Doctors call for complete ban on alcohol advertising

The British Medical Association (BMA) reported today on the sharp rise in alcohol related social and health issues calling for a complete ban on advertising.

How is this likely to affect drinking habits, and does advertising have such a great effect on consumption of alcohol, or just on choice of drink?

What looks likely to happen in the near future is the introduction of a minimum price, and abolishing cut-prices and multi-buy offers. Already Scotland is contemplating a minimum price of 40 pence per unit for alcohol sales.

This may well call time on Happy Hour in the near future, and further strengthens the need for licensed premises to move away from the traditional image of wet-led pubs to become food-led outlets.

SPK stocktakers offer advice to licensees in addition to accurate professional stock takes.

is Pear Cider the only fruit?

As another British summer passes into washed-out memory, the undoubted champion of any refreshment that was actually needed, has to be pear cider.

Of course at this point the united voices of the purists indignantly profess that the correct term is "perry" as only apple based beverages can use the term cider. Not so, never mind that pear cider is not made from the traditional Perry Pear from which the former takes its name, it is only thanks to the clarifying new term 'pear cider' that this drink has turned a market share of £3.5m to £46m in two years. A term coined around the non-commercially produced Brothers pear ciders made popular at Glastonbury from 1995, when in trying to describe the drink as "like cider but made with pears".

Once viewed as a drink just for Yokels, it quickly became popular with Bulmers Pear leading the way. Magners, well known for revitalising cider drinking in 2006 were late into the market for pear cider but eventually launched their own brand with a TV and other media advertising campaign. Its worth noting though that Magners and Bulmers are both owned by the C&C Group. Gaymers Pear was the first mainstream cider available on draft.

Brothers cider continued to be popular at music festivals with other fruit flavours being added, Pear with Lemon, with Strawberry and even Toffee Apple. Other brewers also started getting creative with flavours and St Helier added Bluberry Pear, Raspberry and Lime with Pear and most recently Peach with Pear. Also more recently another country where Pear cider has been popular for longer than it has been in the UK, that being Sweden, brought us Kopparberg Pear, and Rekorderlig Pear and Pear with Strawberry.

Is this booming market in danger of becoming confusing though, even though another wet summer may not have dampened sales, could lack of distinction bring disinterest?
One venue offering a range of 40 different cider drinks including Raspberry and Strawberry has other problems of its own. The Apple in Bristol faces a showdown with the City Council over its cold storage unit, without which it could not store or chill such an amazing range of locally produced wold-class ciders. If you feel strongly about this you can sign a petition in support, click here.

Whatever the future of Pear Cider one thing is sure, that for this particular washout of a summer, Pear cider has been the drink of choice for new and existing cider drinkers alike, demand for locally produced pears has been at record highs, and one particular secret corner of the orchard has proved to hold a recession proof winning taste.