Man your pumps, Wetherspoons are coming

Technocentral

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

What were you expecting? I paid €3.70 for a pint of Adnams Ghostship on cask there last Sunday, and thought it was really good value. The pub wasn't up to the same standard as my first visit (30 minute wait on food, running out of some meal choices, burnt part of my meal (but was suitably compensated)), but I find it hard to argue that it's not really good value for money when compared to typical Irish pub prices.

I feel the novelty will wear off after a while (particularly if there isn't rotation of their cask beers) as I wouldn't imagine they plan to change the menus too often, but for a family of four, just looking for a quite bite to eat and a pint, it's substantially cheaper than anywhere else.

3.70 is amazing for a cask beer in ireland, cheapest I had so far was Hop Head on cask in Porterhouse (delicious) for 5.30, wil give it a go this Saturday if its still on.

Krusty_Clown

Technocentral wrote: »

3.70 is amazing for a cask beer in ireland, cheapest I had so far was Hop Head on cask in Porterhouse (delicious) for 5.30, wil give it a go this Saturday if its still on.

Sorry, that should have read €3.75.

Geuze

Technocentral wrote: »

3.70 is amazing for a cask beer in ireland, cheapest I had so far was Hop Head on cask in Porterhouse (delicious) for 5.30, wil give it a go this Saturday if its still on.

Cask ale from Kerry is 4.50 in the Swagman on Wine street in Sligo.

Fyne Ales Superior IPA 7.1% cask ale was 5.00 last week in the Salthouse, Galway city.

In the UK, is it correct to say that cask is generally cheaper than keg ale?

Cask guest ale in JD WS in NI are always cheaper it seems.

SteeveeDee

Technocentral wrote: »

3.70 is amazing for a cask beer in ireland, cheapest I had so far was Hop Head on cask in Porterhouse (delicious) for 5.30, wil give it a go this Saturday if its still on.

It is a good price indeed, however you're off the mark by a bit in terms of €5.30 being the cheapest. In the same establishment (The Porterhouse) you can by a very good bitter called TSB and this is only in cask. It is a regular and has been for many years. Last year I remember paying €4.10 for a pint,not sure what it is now since the excise hit but I'm sure not far off if it has changed at all.

The second pint always seems better to me and I'm happy just to bring a tenner;)

Also meant to say, Helvick Gold on cask in Anseo, which was a regular, started at €4.90 up to €5.00 before they got rid of it this year. The still have Helvick Gold but it's now in Keg, same price I think and I still like it.

SteeveeDee

Geuze wrote: »

Cask ale from Kerry is 4.50 in the Swagman on Wine street in Sligo.

Fyne Ales Superior IPA 7.1% cask ale was 5.00 last week in the Salthouse, Galway city.

In the UK, is it correct to say that cask is generally cheaper than keg ale?

Cask guest ale in JD WS in NI are always cheaper it seems.

Yes. Generally it is cheaper in most pubs however you will find lagers like Fosters or Castlemaine XXXX sometimes cheaper or the same price. Generally Guinness and european lagers are more expensive.

BMJD

It's going to feel weird getting change back from a fiver

irish_goat

Pints of ale are £1.49 in Derry now because it's cider festival time. Feels weird getting change back from a fiver when you buy 3 pints! :pac:

rubadub

TireeTerror wrote: »

I was thinking along the lines of €2.50 for a pint of regular lagers, that kind of thing.

I was saying before that I reckon they deliberately priced it so they would not be seen to be attracting all day boozers looking for the cheapest drink possible. They must be well aware of their reputation.

The usually cheap drinks are not that cheap, the usually more expensive ones are pretty cheap. e.g. most pubs would have a greater difference than €1 between beamish and a bottle of zywiec. Beamish and a bottle of coors light/sol/miller/birra moretti are the same price.

TireeTerror

I was walking in the Mourne Mountains yesterday with a friend who's aunt owns a pub in the North. He is going to get me some prices for 50L kegs that they pay up there. I bought a flash chiller setup 2 weeks ago, so Ive been looking to get myself a keg of Hoegaarden for my man cave, so this thread has been really useful.

Geuze

Article in Irish Times today about Tim Martin's visit to the JD WS pub in Blackrock:

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/sectors/retail-and-services/wetherspoon-won-t-stock-diageo-unless-brewer-cuts-prices-1.1877342


Interesting quote:

“I don’t want to put pressure on Diageo, but we simply baulked at paying a higher price for Guinness in Ireland than we do in the UK,” he said.
He declined to comment on the price difference between the two markets, but it is understood the Irish price is up to 20 per cent higher.



