Reopening Details

What a lovely sunny day, let's hope this weather continues into and throughout April. 

Our latest reopening is planned for Friday 16th April but, as you are probably aware, it is only for outside seating. Initially we are opening the following times:

Fridays 4 00pm until 9 00pm.

Saturdays 2 00pm until 9 00pm

Sundays 2 00pm until 5 30pm

Booking is recommended as seating will be limited. The usual social distancing measures apply which I'm sure you're aware of so I won't bore you with them now. However we will have several copies of the guidelines around the place when we reopen.

The main differences to the regulations this time are that every customer has to register for track and trace, either by scanning our QR code or signing in manually. Previously one person per group/couple could sign in.

There will be no standing allowed. When drinking customers must remain seated. 

Admittance to the inside of The Snug will be strictly to use the toilets and on a one out one in basis. Please remember, these are not our rules but the government's. However, failure to observe them could lead to a fine of up to £10,000 for us and potentially the loss of our licence.

The good news is that Mark, North West Pizzas, will be joining us offering what we consider the best pizzas we've ever had. He will be with us on the Friday and Saturday so no need to worry about cooking, just come along and enjoy top quality beer, food and company.

Belgian Bottles and Craft Cans

We now have over twenty bottles and cans in stock ranging from delicious Belgian ales such as St Bernardus Abbot 12 and Wipers Times from Kazematten to an 11% imperial milk stout with chocolate and orange from Wander Beyond in Manchester.

We also stock Tynt Meadow, England's only Trappist beer, brewed by the Benedictine monks of St Bernard Abbey in Leicestershire.

We also now have four draft ciders, two bottled ciders and four cannned ciders. For the drivers and non-drinkers we have a good range of quality soft drinks and, in a break from the micropub tradition, we also have a range of quality gins and rums.

We now have four pint re-useable takeaway containers for our cask beers and draft ciders so all our beers, ciders and soft drinks can now be enjoyed in the comfort of your own home or as you hurtle along on the train towards your destination.

Over the coming weekend we will be showcasing some of our favourite Mancunian cask ales including Marble, Beatnikz Republic, Thirst Class, Manchester Brewing Co and Squawk.

We're Back

At last.

It's hard to believe now that we were closed for nearly five months. Where did the time go?

We've now been back just over a week and the last few weeks have been so busy I've only just found time to do this blog update, which I've been meaning to do for the last few weeks

We have added some fresh, new prints to the redecorated walls,  new lights over the bar and lamps on the window ledges. We now have a fresh new ceiling so we haven't replaced the drapes that masked the old, damp and leak stained ceiling so the place now feels roomier and airier, but we've kept the heart of The Snug intact.

We got the keys back on February 14th with a provisional date for reopening of 23rd February. The idea was to spend the 15th and 16th getting everything back in and ready then have the weekend end and few days to Friday 23rd making the most of our last few days off. How naïve. We worked every day, all day until 23 February finally putting the finishing touches to things at 3 30pm on the day we reopened at 5 00pm. We're really pleased with our new look and appreciate the kind comments so many people have made since we reopened.

Preparing casks for reopening

We finally pitched up at 4 40pm on the 23rd to reopen at 5 00pm and were amazed to find a crowd already outside waiting to join us. After a few months of wondering what would happen when we reopened it was a tremendous feeling to see so many old friends and new faces excitedly waiting to welcome us and The Snug back.

We opened the doors at 4 45pm and immediately the place was absolutely rammed and remained so until we called last orders. We even had messages of support from people who literally couldn't physically get in on that first night. It was truly a night to remember and we would like to thank everybody for making it so special. We finally finished cleaning and restocking at midnight, got home and hit the sack at 12 15 and went out like a pair of lights until after 8 30am on the Saturday morning.

Despite freezing weather and ferocious winds we welcomed Thai Kitchen back to Carnforth on our second Saturday and plenty of delicious Thai food and top quality beer was consumed, a wonderful day was had by all. Thai Kitchen are back with us on Aril 7th from 12 00pm until around 7 00pm.

Since we opened our doors on August 1st 2012 we are proud to have raised around £5,000 for various good causes. This Thursday we have our first charity fundraiser starting at 7 00pm. In conjunction with Pub Aid we will be holding a quiz night in aid of Prostate Cancer UK . I do hope you can join us and help raise a good amount for a very worthwhile cause.

