The lowdown on English Pubs - Americans in England
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- Опубліковано 14 чер 2024
- Matthew talks about the Schaefer family's experience in English pubs. The food, the drink, the conversations. Are pubs as special as English people say? English pubs, a lowdown from Americans in England.
Second channel: / @matthewschaefer
Subscribe for more adventures: / @schaeferfamilyadventure
I have never been in a pub in the UK where you could not buy wine.
One issue though is that pubs are declining in the UK. Thousands of pubs have closed over the past 20 years. Where I live I would say that 3/4 of the pubs that used to exist 30 years ago are now gone. There have been a couple of new ones opened but the number is still well down.
I would not say that pubs are quintessentially "English". They are part of the culture of all these islands and you will find lovely pubs in Scotland, Ireland and Wales too. Irish pubs in particular are great for live Irish and folk music and general "craic".
Pubs are being replaced with bars; Wetherspoons for example.
@@Britonbear In the UK, I'm not sure if there is an exact definition of what constitutes a "bar" versus what constitutes a "pub" - with the exception of dedicated wine bars, perhaps.. Most Wetherspoons are not new buildings. They tend to take over older premises and refurbish them. To me they have all the attributes of a city or town centre pub or bar. And because they have very low prices, they are extremely popular and successful.
Media article over the last few days that thanks to food pubs we actually had more new pubs open last year than close so there was an actual nett increase in pubs.
@@RushfanUK For the first time in about 20 years. We are still way down on where we were 30 or more years ago. Pub culture is far less prevalent than it used to be. My local (only a few hundred yards from my house) closed in June. It is currently boarded up with a "To Let" sign outside. It's a lovely thatched cottage building but is in dire need of refurbishment. My guess is that the brewery owners did not want to spend the £100,000 or so I reckon would be needed to make it a place worth going to.
@@Britonbear Wetherspoons are Pubs, the general rule of thumb is that a Pub is a British establishment that serves alcohol and possibly food as well, Bar is essentially a foreign term derived from America, in the UK we have 4 primary establishments that serve alcohol, Pubs, Inns, Hotels and Restaurants which are all licensed for the consumption of alcohol on the premises, pubs primary function was always the service of alcohol, Inns alcohol, food and accommodation, Hotels accommodation, food and alcohol and Restaurants food and alcohol, food has only really become a staple of most pubs over the last 40 years, there are still pubs in the North East that are more the traditional pub than the more modern food led pub that we see predominantly now.
As an almost 40yr old Scot who has frequented pubs in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, I’ve never yet been to a pub that doesn’t serve wine!
i think he means more like they dont specialise in wine like they do with beers ,most pubs is like ,red or white ? ok sod off lol
Hello fellow Scot
You never been to the proper bits of the West Country my babs.
Most pubs have all three types of wine: house red, house white and prosecco.
I've been to pubs in Cumbria 40 years ago where they didn't even have a bar or lager, never mind wine. The landlord went down to the cellar and drew the beer straight from the barrel and 90% of the customers drank the draught mild or bitter ( they also had rum, gin,whisky , bottled Guinness and brown ale).
The best pubs always have a sign on the door saying: "No selling of drugs or stolen goods on the premises. Thank you."
The best pubs always have a flat roof.
The best place to kop drugs and dodgy gear has always been daan the pub!
£2 pint of Carling in hull let's have it
Still get people doing ket in the toilets on the weekend
Yes. Some very talkative folks in those pubs. 😅
Should have gone to a council estate pub where everyone stares at you when you walk in😂
Derek Trotter and the piano stops playing
MikeyMike 370z 😂👍
Or perhaps a village pub (not a holiday village) where the locals will stare at you....:)
A flat roof pub? Nah, never drink in there.
In the 70s, my brother and I used to fish on Anglesey, Wales, and would visit a pub (The Pilot House?) for a quick pint on the way home. As we walked in everyone would be speaking english, but as soon as we ordered our drinks they would all switch to speaking Welsh! The barman would also pretend not to know what we were ordering. Hilarious.
Failed to mention the concept of "pub friends": people who you get along with well, but you only ever meet in the pub. The two of you could be from any social backgrounds, but The Pub is the great equaliser. You might not even know the names of your pub friends, but it doesn't matter.
Daryl Baines There’s people I’ve known for 30 years who I only ever see in the pub, I know most of them by nicknames. You can walk in on any day on your own and just sit down with your pub mates if your ‘real’ mates aren’t there. It’s great.
Amen brother
I often sat around with a bunch of chaps, and one guy was a real ordinary guy, full of laughs, in a flat cap.
I only found out years later he was a high ranking director in a big multinational company.
You never can tell, because nobody talks shop.