I think this again highlights the pricing power and dominance of Diageo in the Irish market.

People blame Govt taxes for too high beer prices here, but I've always said, the main cause is the inflated prices charged by the few suppliers into the RoI market.

Geuze

Tim Martin gave some news on next three outlets:

Cork to open "by Christmas" 2014.

Dun Laoghaire - no date given.

Swords - that town was confirmed as a location - "recently signed contracts"

So 1 open and 3 more confirmed.

"No other firm deals in place at the moment"

Chelon

I see on their website they invite you to suggest locations for them. Anyone know if there's any kind of reward offered?

Technocentral

Chelon wrote: »

I see on their website they invite you to suggest locations for them. Anyone know if there's any kind of reward offered?

The unquantifable reward of helping your fellow drinkers to access cheaper ale.

Chelon

Technocentral wrote: »

The unquantifable reward of helping your fellow drinkers to access cheaper ale.

Lol - I think we could all nominate one of our local pubs to be "JD'ed"

Maybe they could offer a years' fre ale?!?

TireeTerror

Chelon wrote: »

I see on their website they invite you to suggest locations for them. Anyone know if there's any kind of reward offered?

Where is that part on their site? I want to suggest somewhere.

Chelon

TireeTerror wrote: »

Where is that part on their site? I want to suggest somewhere.

http://www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/home/about-us/our-pubs/a-wetherspoon-near-you

poitinstill

heard on the radio / paper that the cork pub wont be open till feb due to some delay or other..Neil Prendiverile ( local version of Joe Duffy) gave them a fair slating on his show during the week ..more or less said all jdw food is crap as he once ate in the one in Gatwick ( before exposing himself on a plane to Cork perhaps!!) and that they will only gather wino's and scumbags. I look forward to having the choice to go/not go. been on loads in London and they are a mixed bag but mostly you get excellent value for what you get.

dub_skav

Popped in last Thursday and I believe it is a welcome addition to the Dublin pub landscape.

Place was busy with a good turnover of families having dinner and couples / small groups

I started off on the Cask Ghost Ship, had a Bengali Tiger (a little sharper in taste than I would have liked), Dogfish Head DNA and a Shipyard (much nicer than from a bottle).

All the beers were good, but if I went back I'd probably go for the DNA or Shipyard, which at 4.75 are not so much cheaper than elsewhere that they would drag me back just on price.

Also shared some chicken wings which were tasty and good value.

Bar service was quite slow, but it's obvious they are bedding in a system and I long ago stopped expecting good bar service in Dublin anyway.

I think if I was to go back it would most likely be for a family meal, maybe early on a weekend evening.
Drinks choice is good and while not crazily cheap (unless you're drinking the 3.50 jobs), hopefully they will start to draw a halt to the upward only prices and arbitrarily high cost of anything considered "craft" in many other pubs.

So, while I wouldn't often head out to Blackrock, if I was heading that way, I would probably at least pop in for one or two.

upforit101

If this goes through the Black sheep will be seriously hurt - if they continue with the price gouging that is.

"The group is now seeking a site in the city centre and is understood to be interested in acquiring the Church bar".

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/consumer/jd-wetherspoon-sets-sights-on-historic-dublin-building-1.1885376

adamski8

Im not sure it will be will impacted, the beerhouse is closer and cheaper but doesnt draw anyone away from the sheep. Wont be as cool going to spoons for a late night craft beer.

hynesie08

adamski8 wrote: »

Im not sure it will be will impacted, the beerhouse is closer and cheaper but doesnt draw anyone away from the sheep. Wont be as cool going to spoons for a late night craft beer.

I agree, I think the black sheep has built its own clientele who just drink in the black sheep. I imagine for me at least spoons would be like the beerhouse, a pub I'd go to either side of the black sheep.

listermint

upforit101 wrote: »

If this goes through the Black sheep will be seriously hurt - if they continue with the price gouging that is.

Unsure what you meant by this part ?

Ravelleman

listermint wrote: »

Unsure what you meant by this part ?

It's one of the recurring themes of the thread. Take a look at the previous posts.

moxin

Apparently The Church is on WD's radar now http://www.irishtimes.com/news/consumer/jd-wetherspoon-sets-sights-on-historic-dublin-building-1.1885376
Certainly not cheap for a pint in there now, would WD reverse that policy?

suicide_circus

moxin wrote: »

Apparently The Church is on WD's radar now http://www.irishtimes.com/news/consumer/jd-wetherspoon-sets-sights-on-historic-dublin-building-1.1885376
Certainly not cheap for a pint in there now, would WD reverse that policy?

