Free Houses...Independent Pubs???

[Ian Marriott]

 I have noticed recently the increased use of the terms Free House and Independents! I wish   that people would stop using soundbites and terms from a system that does not apply to the New Zealand situation. We do not have very many brewery owned pubs in NZ anymore. All bars make a choice as to whose beer they will sell, it is not forced on them as it is in the UK.

Some bars choose to sell products from major breweries but they have a choice to  eneter into a contract or not. Some bars sell craft beers but the taps are aligned to a major brewer but just because they sell craft beer, someone wheels out the term free house. It is nonsense people!

There are a handful of outlets throughout the country who for various reasons choose not to support the major breweries and sell only craft beer. These are champions of the craft industry not Free Houses!  ( This is not meaning to be derogatory to anyone selling craft and Major Brewery beers as all situations are different and every craft beer sold is great!)

 

I know it is petty but it just p*%*es me of when writers and columnists can't use proper phrasing  in their articles!!

[Dominic Kelly]

Couldn't disagree more.

 

When breweries talk outlets into solus agreements they do "own" them in a figurative sense. Go and talk to a bar owner who's tried to negotiate some latitude with the brewery they're contracted to. The breweries get the benefits of ownership (tying them down as an outlet) at a relatively low cost with none of the risk that comes from actually owning them. To the consumer the result is the same - lack of choice.

 

Calling outlets that don't sell out like this freehouses is a convenient and appropriate way of distinguishing them.

 

(Disclaimer - I own such a bar.)

[Greig McGill]

Hrm. I think Ian is right technically though? The reason why is in Dominic's use of the phrase "breweries talk outlets into"... It is still the outlet's choice. They can (as you have, Dom) tell the brewery to go jump, but they often don't because it's so much cheaper to just take the money.

 

But yeah, when people say "free house", I think we all know what they mean? Are there some examples of bad usage somewhere Ian?

[Dominic Kelly]

So the meaning of freehouse has shifted in our market from being "not brewery-owned" to "not voluntarily surrendering control to a brewery". And the customer sees how much difference?

 

Ian would have us use a label based on the troublesome term "craft". The Intellectual Property Appropriation Department of Dominion Breweries might have something to say about that. (See trademark 652089.)

[jt]

Trademarks ?
Sorry to go off topic but I see that someone has registerd Craft Beer Capital - just today!
trademark 838605

[Dominic Kelly]

Good find. That's up there with copyrighting manuka beer.

[jt]

I see that Double Red's expired - I feel a naughty brew coming on

[Ian Marriott]

I too own such a bar Dominic and object immensly to the term Free House as I feel it is not appropriate because the usage is not as was intended..   . The consumer has choice...go somewhere else to get the product they want. People sign agreements because they want something from the breweries. The scenario is not the same as with tenancies or Pubcos in the UK.  having worked in both situations the term Free House has never felt right to me.  Like I said petty,   but p... s me off .

 

Greig..yeah the latest edition of Beer and Brewer for starters.

[Dominic Kelly]

Sorry Ian but I like the term Freehouse (or Free House) because it's one term that the breweries can't subvert like they can with subjective ones like "craft". And I think it's a distinction that conveys a concise, useful message to customers.

[Ian Marriott]

Dominic..that is just my issue. I don't think it does convey the right image. I personally believe if we keep wheeling out phrases from another world, they are less appropriate. Unless you have travelled to the UK then how would one even know what a Free house was. Lets not let the breweries control us in any way.

Just put a sign up and say we are a No Crap on Tap pub or We Don't Sell Mega Swill. See if the Breweries subvert those suckers. ;-) And that's useful message for customers.

 Dominic you can use the term craft, Micro, boutique. All and probably more have been used since we started selling small brewery beers in a big way in the eighties, and I remember people asking at De Bretts, "is this a booteek beer"  yep it was, they were not that worried about the bars affiliation back then.  Think about the bars you have that are associated with breweries how much extra business would you get if you changed the name of one of them to say Free HOUSE.and there is nothing to stop the breweries doing that.

[Dominic Kelly]

"Unless you have travelled to the UK then how would one even know what a Free house was."

 

Is this a wind-up?

 

[Andrew]

Ah semantics , semantics....gold ole semantics Always a chance to get a  good arguement going. I think the people who look at "free house" or "craft" etc are the same people that buy the new Trelise Cooper range or go "organic" because it makes them feel important. About 99% of the people on here know what they like to drink and don't give a toss if its sold in frree house or a pig sty.

   You guys who own these place educate people about beer everyday and I think you should keep it going and weather people call it a free house...or what ever sin't much of an issue in my eyes.

[Stu McKinlay]

Trelise Cooper really gets my goat... that whole thing with her suing Tamsin Cooper a few years ago.  What a crock.