V.true. I often find myself greeting them with 'Are you here again? Haha!' then stupidly realise that since I know their drinking habits so well, I must be spending as much time in the bloody pub as them.
'pub friends? Aka: local piss artists!
I’m that sad about the fact the pubs are closed that I’m now watching videos of people talking about pubs.. I WANT TO GO TO THE PUB SO BAD 😭😭😭😭
Closed again 🤣
Too right
I completely agree with you--I really miss just going to my local to chat with friends and everything else I associate it with.
According to a UK government report there are 5 essential centres for a local community
GP/Doctor
Pharmacy
Post Office
Local Shop
PUB !
Lauren I AGREE with you, PUB IS ESSENTIAL!
Where are the pubs closed ? Certainly not in England ... are you referring o
Ireland, but I have never yet come across a closed pub during working hours !
It's about socializing as our ancestors did. The pub is like the chieftains hall.
Yes, very much so! Lots of really old pubs too! One in my town claims it is from the 1100s!
@Darth Wheezius long house? No. Chieftain had a long house and normally the biggest building. Most lived in huts, straw roofs. Woden son
The correct term is "meduheall" or "wīnsæl" (literally "mead-hall" or "wine-hall").
Or "buisser" (literally "boozer")
@Darth Wheezius Angles stamped their stupid culture across our beautiful island. Saxons destroy everything they touch.
Well done mate - you pretty much nailed it. Nice to see Americans understanding part of our culture rather than criticising it.
Thanks! Glad we got it mostly right!
@@SchaeferFamilyAdventure I lived in England all my life and started researching pubs in my late teens. I'm nearly 60 now and still haven't come to a positive conclusion. Oh well, I'll keep researching 😂 Seriously though, I'm glad you like them. I have just moved to Ireland so am starting from scratch again...🤔
@Ged Whittaker when do Americans seriously criticise uk culture? Compare them to the way so many brits readily disparage Americans. I am English and have relatives in the USA and Canada and I’m often embarrassed by the lofty attitudes of my countrymen and women.
@@aafgahfah I am also English and have relatives in the USA and New Zealand. There are Vloggers, and I've met quite a few Americans whose typical reaction - is 'why do you do that?' why don't you do it like WE do in the US. There is in the USA an assumption that they are the 'best country in the world' so obviously everywhere else is in some way inferior. It's not their fault it's the what their media tells them. To be fair it's more prevalent in the older generation who think everywhere outside the USA is poor - saw a coach trip programme on TV, Americans touring Europe. They were in Switzerland and were buying Cuckoo Clocks etc. When asked why they were buying so much they said it was because they felt it was their duty to help the 'poor people' of Switzerland! I'm not saying its all Americans by any means but I've seen quite a few Vlogs that echo this attitude. I've also seen 3 that are excellent and one by a Canadian that is superb. Check out 'Adventures and Naps'
@@aafgahfah The other really good one is 'The endless adventure'
Having the sun shining, with a cold pint, in a beer garden, it's wonderful, hopefully we can all do it again one day..
As a Briton its great to hear an American sing praise for our humble British pubs!
I'm English and this is a good concise discription of a UK pub, well done.
Great video, I’m from the south east of England
Every pub does wine, the British females wouldn’t let us get away with no wine 😂😂😂
The newest phenomenon in English pubs is the micro pub, it is usually an old former small shop privately owned/ managed and turned into a pub ,not much bigger than a living room. Often selling beers brewed on the premises or from local micro breweries. They choose their own hours to open ,capitalising on footfall of workers on their way home from nearby train stations and weekends. With no t.v. Screens fruit machines pool tables or juke boxes.
My local is a micro pub. The ales are fantastic, mostly brewed within a 20 mile radius. Only enough room for 20 people and then it's sardine time. The Little Ale House in Wellingborough, Northants. If you're ever passing, go see Allan and Tracey.
The Little R'Ale House is on the railway station. Same set up but smaller.
@@howardchambers9679 There is a lovely little micro-pub in Hove called The Watchmaker's Arms. It's run by some retired schoolteachers.
@@EricIrl I'll check that out next time I'm down that way. Thanks mate
@@howardchambers9679 I've popped in a few times now whenever I stay down that way with my stepson. I'ts got a lovely atmosphere - is dog friendly - and, considering how small it is, has a good assortment of real ales.
That’s how many pubs started out, I’ve seen a couple of old photographs of pubs round our way, and they had small breweries attached.
Maybe a better way to go.
