Flying_Monkey said:
Or on the other hand, some people don't like to admit that they aren't the heroic individuals making free choices that they imagine themselves to be and are in fact the victims of marketing. Taste is constructed through culture, family, peer-groups and yes, media. It isn't just 'natural'. We learn to like what we like, and we can learn to like different, and yes, better (in the sense of more complex, sophisticated) things. Such things also tend to involve passion, skill and craft in the making - and not just in the selling.
In my experience, this is pretty much on the mark.
When we bought our pub thirty years ago, it was especially noticeable that most of our customers
at that time* had a very strong tendency to drink whatever was being heavily advertised on television.
* Until we educated them
As FM mentions above, the media & marketing plays a massive part in influencing drinking habits.
I've seen many trends come & go; Magners being one of the most recent. Going back, anyone remember "Double Diamond Works Wonders . . . so drink some today", "Whitbread 'Big Head', Trophy Bitter . . the pint that thinks its a quart"; "Castlemaine 4X - Australians wouldn't give a 4X for anything else" - brought out about the same time as the Crocodile Dundee films, when all things Australian were 'cool'. And there are many more . . . Anyone remember Newquay Steam Beer ? (That was rather better than the others that I've mentioned).
When we took over our pub, we found that the previous landlord had been selling two keg beers - Border Bitter and Tartan Bitter. Actually, we soon discovered that he was selling only Border Bitter - through a Border Bitter font at 50p a pint and through a Tartan Bitter font at 53p a pint. And the customers never realised !
We soon ditched the 'Tartan Bitter' and decided to sell a Real Ale alongside the Border Bitter. The introduction of a solitary handpump caused considerable interest; we 'worked' on getting the customers to move away from the keg bitter and the lager. We would give the customers a taste of the Real Ale; this would then be followed by a taste of the keg stuff. Having had the keg sample, every customer would say
"But that tastes of nothing"
We would say, "Why do you drink it then ?"
Ultimately, we ended up selling 6 Real Ales and no keg bitters. We also kicked out all the lagers and replaced them with Bitburger lager which is brewed to meet the requirements of the German Purity Law. Originally passed in 1516, this law stipulates that you can
only use water, yeast, barley, hops and hop products. In other words, none of the additives that are used in the keg bitters and most lagers.
I like to know what I'm drinking, don't you ?
(Interestingly, I had a dog which featured on 'That's Life' in 1983. He often performed his trick in which we would lay out 6 - 12 bowls on the floor; one would contain Real Ale, the other stuff was keg stuff/shandy/bottled beers etc. He always went for the Real Ale. And he wasn't 'trained' to do it; it wasn't a 'trick'. What was it in those other drinks that he didn't like ?)
We also stopped selling keg Strongbow and replaced it with Westons Cider & Dunkerton's Cider. Again, we offered samples to the customers. Hard to believe, but true; one of our customers didn't like the 'real' ciders because of the smell. She told us that they smelt of . . . 'apples'. Profit wise; we made less on the 'real' ciders, 'cos people would drink less of it - 'cos it is stronger.
But consider the differences between these:
Magners - made from frozen concentrated apple juices (From many sources, incorporating many varieties of apple) & add a good dose of chemicals - especially plenty of those which ensure a good shelf life. Oh yes, add plenty of water. It is a very quick process to make. Millions spent on advertising.
Westons - cider made from 'proper' cider apples grown in own orchards. If short of apples, they will only buy the correct apples from certified organic sources. Westons do 'water down' some of their ciders to meet customer requirements. But no chemicals/additives thank you very much. Virtually nil spent on advertising.
Dunkerton's - same process as Westons. Each variety of cider apple is fermented separately, stored and blended a
year after pressing. The manufacture is a
slow process, immense skill is needed to keep the cider in good condition and blending thereafter. Unusually, Dunkerton's do not 'water down' any of their ciders; you get them at the strength at which they are 'brewed out'. This means that you will be unlikely to find it under 7% abv. Advertising ? what's that ?
It seems odd in a way; through selling only Real Ale, Real Cider and Real Lager (as they have existed for centuries), we had our own (very successful) niche market - the widest choice for many miles around. We weren't doing anything 'clever', just selling 'natural' stuff. Yet so many pubs (the majority) carry on selling the same old 'creamflow', 'smoothflow', etc. etc.
To give an analogy, how many of you would be happy to go to a 'proper' coffee shop if you found it only sold Instant coffee ?
Yes, I can see why a cold Magners might be an okay drink on a very hot day; but if you really want to drink a cider that you can taste, search out a bottle of Weston's Old Rosie or Dunkerton's Black Fox. The Dunkerton's still varieties are also superb; why not try one ? Bung in a couple of ice cubes if you must; it will still be much nicer than a Magners.