Mitchell's & Butler's Ltd.

[Morturn]

I worked in a few pubs in the early 70’s. There is not a single story, most pubs were run by managers and the bar staff who to some extent did their own thing.

I saw the beer from the drip trays on the long pulls retuned to the mild. Bear in mind that the long pulls were slightly wasteful. There was a big tundish with a long pipe on it that would go into the vent hole in the top of the barrel.

I did occasionally see some bar staff who would put an undrunk pint into the bucket, but only in a few pubs. Most customers had quite a refined pallet, and knew their beers, so it was hard to pull the wool over their eyes.

I think far worse things happen in the food industry.

 

[Astoness]

One of the questions that was asked was, “How many pubs are there in Summer Lane?”

Not sure if the answer was none or one, as all the others had their front doors on the side streets. Can anyone confirm this?

the vine was the only one with the front door actually on summer lane..

lyn

 

[Williamstreeter]

As teenagers, my g grandfather William Arnold and his friend Henry Mitchell, use to brew beer in their back gardens as a hobbie in the 1850's.
Henry Mitchell . asked my g grandfather to go into business with him brewing their own beer, but william refused the offer, thinking it a silly idea!!!!
Henry found another friend called William Butler to go into business with .... and the rest is history.....
Today Mitchells & Butlers operates many of the UK’s leading licensed retail brands including Vintage Inns, Toby Carvery, Ember Inns, O'Neill's, All Bar One and Sizzling Pub Co., as well as some of the most famous pubs in Britain. It continues to evolve and develop its estate of pub and pub restaurants to meet the ever more discerning tastes of the British public, ensuring it remains at the forefront of the UK pub industry.

what a silly g grandfather i had??? ;-)

Clare all to the misfortune of drinkers alas , these retail outlets and a lot of other pubs care little for drinkers nowadays as long as the restaurants etc are full up . Certainly a bad day for drinkers considering they made all this possible years ago when all you could get was a packet of crisps/scratchings .

 

[mikejee]

In fact there was a device called the economizer that had a pipe that led down from drip trays to the cellar, where it could then be added to the mild , which, being very dark in colour , would not show any discolouration. It would not have worked, of course if a light mild was being sold ( was it Springfield mild that was a light mild?). Not every pub did this though

 

[Radiorails]

Draught Guinness is obviously a better bet then, it seems.

 

[mallyb2]

One of the questions that was asked was, “How many pubs are there in Summer Lane?”

Not sure if the answer was none or one, as all the others had their front doors on the side streets. Can anyone confirm this?

Bit of an urban myth,I'm afraid,though quite a widely believed one.I have looked into this,and all the Summer Lane pubs had a Summer Lane address. The confusion with the Vine public house has arisen,I believe,because the Vine was the only Summer Lane pub that did not have a corner location,so was the only pub completely in Summer Lane......…...…......…..Mal

 

[mw0njm.]

I worked in a few pubs in the early 70’s. There is not a single story, most pubs were run by managers and the bar staff who to some extent did their own thing.

I saw the beer from the drip trays on the long pulls retuned to the mild. Bear in mind that the long pulls were slightly wasteful. There was a big tundish with a long pipe on it that would go into the vent hole in the top of the barrel.

I did occasionally see some bar staff who would put an undrunk pint into the bucket, but only in a few pubs. Most customers had quite a refined pallet, and knew their beers, so it was hard to pull the wool over their eyes.

I think far worse things happen in the food industry.

 

[suemalings]

I used to live at 1009 Coventry Road. There were four cottages alongside the Hay Mills Tavern. All owned by M&B and demolished around the mid 1970's.

 

[Edifi]

I could tell a few tales about THE SLOPS s we called them

 

[Dave89]

Hi,

I remember that returned beer was generally accompanied with a bottle of lemonade, -
supposedly to brighten the taste, but also a lot cheaper than the beer!

Kind regards
Dave

 

[Morturn]

I do recall a landlord getting the sack for putting water in the beer. Apparently got caught out on a random inspection.

 

[mikejee]

Watering the beer was not uncommon. But also a pub I regularly visited in Leeds in the 1970s lost its landlord after a brewery check inspection discovered a barrel full of water = not sure what he intended to due if he had not been caught,
While in Leeds I also met a guy (in the lab) who, kin a sideline of his(!) had tested a product being sold by some small entrepreneur (a word which always spells "crook " to me) which disguised the fact that beer had been watered down when tested - not sure how.

 

[mw0njm.]

i know its ot, the worst beer and spirits was in but***s holiday camp in 1970, the beer was knats. also the vodka was like water. not nice at all.