You called them "Crisps" WE ARE MAKING YOU ONE OF USSS
Can I just say big ups to this bloke, he handled the topic with respect, he was calm, informative had a mix of both opinion and fact and made the video very easy to watch, big ups mate, bug ups
The major difference between a pub and a bar is a pub usually is the heart of the village. It's old oak beams and wood smoke stained walls are a polar opposite to the sterile and identical bars of the city. A pub in the UK can be hundreds of years old, some of the older ones have been standing longer than the USA has been a country. I would say that the greatest difference,is that a pub has a great history and a long standing legacy in the community it serves
With a pub, the landlord lives on the premises (It's a licencing requirement). A bar is just a venue that serves alcohol, but nobody lives there.
There are plenty of authentic proper old style pubs in cities.
Oldest pub I’ve been too in England was from the 1300’s I think
The Landlord is key. He/she sets everything and a good pub has a good landlord. The "Chains" have a landlord in a remote office, a tenant or owner has sole responsibility and sinks or swims on their own efforts.
Lol. When I was at uni in Stafford the Chains was a biker bar.
Working is the Bane of the drinking class!
Written on the wall of my old local
What makes an English Pub is the people who inhabit / frequent it.
Wow, you actually have the approval of several Brits here. Well done!
I know! Almost no backlash at all - feels good!
Haha I'd ignore the backlash. Most of it probably comes from sad little trolls with nothing better to do. The rest of it comes from the fact that in the UK if we take the pi$$ a little bit its because we like you. Glad to see you are enjoying the UK, I hope we all get to visit the pub again soon. If we lose our pubs, we have lost our country.
Cold, wet October afternoon. Warm, cosy pub with roaring log fire and a decent pint.
With 12 brandy chasers
I just listen to you because of your positivity, it’s so rare and so appreciated.
Thanks! I really appreciate this comment a lot!
"we wanted to got to lots of pubs..." settling in to UK way of life already then ;)
I have just randomly found this channel now it is one of my favourites
expected you to get it wrong, but you've absolutely got the essence of it
Hi - as a UK resident i just wanted to say i couldn’t fault your analysis of the British pub. You correctly refer to the non chain ‘individual’ pubs as having the most character and you are correct. These are the ‘Free houses’ IE they are individually owned and not linked to any larger chains. As such they are ‘free’ to serve whatever brand ales they see fit and not dance to the corporate tune. They also do exist in towns, you just have to look for them. Wines are also commonly available.
Great summary though, glad you appreciate them
So nice to hear an American speak so kindly of one of our great institutions, the good old Pub.
You’ve certainly understood the importance the pub plays in our community & culture.
Hope you continue to enjoy your British experience.
Best wishes.
“Public house”
That pretty much sums it up what a pub is. It’s a communal house, a home away from home.
Brits are more confident after a skin full, hence they'll chat to anyone. Although, they are naturally more friendly in Northern pubs, without beer. Speaking as a Midlander.
Ha ha I think you've covered all the bases there, from a fellow midlander
Why would you go to a pub and not have beer? Weird. You lot are very strange north of Watford.
@@matthewhumphreys6100 I was saying Northerners are naturally friendly, even without a beer, (inside of them). Ya Southern softy!😆
I think your assessment of English pub culture is pretty accurate, thanks for this I like the insightfulness and the way you express yourself
As an "ex-Englishman" & naturalised Australian who only has childhood memories of pubs,save for 1 return trip in my 40's,I am so grateful to this review. It sums up some of the "Best of British". Thank you
I have to agree. Pubs are quite varied in their styles and atmospheres, from the village pub to the large chains, to the food and drink they serve (or not), and the interconnectedness of their patrons. I grew up in a village (we had four pubs to choose from), so was used to knowing most of the people there, or being one friend removed from doing so. Become a regular and you get to know the owner/manager and bar staff (plus other patrons), and it becomes like a second home, a place to socialise with those you may not get to see very often, even for those who don't drink alcohol. Not much beats the feeling of sipping a nice bitter or ale on a sunny day in a beer garden surrounded by friends and family.
The large chains, apart from being somewhere to meet new people you'd never normally meet, can be quite generic as a rule, but they can also surprise you. Although independent or brewery-owned pubs tend to be king for sheer variety of beers, especially if the focus of real ale festivals or similar events, some large chains also host guest beers, meaning something different to the usual fare. If you're looking to try real ales and different lagers (i.e. Anything not Carlsberg, Heineken, Carling, Stella, etc), half pints are a way to ease into it, as can starting off light and working your way towards darker and/or heavier or more complex beers. This way you not only acclimatise yourself to the frankly vastly different tastes, but also get to sample as many different kinds as possible without becoming too inebriated in any one session.
Pubs have been the heart of our communities for a very long time.
