Killing off an urban myth

The ludicrous fairy tale that Wetherspoon sells beer which is close to its sell-by date has never appeared in print, but was seen on a website called Quora, posted by a ‘Brian Martin’.

Wetherspoon wrote to Quora and Google, asking them to removethe offending article. Had the Quora/Google allegation appeared in a newspaper (it never
has), there would have been grounds for legal action for defamation.

Giant companies like Google, very controversially, claim not to be ‘publishers’ and that legal action can be taken against only those making the defamatory post. Fair play to the journalist, in the article below, who has accurately reported our comments.

normally Ruddles Bitter, brewed by Greene King – brewer of Abbot Ale, IPA, Speckled Hen and other famous beers. The lowest-priced lager is Bud Light, brewed by Budweiser Brewing Group – the world’s largest brewer, which also brews Corona, Stella Artois and many other brands.

Wetherspoon has five- to 10-year contracts with its main beer suppliers which, unsurprisingly, do not allow for ‘short-dated beer’. Indeed, also unsurprisingly, neither Greene King/Budweiser nor their competitors have ever offered Wetherspoon short-dated beer.

Sorry to disappoint the conspiracy theorists.

WHY WETHERSPOONS IS SO CHEAP COMPARED TO OTHER LONDON PUBS
The chain’s popularity is mainly due to its prices – here’s how it keeps them so low

Pubs are arguably the lifeblood of British people’s social lives, and since popular chain Wetherspoons opened its doors in 1979 it has taken pub culture to another level.

Wetherspoons has over 870 venues operating across the UK, with more than 100 in London alone.

Whatever draws people to the pub, one clear reason sticks out – and that is the prices.

According to the Mirror, the cheapest pint you can get from the low-cost tavern was £1.89 at The Turls Green pub in
Bradford in 2019.

In contrast, according to The Good Pub Guide, the average cost of a pint in London was £4.44 in 2020.

So what makes Wetherspoons so cheap? People have speculated on user internet forums such as Quora that the reason the pub is able to charge such low prices is because it buys stock that is close to its sellby date.

However, this is a rumour that Wetherspoons strongly refutes.

A spokesperson for the company said: “The urban myth that Wetherspoon buys out-ofdate or short-dated beer, or any other products, is ludicrous.

“Wetherspoon has been trading with most of its beer, wine and spirit suppliers, like Greene King, Marston’s, AB InBev, Diageo and Heineken, or their predecessors, and other smaller brewers since opening its first pub in 1979.

“The idea that any of these companies would risk their reputation by permitting Wetherspoon, or any other customer, to sell short-dated beer is preposterous.”

Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin said:

“Wetherspoon has more pubs in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide than any other company.

“Wetherspoon’s beer is also independently assessed by Cask Marque, which has been inspecting Wetherspoon pubs since 1999, visiting each pub at least twice a year.

“The assessors test temperature, appearance, aroma and taste. Every Wetherspoon pub has passed the Cask Marque assessment.

“Wetherspoon is also the top pub company for hygiene standards, with an average of 4.97 out of a maximum of 5 in the localauthority- run’ scores-on-the-doors’ scheme.

“Some people believe in conspiracy theories, however, as anyone with genuine knowledge of the pub trade knows, this one is complete nonsense.”

The spokesperson for the chain went on to explain how opening hours play a part in the pub chain being able sell at such a cheap price, and that they were able to sell at competitive prices by “accepting a lower operating margin than most companies.”

They said: “Wetherspoon also opens for longer hours than most pubs (eg the pubs open for breakfast) and sell food for prolonged periods – normally until 11pm.

“High sales of a wide range of products and long-term relationships with suppliers are some of the key factors.”

By Melissa Sigodo
MyLondon / 3 July 2021
Print credit: MyLondon