 

[Joefish]

You just can’t get a decent pint of bitter any more in Brum because we don’t have any breweries left most of the pubs people have mentioned have closed down back in the day our tour started at the stockland cracking pub And pint of brew then we would head up the litchfield road to Aston end up in manor tavern down the road from the annsells brewery and HP sauce factory all gone now manor tavern still there not the same pint anymore
Just in reply to jmadone point about the pedigree I have sampled a few not a bad pint it is brewed at a proper brewery in the home of brewing your bound to get a good pint I’ll keep searching for the brew XI

 

[mw0njm.]

In fact there was a device called the economizer that had a pipe that led down from drip trays to the cellar, where it could then be added to the mild , which, being very dark in colour , would not show any discolouration. It would not have worked, of course if a light mild was being sold ( was it Springfield mild that was a light mild?). Not every pub did this though

mike the light mild we sold was marsdens. called Exhibition

 

[Edifi]

One pub I worked in,everything went back in the barrel with added water.Theone night as we were clearing the tables one of the regularswho had 5 pints every single night said .Do you know Ed it don't seem like I've had a drink tonight.Could have told him why.

 

[Radiorails]

You just can’t get a decent pint of bitter any more in Brum because we don’t have any breweries left most of the pubs people have mentioned have closed down back in the day our tour started at the stockland cracking pub And pint of brew then we would head up the litchfield road to Aston end up in manor tavern down the road from the annsells brewery and HP sauce factory all gone now manor tavern still there not the same pint anymore
Just in reply to jmadone point about the pedigree I have sampled a few not a bad pint it is brewed at a proper brewery in the home of brewing your bound to get a good pint I’ll keep searching for the brew XI

There are still one or two craft beer breweries in the city it seems.

 

[mw0njm.]

There is still one or two craft beer breweries in the city it seems.

wow alan....pedigree. right falling down water that was. dont know about now.

 

[Radiorails]

This web site is interesting:

Two Towers Brewery

 

[Richard Dye]

I always drank in M&B pubs, don`t really know why. My favourite tipple was a brown & mild, (half of mild, half of bottle brown ) Sometimes i would ask for a black & tan & for the life of me i can`t remember what went into that?

Loved their bitter..really miss it!

 

[Richard Dye]

I am just curious most beers we get in the USA seem to be around 5-6% alc content. What was beer Alc content% in England in the 19401950s ? I told once that English beer was much weaker, so people drank more and did not get so drunk and the beer companies made it that way on purpose to sell more??

I think its he other way around...….Most US domestic beers are lighter. Mild & brown ales/beer are generally heavier, even bitter is. Some of the new IPA's are stronger what they call 90 day. Hope that helps

 

[oldbrit]

I think its he other way around...….Most US domestic beers are lighter. Mild & brown ales/beer are generally heavier, even bitter is. Some of the new IPA's are stronger what they call 90 day. Hope that helps

I agree on IPA I was just curious what the old pint of bitter was use to drink a lot back in the day, but maybe 0f course old age takes it toll also thanks

 

[Richard Dye]

I agree on IPA I was just curious what the old pint of bitter was use to drink a lot back in the day, but maybe 0f course old age takes it toll also thanks

I agree....my favorite bitters were M& B and flowers keg bitter! 20 fl oz was a (still is) a big glass!

 

[mw0njm.]

I agree....my favorite bitters were M& B and flowers keg bitter! 20 fl oz was a (still is) a big glass!

was flowers beer served in stratford?

 

[john knight]

Brew eleven.

 

[Radiorails]

Photo is the Red Lion car park in S-upon-A, which for many years was a bus station. Flowers Brewery was by Birds scrapyard where nearly all the city's buses - and from London and elsewhere - went for their last journey. The aroma was not great.

 

[Pedrocut]

Holts Entire?

 

[Richard Dye]

was flowers beer served in stratford?

Yes, heading toward Stratford once you got to the Henley in Arden area, there seemed to be plenty of Flowers Houses.

 

[Steviepeas]

I worked for M&B in the early 80’s in the design office of the Chief Architect, John Bourne, a gentleman of the old school. In my time there I was lucky to have access to the M&B photographic archive of the huge building programme of the 1920’s with some of the most iconic pubs featuring photographed on the day they opened, pristine and ready for customers. It was a fabulous set of albums and I hope they were preserved some where for posterity.

 

[Robert Ensor (bob)]

I worked for M&B in the early 80’s in the design office of the Chief Architect, John Bourne, a gentleman of the old school. In my time there I was lucky to have access to the M&B photographic archive of the huge building programme of the 1920’s with some of the most iconic pubs featuring photographed on the day they opened, pristine and ready for customers. It was a fabulous set of albums and I hope they were preserved some where for posterity.

Well forgive me here but a enterprising person needs to chase down those albums and make sure they are available for many to see, I can not imagine how much history they contain I am sure a real treasure trove.