Meetal Leeka . Blimey Meetal, were you asked to post your dissertation here? 😀
Well said, couldn't have put it better myself! I see someone thinks its a bit long but its a lot to explain such a phenomena as our pubs lol😁👍
Great advice on what to order at a pub! I know it can be pretty overwhelming if you aren't used to drinking in the UK. Thanks for sharing!
@@davidcook7887 Lol. It's a passionate topic in the UK. Now where's my doctorate?! :D
@@SchaeferFamilyAdventure - Thanks. The choices can be pretty overwhelming, even if you're used to it. Hopefully it'll make sampling the pleasures in the rest of Europe easier too.
Hi, Matthew, great and interesting video. I'm not a huge pub person but that was a pretty accurate description, especially the food bit, I've had absolutely delicious meals in pubs. I'm not sure about your wine comment I think wines and spirits are pretty commonly drank in pubs. Looking forward to your next video soon.
one thing that i loved as an american visiting london in 2018, was one guy asked me “how the hell do you guys remember the names of all those states?” which is a fair question because so much of our identity is based on the state we are from lol. which was something i never considered until i explained it to my british friends.
Truly sure. I am from Brazil and I had the opportunity to visit a Pub in London before this pandemic and what I saw was exactly what you said. People approaching you and trying to talk about anything. Good bitter Ale on a cold night and great experience!
One of my local pubs in Gloucestershire, in the Cotswolds, was right off the beaten track and run by two elderly sisters who used to brew their own (very alcoholic) cider, among all the craft ales. It was usual for muddy-booted visitors to leave their boots at the door and go in to the pub in their socks, with their dogs of course. It was such a small place that all the punters would huddle up shoulder to shoulder and cheek-by-jowl. You'd order your cider and it being too tight to move much, the pints were passed hand to hand till they reached you. The cheer was great, and nobody was a stranger by the time they left. Also the very best pub grub is a ploughman's lunch - bread, cheese, pickles, ham, a cold meal.
I'd like to finally dispel a common myth about British pubs that seems to get bandied around alot, THEY DON'T SERVE WARM BEER! They beer is served at cellar temperature so is cool/cold. It is just not served iced cold like a lot of lagers are as this hampers the flavour.
Yeah it’s just ignorance. It’d be like moaning about someone serving a room temperature red wine if they were used to having zingy chilled white wines.
@@nick260682 Oh yeah! I haven't had any warm beer yet. It's all been chilled. Not sure where that myth comes from.
@@SchaeferFamilyAdventure G. I. 's during the war stationed in England. They were used to chilled beer, not cellar temperature ale.
My dad was once working in a student bar (far more like a traditional American bar than a pub) in the middle of winter, and the cellar beer bottles had got so cold they were unpleasant, like hurting your teeth. They decided to blitz them in the microwave for 10 seconds before serving them, and a couple of Americans they were serving just lost it, they thought it was hilarious.
That's true, my mum worked in pubs for years and beef is not meant to be served ice cold otherwise it messes with its flavour. Only lagers are served cold.
need to find a proper Victorian "gin palace" with the high ceilings, amazing antique lighting, wood panelling, etched glass, leather seats, ornate tiles etc. A proper Victorian London pub is an amazing place.
Thank god they still exist, Sam Smiths still run a few in central ... cheap too!
The Vines in Liverpool, the mens toilets are made of marble. The womens toilets are not as they are not original to the building
Try The Dog & Duck on Bateman Street.
Cosy little place full of cut glass and tiles.
Princess Louise, Holburn. Very Victorian.
It is debateable whether Wetherspoons are pubs at all. They have more in common with an airport departure lounge than with a traditional local pub.
My uncle who never drank alcohol thought of them as cafes. To me they remain pubs of varying qualities
You actually have hit the nail right on the head here. Although trust me, there are a lot more pubs out there that serve wine than those that don’t. My mum can testify to that.😂
Thanks! Youre apparently right about the wine thing. I was just mistaken.
@@SchaeferFamilyAdventure They serve wine by the glass, not by the bottle, that's most probably why you hadn't noticed.
As Al Murray says - in the guise of his alter-ego The Pub Landlord says - " A glass of white wine for the laydee?".
As a wine drinker (by no means a connoisseur) I tend to avoid drinking wine in UK pubs. It's usually not very good - i.e. worse than supermarket £5 a bottle.
@@Ulysses1707 Agreed. In a pub, I stick to the beer - or a cup of tea.
"We wanted to go to lots of pubs.." Me too.
Still do. So much beer, so little time...
25 years of research and counting...
@@howardchambers9679 lol or Just use the words that ever dad understand " Just going to see a man about a dog" in code that means going to the pub lol.
I love going up the boozer. That’s all I wanted to say.
