Kristy's Christmas Wishlist for Pubs

As I’ve mentioned before, I love Christmas – and now it’s December, I can allow myself to get really excited about it. The parties, the decorations, the gift shopping, writing your Christmas list... I’ve finished my list now (In case you’re reading, Father Christmas, this year I’d like George Hamilton), so I’ve been thinking about what would be on the pub wishlist of BitterSweet Partnership. If you’ve seen any of my posts here before, you’ll have heard that BitterSweet Partnership exists in order to dispel the myths around beer and make it a more appealing drink choice for women – and pubs could play a big part in that, if they make a few small changes that would make all the difference. I’ve talked about events, glassware, food and information in this blog before, but here are the stocking fillers that would make the pub experience perfect:

1. Good service: I find that most people behind the bar are friendly and professional – just how it should be. However, we’ve all encountered service that’s surly, uninterested, or perhaps even intimidating: not really appealing for women, particularly if you’re the first one there out of your friends.

2. Free Wifi: As I mentioned, being the first one to arrive when you’re meeting up can be intimidating, especially at a pub or bar. That’s why you always see people alone playing on their mobiles – so why not make the waiting experience better by enabling those with smartphones to check their emails why they wait? (You can always switch it off on the quiz evening!)

3. Clean tables: If we’ve made an effort to look nice, we don’t want to ruin our outfit by getting a drink stain on it.

4. Better bar snacks: If you were to play a game of alcohol & food word association with most people, it might go: wine = gourmet dinners, beer = crisps. This, to my mind, does the vast majority of beers a huge disservice – every beer fan will agree that great beer is just as subtle as wine. So why pair it with junk food?

5. Clean, nice toilets: There are many pubs where the toilets have wet floors, don’t smell great and never have any loo roll.. I don’t need to explain why this is bad!

6. A safe journey home: pubs with the foresight to carry details of reputable taxi firms and a payphone (in case we find ourselves without our mobiles), get a big stamp of approval from me.

So, those are mine – and as I’ve been good this year, maybe I’ll get what I want. What would be on your list?

PS – if you’re a fan of beer, we’re running a competition over on our site to win a Christmas 12 Beers hamper for the first 12 days of this month – you can enter at here - good luck!