Kind of pointless if they don't

sofireland

Personally i'd be amazed if Louis Fitzgerald group sold out to Wetherspoons.
They've a pretty solid group of pubs themselves in the City Centre.
It seems like the papers throwing mud at the wall and seeing what sticks.

sarkozy

I've heard the abandoned schoolhouse on Clanbrassil St. may become a Wetherspoons. Anyone know more about this?

BaZmO*

sarkozy wrote: »

I've heard the abandoned schoolhouse on Clanbrassil St. may become a Wetherspoons. Anyone know more about this?

Used to be Scholars?

n97 mini

sofireland wrote: »

Personally i'd be amazed if Louis Fitzgerald group sold out to Wetherspoons

What makes you think LF would sell up? (He has no connection with the latest rumour, The Church)

n97 mini

sarkozy wrote: »

I've heard the abandoned schoolhouse on Clanbrassil St. may become a Wetherspoons. Anyone know more about this?

That was sold about 8 months ago, and for a song after the previous people ripped the guts out of it and left it as more or less a shell. It's being done up atm, tho the neighbourhood has developed a large muslim community so craft beer is not an easy sell!

sofireland

n97 mini wrote: »

What makes you think LF would sell up? (He has no connection with the latest rumour, The Church)

I thought the church was an LF pub. Guess not. My mistake. It's not on the website but neither is the Parnell.

Though I'm pretty sure I saw it on the menu in there it was a LF pub last time I was in there

sarkozy

n97 mini wrote: »

That was sold about 8 months ago, and for a song after the previous people ripped the guts out of it and left it as more or less a shell. It's being done up atm, tho the neighbourhood has developed a large muslim community so craft beer is not an easy sell!

Well, this is my neighbourhood, so I wouldn't agree. The area is, generally, quite mixed. True, there are some mosques/madrassas nearby. There are also well-do-do redbrick terraces, The Tenters, council houses and flats, lots and lots of apartment blocks with all kinds of people. Also, the area is home to the Newmarket Sq. co-op, a weekend market, The Headline craft beer pub, The Fumbally Café, a distillery. And there are at least two empty sites nearby that will be filled with new apartment blocks and Teeling whiskey will be moving into the area.

The Headline is packed every weekend, so there's a massive catchment area for craft beer there. What the area probably wants is a halfway house between the 'pretentious and expensive' craft thing and 'normal and affordable' pubs. I know this building and I can only imagine an entity as big and wealthy as Wetherspoons would take such a project on - unless it were to be converted into offices/commercial space. I just didn't notice the work going on because I've been out of home on account of doing a little of my own work to my place. I think, given the catchment area, it makes sense.

Whether I like it is another thing. And it still seems somewhat unconfirmed that this will, indeed, be a Wetherspoons?

Tenzor07

Between Farrell's, McCauley's, Leonard's corner and the 57Headline I can't see Weatherspoon's establishing anywhere near Clanbrassil street..

I would have thought W'spoons would want to setup close to transport hubs, like large train stations, bus stops etc to catch the passing "pint n'curry" crowd, i.e. the clientele they aim for...

drumswan

Bodytonic (guys who run The Bernard Shaw) have taken over Francis McKennas there by the bridge

Tenzor07

drumswan wrote: »

Bodytonic (guys who run The Bernard Shaw) have taken over Francis McKennas there by the bridge

Would say that the clientele who'd frequent The Shaw would be more likely to be the same as the 57Headline rather than W'spoons.

sarkozy

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Between Farrell's, McCauley's, Leonard's corner and the 57Headline I can't see Weatherspoon's establishing anywhere near Clanbrassil street..

I would have thought W'spoons would want to setup close to transport hubs, like large train stations, bus stops etc to catch the passing "pint n'curry" crowd, i.e. the clientele they aim for...

You forget Fallon's/The Capstan, too. And enough people from around there go to places like O'Connell's on Sth. Richmond St. and Camden St. But you just never know. There's definitely a crowd there who'd very much appreciate cheap pints and a 'fancy meal' out for the family. And tourists, of which there are many around there.

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Would say that the clientele who'd frequent The Shaw would be more likely to be the same as the 57Headline rather than W'spoons.

It depends on how Bodytonic develops their new place. The Headline pulls in a mixed enough crowd (and ages) at different times of the day/week. Leonard's Corner has its loyalists. My guess is Wetherspoons could pull in a mix of people, though Bodytonic's would more than likely grab the younger crowd.