Enjoy every time mate,my local since I was 18 (37 now) closed down 18 months ago and it's still savage....good times
I grew up in a pub, and it was like having an extended family. In a "country/village" pub or "traditional" pub typically everyone knows each other, not everyone is friends but it is really a community thing. It even bridges different social classes. It's normal to just go on your own with no planning or organising because there's going to be people there you already know to talk to.
In a chain pub, particularly in big towns and cities, these pubs will have a few regulars but mostly people don't know each other, you're there with just your circle of friends or family Or maybe by yourself if you're waiting for a train or something.
No way to describe it until someone goes to the UK. Born in Brooklyn in the 50s and as an African American visiting for the first time to the UK in London Fitzrovia and Marylebone...I was blown away just going into several pubs and just have a bitters. The whole vibe in each and every pub I went to ...I kept feeling that Oliver Twist song ....consider yourself at home.....man...it was much more then hospitality.
You mentioned going to a pub with your family, but I don't think you made it quite clear that most pubs, especially those that serve food, Sunday lunches etc., are child friendly. On a Sunday, you're going to find children in most pubs in the UK and in summer if they have a garden area there will be playground equipment for them as well.
That's true! We've been asked not to come into restaurants that serve alcohol in the States before because of having Willow with us - but nearly all pubs allow kids (at least in our experience).
All pubs I've been to serve wine. Having spent the first half of my life in a country with bars, not pubs, I can say pubs have a different, much better atmosphere. They vary, but the good ones are a national treasure, and the age of some of them is astonishing - within a few miles of me is a pub that was open when Shakespeare was alive, and an older one that opened in the 1300s !!!
Well observed. Glad you enjoy our pubs. Sadly missed during this lockdown 😔
A pub not far from me had a landlady who was 92 years old she died a couple of years ago and had lived their all her life.
I haven't been there yet, it was apparently a parlour pub where the locals could serve the beer theirselves
Always drink wine in pubs..I dont know any that dont serve wine tbh
BeckyPoleninja you're right, every pub serves wine these days. Not every pub serves good wine though!
I can't believe you forgot to mention - people bring their dogs to pubs. One of the best things about them.
But good video, he seems a very nice guy.
A pub with a ' no dogs', policy, is like a gig with no music. Love a Dog wandering around table to table for punter attention and affection. No Brit can resist! Although Yanks are as daft with their Pets, so I'm surprised they don't generally allow Dogs in their bars.
Not just let them in but bring them a bowl of water as well!
As long as it's kept on a lead. I don't want a dog sniffing around me, thanks
brochestedbs if you don't like dogs that aren't on a lead, you don't belong in a proper pub.
@@spencerwilton5831 I don't like dogs.
One of my favourite childhood smells was of the pub... We'd quite often go for Sunday lunch when my grandparents came down or when we went to the beach or something.
About 15 years ago my wife and I were in Baltimore when we came across a pub style bar in an old part of the city. There was only one customer and one barmaid but we still spent about 3 hours there playing pool and having a good laugh with the pair of them. Mind you, we didn't realise that was the city where The Wire was filmed.
Holidaymaking, once went with my, (all-adult), family into a West Country pub in a tourist trap...It was early Monday evening and quiet, and on going to buy the first round, amongst the order was the mother-in-laws "Dogs Nose" (double gin with a beer top)...landlord professed not to know what it was, and when I explained, said with a big smug grin, he couldn't serve it as his was a metered house with minimum half pint pull. I simply ordered a double gin and half a pint of beer...whilst we were drinking that first round it became very clear that we weren't welcome there so decided to move on...we did the decent thing and took the glasses back and the landlord again sneered and said "we're not one of your fancy cocktail bars you know"...My response was something like "if you can afford to turn away a party of seven or eight drinkers on a dead evening, you're not going to be any kind of bar for long, are you?"
We moved on to another pub down the road, which was more welcoming, and spent every evening there for a very happy fortnight. Sure enough on a return visit a year or so later, the first establishment was shut down as, (according to the landlord of the second), the brewery had pulled the rug, and it'd gone out of business...so perhaps mine not so happy host spread his joys too liberally...there was a man who thoroughly deserved his fate...rule number one of the licensing trade has to be hospitality....
I think you got this pretty much spot on mate. My favourite type of English pub is the one you mentioned at the end of the video - the old village local - the glue that has held the community together for hundreds of years. Great places.
Queens Head in Pinner, c 1705 but the cellars go back to the 13th century.
This has definitely been my experience in Pubs in Ireland, England and Scotland! Well described!
Wetherspoons are usually pretty unique as they bought historic buildings like libraries or theatres. Sadly they normally all share a toss carpet tho.
An American who speaks a lot of sense, well done my friend. 🏴
Oh and I’ve yet to drink ‘warm’ beer in any pub!
