still sell Banks’s Mild and we have many dedicated mild
drinkers. (RT: the Mild was in very good condition on my visit).
RT: What do you like to do when you aren’t working in the pub?
DB: On the rare occasions that we get some significant time off, I enjoy a trip to
the theatre and Kevin likes to go fishing.
KB: We do like to visit other pubs together and relax with a drink, a favourite of
ours is the Swan at Compton.
BEERWOLF | Winter 2018 15