Krusty_Clown

Tenzor07 wrote: »

I would have thought W'spoons would want to setup close to transport hubs, like large train stations, bus stops etc to catch the passing "pint n'curry" crowd, i.e. the clientele they aim for...

Doesn't fit the profile of the Three Tun Tavern in Blackrock. No central hub, no large train station, no major bus-stops. Clientelle are more of the office/family/local types.

coylemj

Looking at the Three Tun menu, I see that the soft drink included with some meals covers a bottle of Ballygowan or 'any draught soft drink (398ml glass)'. Could someone enlighten me as to which brands of soft drinks they have on draught?

irish_goat

coylemj wrote: »

Looking at the Three Tun menu, I see that the soft drink included with some meals covers a bottle of Ballygowan or 'any draught soft drink (398ml glass)'. Could someone enlighten me as to which brands of soft drinks they have on draught?

If it's the same as the UK then they have Pepsi, Diet Pepsi and Whites Lemonade.

Tenzor07

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Doesn't fit the profile of the Three Tun Tavern in Blackrock. No central hub, no large train station, no major bus-stops. Clientelle are more of the office/family/local types.

Ah right, my mistake so, I thought a number of bus routes went through the village along with a busy train station, and a number of colleges within a few Km's..

Krusty_Clown

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Ah right, my mistake so, I thought a number of bus routes went through the village along with a busy train station, and a number of colleges within a few Km's..

Sure there are bus stops and a dart station, but it's far from a major hub. Your description makes it sound like they only set up beside inter-city hubs, and in the case of the 3TT, that's clearly not the case. Their Dun Laoghaire site will be closer to your criteria though, as it's a major ferry port, with a significant train station and bus terminus nearby.

anncoates

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Doesn't fit the profile of the Three Tun Tavern in Blackrock. No central hub, no large train station, no major bus-stops. Clientelle are more of the office/family/local types.

People just can't resist making snide remarks about spoons pubs and their clientele , is all.

Before heading off to authentic Irish smelly pubs that serve Diageo drinks and cheese sambos.

Chelon

Visited last week. Fairly average Spoons though the atmosphere much more conducive to food rather than drinking. This may change nightly though.

Couple of observations. Of the 3 cask ales tried, only one (Adnams Broadside) was in good nick. The other 2 had the very slight vinegary aftertaste that indicates something amiss.

Also around half of the myriad of very young staff looked like they'd never been in a pub before let alone worked in one....

Both highly unusual for a Spoons in my opinion; they'll need to up their game here.

dvdman1

Chelon wrote: »

Visited last week. Fairly average Spoons though the atmosphere much more conducive to food rather than drinking. This may change nightly though.

Couple of observations. Of the 3 cask ales tried, only one (Adnams Broadside) was in good nick. The other 2 had the very slight vinegary aftertaste that indicates something amiss.

Also around half of the myriad of very young staff looked like they'd never been in a pub before let alone worked in one....

Both highly unusual for a Spoons in my opinion; they'll need to up their game here.

I too got a vinegar tinge to the hobgoblin cask 1 nite....had it in the 1st week of opening and it wasn't like this...
another thing to note, is it me or do the casks seem to have less body in them, they don't seem to have that full body taste that you get in other bars

plinkfizz81

Wetherspoons have bought The Old Boro in Swords.Think they're closing today for the renovations.

Lovely Bloke

So, I headed over to Blackrock on Saturday afternoon before going to the ICBCF, stopped into TTT for a quick lunch.

Great place, lovely interior, friendly (if not a bit nervous) staff. I got the soup and a pint of Ghost Ship.

We had a 4 month old baby with us, and the staff found us a high chair no problem.

I couldn't stay for more than one beer, and probably won't be back out in Blackrock very often, but thumbs up to JDW on this - hopefully the first of many.

coylemj

Is there a detailed description anywhere of what exactly they serve up on Tuesday ('steak club') or Thursday ('curry club')? I have the old and current menus and neither of them have any kind of description. The 16-page brochure has photos on the last page but no text description either.

cormacjones

coylemj wrote: »

Is there a detailed description anywhere of what exactly they serve up on Tuesday ('steak club') or Thursday ('curry club')? I have the old and current menus and neither of them have any kind of description. The 16-page brochure has photos on the last page but no text description either.

Have you been there yet?

coylemj

cormacjones wrote: »

Have you been there yet?

No

kooga

from uk website

http://www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/home/food/menu/breakfast/breakfast-9