Has there face fallen to one side...has there speech become blurry ?
Your in Wetherspoons .
An English country Pub with friends, family good beers & time is absolutely joyful
Hi Matthew, what beer do you drink at the pub? And a technical question, where did you get that cool black blackground?
For people coming here from abroad it’s best to try the traditional British ales as opposed to the big brand beers. These draught beers are dispensed from hand pumps which use a vacuum to push the beer into the glass as opposed to a button being pressed which taints the taste of the beer with carbon dioxide.
We haven't used CO2 for beer dispense for a hell of a long time, Nitrogen mixes are used for Lager and Keg Beers, 60/40 and 70/30 mixes are used for Lager and Beer, most pubs will even have a Nitrogen generator that pulls natural Nitrogen from the atmosphere and mix it for dispense, CO2 is only used for soft drink dispensing. Trad ales are an acquired taste, for most foreigners they will fit the image of "Warm" beer as they are usually served at an optimum temperature of 11 degrees centigrade, keg beers and lagers are generally served from 5 to 2 degrees centigrade which will suit foreign tastes better, there is a lot more to this but nowhere near the time or space. As for button pushing that is very rare these days, the vast majority of keg dispense is through free flow taps as opposed to the old metered button pumps, a hallmark of the 60's and 70's with the outsize 24 fl oz glass, normally now just see the standard pint glass at 20 fl oz.
@@RushfanUK Warm beer is an interesting idea - I heard a lot from people that we would get warm beer, but everything I've been served has certainly been chilled.
@@SchaeferFamilyAdventure 11 C isn't really warm but it certainly isn't chilled. Ales should really be considered a bit like red wine ie served at cellar temperature, whilst lagers are generally served chilled like white wine.
@@SchaeferFamilyAdventure Anybody selling warm Beer and its off to the Tower Of London!!!
A real pub is a second home. You and your friends meet, chat, relax, possibly eat, drink, possibly even get drunk. Its warm and cosy. I think I know what you are saying about wine but every pub serves wine all the time. A real pub is not just a collection of tables with people sat at them, it's a community centre.
Everybody in pubs are so friendly no matter how intimidating they may seem. Yesterday me and my friend were out and a thunderstorm suddenly started and the rain was so heavy it fwlt sharp so we ran into a pub and they looked after us til the rain had stopped.
One thing I do love about living in the UK is the pub culture which is almost unique in the world. Sadly, a lot of pubs are closing due to a number of factors, but they do need to be saved as so many of them are the heart of the community.
Having seen your other vlogs I wouldn’t put you down as a pub man. However, you have definitely understood pubs and the culture. Excellent job!
Many pubs also have tea/coffee available for non-drinkers
I've always found they do whenever I've asked.
The new owner of our pub spent £1000 a coffee machine which took up the corner of the bar....... needless to say it lasted 1week lol
@@lukegarcia3238 They usually have it at the back. He missed that trick.
Great video and spot on facts about the pubs. Great work.
Public houses in the UK became popular as a place that was
1) dry
2) warm and
3) had lighting
at a time when those things were expensive. It was cheaper to sit down at the pub, where you could see at night and be warm and dry.
They also functioned as a local meeting place.
"We wanted to go to a lot of pubs."
You'll fit in then.
Nice video and I’m glad you like our pub culture - pubs are the softly beating heart of these wonderful Isles - the entire British Isles has pubs of every description with their own quirks and specialities- be it a great gin menu or fab food, or great views, best whisky etc. And you are right that we relax there and are happy to chat
Really interesting observations which I enjoyed; thank you for reminding me of what I love about English pubs! I'm English but I live in Austria, so I will hopefully enjoy a few jars down t'pub next time I return to my old country on holiday.
I miss the pub. I never thought I would see the day that pubs closed in this country. Its absolutely heartbreaking.
Is there a particular reason so many are closing?
Government just sit by and let it happen while their tax kills more.
Spot on! Loved this video... the only thing (oh here we go! lol) I would say is that it is fairly common to buy a glass of wine in a pub. Or at least that is my experience. Not that it's the best place to get a really nice fancy wine maybe but I've been out many a time where someone has bought a glass of wine.
I have yet to go into a pub not selling wine in most pubs you can buy it by the glass or bottle
Yeah, based on all the comments, it sounds like I was just wrong! Wine is apparently pretty common.
@@SchaeferFamilyAdventure Yep it's really common. I enjoy a wine but not in a pub setting for some reason. This was a great you made, I really enjoyed it.
Schaefer Family Adventure Yes you can get wine and meals now, but 50 or so years ago such things were very rare.
