Snow causes chaos for pubs

The miserable winter weather that has blighted Britain for the past week has left pub companies struggling to keep the beer flowing at their more remote venues across the country.

Suffolk-based pub company Greene King has admitted it could face trouble getting deliveries through to some pubs in Kent, Sussex and Scotland.

"We’ve done a good job so far in delivering drink," said the group’s chief executive, Rooney Anand. "But if the snow is prolonged there could be problems."

The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) confirmed that the weather was badly affecting pubs in some parts of the country, with deliveries struggling to get to through to pubs in the north-east of Scotland in particular.

Given the short shelf life of cask ales, these are expected to present the biggest challenge.

The weather is also severely affecting trade in the pubs as customers struggle to get to their local, right at the beginning of the pub sector’s biggest trading period of the year.

"The big hope is we will get the snow out of the way now so it won’t affect the Christmas and New Year period," said an ALMR spokeswoman.

It hasn’t been bad news for everyone, however. Kent-based pub company Shepherd Neame said lots of its pubs had reported a surge in trade over the past week as snowed-in commuters unable to get to work opted for an afternoon pint or two instead.

Alan Lodge, 08.12.2010