From Friday our collecting tin for the Greyhound Trust will be back on the bar. A couple of friends and regulars have recently adopted retired greyhounds and we thought it would be good to raise some money to help this very worthwhile charity.

Well it's been hard work these last few weeks but we're glad to be back.

When's our next holiday Jules?

Another Update

We have now been informed that we will have to vacate The Snug on 5th October for the structural work on the building to begin. At least I can have the day off on my birthday this year which is October 6th.

We were not so impressed when told that we would be out until February 19th next year. This is after being told repeatedly this last nine months that we would need to be out for around four to six weeks.

We are hoping that Network Rail will accept that this is unreasonable and will ensure that the work is done in a way that reduces our length of closure.

We will keep you informed.

The Snug Beer Festival

As you may be aware there has been scaffolding up at the station since March and our main entrance is now the side door as the redundant platform is closed. As a consequence of the platform closure Carnforth Models have temporarily relocated within the Heritage Centre/Refreshment Rooms.

Despite repeated formal requests from us and Carnforth Models our landlord has still not communicated with us regarding the extent or schedule of the works. Through unofficial sources we believe the work is due to start in August and end in December and that our work should be later rather than sooner in the schedule. As a result of this continued uncertainty we are having to cancel this year's beer festival due for November 17/18.

We are extremely sorry as this has been the station's biggest annual event in recent years and was recently listed in Lancashire Life as one of the county's top six drinks festivals.

Second Thursday Is Event Night

Tonight we have our fundraiser for Guide Dogs for the Blind. There has been a cask of Ingleborough Gold kindly donated by Andrew and there will be blind tastings, a quiz and a raffle. There will also be cheese and port.

Just after 7 00pm Alan will be bringing in the latest guide dog he is training. We are aiming to raise £500 but whatever the final amount we will be having another great night.

On Thursday February 9th the lads from Fell Brewery will be joining us for our monthly event night. They will be setting up two keg lines and will be letting us into the secrets of producing cask, keg, canned and bottled beers.

But tonight it's  fundraising for Guide Dogs so hope you can join us.

Christmas Fundraiser for St George's Memorial Church, Ypres

Tomorrow, Thursday 8th December, we are holding an informal fundraiser in aid of St George's Memorial Church, Ypres, Belgium.

As Ypres was rebuilt at after World War I St George's Memorial Church was built to remember soldiers from Britain and the Commonwealth who died in the conflict. As part of the 100th anniversary commemorations St George's has launched an appeal to raise the money to have bells installed in the bell tower. Details can be found at : www.bells4stgeorge.org

Doors open as usual at 5 00pm, from 7 00pm we will be switching on our Christmas lights, offering cheese and port with a raffle and quiz.

We hope you can join us for a fun evening and help us to raise some money for a good cause.

Snug Update

It's been a strange couple of weeks. We've had to have some adjustments made, slight teething problems, but it meant running down the stock to work on the stillage the last couple of Sundays. We are now busily restocking ready to resume normal service.

There will be several new ales arriving over the next few days with Unsworth's Yard Brewery, Marble Beers and others making their debuts. More about which ones as they arrive and are ready to serve.

At the moment we have Pennine Sun Stone, a natural ale which means it has the appearance of wheat beer but is a pale ale with a mishmash of unusual flavours. The Lancaster Black is on, as is Sharp's Doom Bar to remind people of holidays in Cornwall.

Take Home Beer

Take home beer is now available in two pint containers. When we close at 9-00pm, and you fancy a nightcap, what better than taking a couple of pints home to round off your night?

While we're talking about opening times I've just received the following which explains the philosophy behind our opening hours and most of the other micropubs' opening hours:

A pub chain executive was at the bar of a small micropub in Carnforth when the pub owner came out to greet him.  Inside the bar were several regulars having a good time.  The executive complimented the owner on his ale and the presentation of his pub and asked how long it took to open the pub

The bar owner replied, "only a little while."

The executive then asked why didn't he charge more for his ale and stay open longer?

The owner said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.

The executive then asked, "but what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The owner said, "I sleep late, blog a little, play with my cats, take siestas with my wife, Julie, stroll into the village where I sip wine, and play guitar with my friends.  I have a full and busy life."

The executive scoffed, "I have an MA from Oxford and could help you.  You should spend more time opening and with the proceeds you can buy a bigger pub.  With the proceeds from the bigger pub, you could buy several pubs and open even longer and eventually you would have a chain of pubs.  You could then leave this small town and move to London, where you can run your expanding enterprise."