When you go to the bar you will see lots of taps where the barman can pull a pint for you, and you will see lots of bottles of spirits behind the barman, you may see the bottles of wine or you will have to ask the barman what wine he has in stock, there may be an extensive menu.
Normally, if its work drinks the women have wine and the men have a pint. Some women may have a half but generally men are drinking pints. You may have wine with your meal, if so, you might have a pint before the meal and then stick to wine thereafter.
Visited lots of pubs ! Sounds like my kind of guy.
Lived in England for 12 years and visit family and friends frequently. There is nothing finer in life than sitting in a pub beer garden on a sunny summer day, sipping a nice pint of bitter and eating pub grub. Regarding what you call country pub, look for "Free House" on the pub sign...they're not part of a chain and have wonderful selections of what we call craft beer here in the States.
My grandfather was a landlord of a pub from 1918 to 1949, he was the last landlord of the first pub, it more or less fell down, and the first landlord of the second pub, opened in 1938. The second pub was pulled down and replaced with the current third version, opened by the prince of wales 9 years ago. For my Grandfathers time it was cider and ale only, cider being the very alcoholic version we have here, not the apple juice you may have in America. Now its a food pub, reasonable food, and lots of wine, and a ‘free house’, not part of a chain. I still live close by, less than 2 minutes to walk there, 10 minutes back home.
Too many pubs now are just restaurants with a bar. Either that or cavernous, soulless places with the atmosphere of a works canteen that sell cheap booze and microwave meals. If you can find a decent "wet led" pub, ie a pub that concentrates on drink sales rather than food sales, and they do still exist, that is where you will find a traditional British pub. Good conversation, maybe a game of darts, cards, or dominoes, or even a sing song. Old style maybe, but that is what makes a proper British pub differ from just a bar.
Wet led pubs are in decline and food led pubs are in resurgence. This is down to the level of tax on alcohol, a completely political decision. My message would be don’t cry into your beer about pubs closing, so something about it. Sign the petition www.longlivethelocal.pub/?gclid=CjwKCAiA35rxBRAWEiwADqB378kBe2TpNFAwfmWapzAdTvMDpWvhQ8UlvcxaCtlEXZtfJ2Bk-zs9zBoCrEIQAvD_BwE
Joseph Holt pubs in northern Manchester are still widely successful and most of which focus on drinks!
I've never been in an English pub which didn't serve wine. Otherwise an excellent video.
Thought you hit the nail on the head with this video. I love the pub mostly due to being able to go there for many different reasons- i go there to watch the football, family meals, going for a night out. Pubs are a very British thing and i’m proud that we have them!
something else which shows the community atmosphere of pubs is that a lot of them tend to be kid friendly, or will be up until around 9pm ish, and especially during the day pubs do have a family atmosphere
The locals you meet in random village pubs are great, always a different type of person you've never met, sat at the bar that will just start cracking jokes at you while you wait to order your pints
Go to a pub near the brewery whose beers it sells. The difference in quality is amazing. In North Yorkshire try Theakstons or Black Sheep. Great beers.
But not never ever John Smiths. If you love beer leave that monstrosity a very wide berth. Sam Smith is different. Museum Ale. Mmm
Riggwelter is nectar
Howard Chambers my great grandfather was a drayman for Sam Smiths in Tadcaster back in the horse drawn days. I always used that fact to try to get a free pint in London pubs where it’s served quite a lot, but surprisingly they never went for it.
@@jbaldwin1970 Sam Smiths in London, sold at the same price as in Yorkshire. Respect.
Me dad was a drayman for Praeds Brewery (long gone now) back in the 30's.
Howard Chambers this was in The Observer today www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/jan/19/tranquility-returns-as-samuel-smith-pub-bans-mobiles?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
2:45 an American comedian said he came to the UK for the first time and drank in a pub with British housemates. The American said that in his country they drink a lot too, but they normally eat a lot in the process.
One of the British guys got up and said “Don’t worry, I’ve got this” before coming back with one packet of crisps looking proud, to share between 3 people (opening it from every angle).
It’s a funny thing we British do!
Also worth mentioning that it’s a place to take your kids for a family meal... less formal than a restaurant. Lots of pubs have beer gardens and they often have a climbing frame for kids, some even have bouncy castles up in the summer.
A very well observed analysis.
We have pubs in the UK that are way older than the US something for the historians Cheers
True! We have one in our town that claims it was around in the 1100s! That's crazy!
Schaefer Family Adventure It probably was. There are lots of buildings in England that date back to the Norman Conquest of 1066 and we know they do because they are recorded in the Domesday book (basically the first national census, which was carried out by William the Conqueror). The book, which is written in Latin, is held in The National Archives - too delicate to be on display, it is brought out very rarely for special occasions.
