I regularly look at the WhatPub Update in London Drinker and I have been surprised recently at the number of pubs that have stopped selling real ale, as well as the number of new pubs opening without real ale. I decided to investigate. The pub database for my CAMRA branch, East London & City (ELAC) lists 1,676 premises. Of these, 835 are shown as open, which is a story in itself. Of these, 477 are shown as keg which leaves 358 selling real ale. In the 1991 East London & City Pub Guide there were 1,001, of which 55 were closed. Looking at the WhatPub data (as published in London Drinker) for the ELAC area from September 2022 to September 2023, I found that in the course of the year:
- 34 became keg,
- 37 opened as keg,
- 19 reopened as keg (real ale status when they closed not known),
- one began selling real ale then went keg again,
- none opened selling real ale.
I imagine that the situation is much the same in other branch areas. The data seem to suggest that pubs are turning their backs on real ale. Is it dying?
The pub data held by ELAC branch dates from 1983. The three pub guides that we have produced over the years have been digitised and can be found here http://www.pigsear.org.uk/pub%20history.htm
Keith Emmerson