The pub owner asked, "But, how long will this all take?"

To which the executive replied, "15 - 20 years."

"But what then?" Asked the owner.

The executive laughed and said, "That's the best part.  When the time is right you would announce that you are becoming a public limited company and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions!"

"Millions - then what?"

The executive said, "Then you would retire.  Move to a small town where you would sleep late, blog a little, play with your cats, take siestas with your wife, stroll to the town in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your friends."

Simples!

(With apologies to the Mexican Fisherman)

Ale and Hearty!

It's been hard graft but I've finally done it. The four ales that will be greeting the discerning drinker from Wednesday have been selected. But remember, once they're gone it may be some time before they're back, because variety is the spice of life:

If you can't quite read the pump clips then you'll have to pop along and find out what they are, and try them! Here's another view of The Snug:

Right, that's it, off for a hard earned curry.

Buying Ales

Work is progressing at a great rate and I am now sourcing the ales ready for our opening on August 1st. But I'm not saying much about that at the moment, you'll have to wait a little while longer. Roll on August 1st.

Sourcing wine and other products is a joy, there really is some quality out there. However, I'm really busy with what seems like a million and one things still to do so can't be blogging for too long. Here's a photo of what's been going on this week. I will be told off by my beloved for including her but that's life. The beginnings of the bar are just visible behind Mrs B:

Licence Approved!

We now have a licence.

The planning application is being heard on Monday.

All being well we can start work and get ready to open, hopefully in July but certainly no later than August.

Watch this space!

Business Network International and The Snug, Carnforth

I was kindly invited to a meeting of local business people on Friday morning last week. BNI is a networking group and has members from a whole range of local professions and businesses. I was invited to speak about The Snug micropub.

The meeting was extremely positive and I was heartened by the number of people who came up afterwards to assure me that they intended to become regulars when we open. For those present it was clear that like any business, we will become customers of other local businesses such as electricians, washroom equipment suppliers and many more.

In addition we will also be bringing into Carnforth real ale drinkers who might not otherwise visit. Some of those customers will then go on to become customers of other businesses in Carnforth and so on. It would be great to eventually be able to employ a local person if we become busy enough. Who knows?

So a big thank you to BNI for their generous invitation and extremely positive response to The Snug in Carnforth.

Homemade Scotch Eggs

Just popped my first batch of homemade scotch eggs in the oven. If I reach an acceptable standard then hope to sell them as bar snacks when we open.

These are straightforward with a seasoning of mixed herbs, sea salt and freshly milled black pepper. Planning to try some with black pudding, others with hoisin and maybe a chilli scotch egg, I like a bit of fire in my food.

Any suggestions for other variations on a theme more than welcome.

Derby Micropub

The micropubs are on the march. News has reached us of an application to open a micropub in Derby. We have been in touch via Twitter to get more details and will update as soon as we can. You can find them on Twitter at: @MicropubDerby

What Is A Micropub?

A lot of people have been asking what a micropub is. While each micropub is individual the idea is to get back to what pubs used to be. Places where people can relax with a pint of decent ale without having ears and eyes aggravated by loud music and giant screens on every wall showing pop videos and football, often simultaneously.

Micropubs do not sell lager or spirits. Neither do they sell keg beer.

There will be no hot food served only a selection of cold snacks such as cheese, cold meats and pork pies. Porks scratchings, crisps and peanuts will also be available.

Micropubs typically open shorter hours than modern pubs. Usually over 5 days of the week roughly from 12-00pm to 1-30pm and 5-00pm to 9-00pm but certainly no later than 11-00pm. Current micro pubs typically close on Sunday (although a couple open 12-00 until 2-00), Monday and/or Tuesday.

We will not have jukeboxes or giant screens. No gaming machines of any sort.

It is our intention to sell ales sourced from micro breweries in Lancashire and Cumbria, with occasional guest ales from further afield.

In addition to traditional cask ales there will be a selection of quality wine. There will also be a selection of soft drinks, tea and coffee for non-drinkers/drivers.

The only entertainment, other than customers chatting to each other, would be a selection of newspapers/magazines, books and traditional pub games such as  cards, draughts, dominoes, backgammon and chess.

The aim is to offer a comfortable, traditional environment where people can socialise while enjoying high quality, affordable real ale, or wine and soft drinks.