@@penname5766 It's two books just out of interest...there's the big one, plus a little one for East Anglia!
cogidubnus1953 Thanks, that's interesting. But as a single census, it's still known as Domesday Book.
The Trip to Jerusalem in Nottingham is built into the castle caves and dates back to 1189 AD
As a person who regularly goes to the Pubs and drinks anything that starts with the letter "A". A pint, A half, A shot off...., A double, A Wine, A nother", although incorrect regarding wine, I think your comments are pretty well spot on. Great things about Pubs is they are great places to discuss things because they are not typed down on Computers or Mobile Phones (Cell phones) where now days people get upset about everything and what people type which has killed the art of conversation. So opinions and interaction is more fluid and people can learn from each other in Pubs. Just to add for our American Cousins, If someone is 'pissed' in the UK it means they are drunk, 'pissed off' is when someone is getting angry. :)
I used to drink in a pub that was 400 year old. It used to be a coach stop on the north road (a road replaced by the A1 going from London to Edinburgh) and has been a public house the whole 400 years.
I live next door to my village pub so I think I've been in there most of my adult life and some teenage years too, because of this you always get the regulars that you don't meet anywhere else apart from seeing them most days at the pub.
Brits talk about anything when we're comfortable with the person. At work or the pub anything goes.
I agree. I think people confuse being reserved with being repressed. I'm not sure we are that reserved either. We just don't go in for small talk so much or over-sentimentality.
I enjoy your thoughts on your england experiences but I'd love you to visit yorkshire or derbyshire. You'll find it super easy to strike up a conversarion with strangers. Are you based around london by any chance?
Growing up in a small village. I started drinking in my local pub at around 16. But always under the background watchful eye of many adults who knew my parents.
At 17 I played darts for the pub team on a Thursday night, and for the pub football team on a Sunday morning (followed by a post match lunch at the pub).
At 18 I started to work behind the bar. I got to know Men and Women of all ages, and backgrounds. It was a fabulous education is the softer “people skills” that we all need in life. I moved away from the village 20 years ago, I’m now 40, married with 3 kids. At Xmas just gone, I went home and took my wife to the pub. She met a former teacher of mine, a midwife who was present at my birth, the parents of one of the ushers at my wedding, and my old football coach from when I was 17. Pub’s are awesome!
That's a pretty good assessment of the pub culture in Britain. 👍
You sir, never ease to Impress me with your nuanced and incisive observations on our tiny islands culture and heritage.
As you quite rightly observed, pubs, even though they're evolving, have been a strong thread through the cultural tapestry of Britain.
The other observation which prompted a moment of self reflection was that we open up in a pub and after said reflection, I must agree.
For any non-British people who are reading this after the video, this man has just about the most accurate information on us on you tube!
Wow! This was such a kind and well written comment! Thank you so much!
Nothing better than going to the pub for a drink or two, after a long, arduous week at work, or just going over the weekend to relax with a decent pint.
Great description of pubs there mate. Infact it was so good, I'm going pub🍻👍
I once saw an elderly couple and a younger couple standing for about 20 minutes in the middle of a pub. I asked them if they were ok. They were American and waiting to be shown a table.
David Cook I’m dead reading that. 😭
Good effort on describing such a difficult thing to describe! I'd say, it's just everyone's second home. That's it. :-)
You certainly did your research on this subject Mathew :-).
Pubs are as varied as people. I have been in pubs where you can clay pigeon shoot, play competitive card games with strangers, go into their private zoo, ride on a miniature steam railway, play cricket, and many other experiences. We even used to have indoor shooting ranges in some of them within the bar areas!
They have evolved over the years though. Meals a few decades back were not the norm while snacks were except in coaching houses (as in horse and coach for travelers) .
My parents and my grandparents both owned public houses in Gravesend at one time. I was born in my mother's pub but didn't grow up there. It is the place registered on my birth certificate.
We probably only have a tenth of the public houses we once had in England. I think successive government increases in tax on alcohol over the last few decades has been the main reason for their decline and one reason more of them began serving meals to increase profit margins, but their rise was because beer was safer to drink than the local water although it was generally weaker than the beers we see today. Breweries were found everywhere to supply demand. Even within naval dockyards as well as distilleries.
I'm glad you enjoy them and talking to the people in them but they are not as frequented as often as they once were by most people.
Sad as it does seem a declining way of life.
It is sad that they seem to be dying - they are special places!
Really miss the pub 😭 when's lockdown over ! Plus having to have a meal with a drink when lockdown was allowing us to go was weird . So much of pub culture is standing at bar as well . I miss going in with hubby after walk with dog for quick drink .