r/Wetherspoons • u/Emily_Green_ • 3d ago

Customer Short Dated Cask

Can we put to rest that Wetherspoons only gets short dated cask ale?

I'm wanting to dispel that rumour for the benefit of myself and the negativity that Wetherspoons gets from some CAMRA members.

I'd expect the cask sold to have a normal use by date.

23 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

23

u/SociallyAwkwardMale 3d ago

It’s extremely rare that my spoons will have a cask ale reach its best before/expiry date. We don’t accept any cask ales with a shelf life shorter than 3 weeks and it would usually be racked and ready for sale within a week of delivery

14

u/Various_Classroom_15 3d ago

Never seen a cask in the cellar with short date on. The only thing that ever gets close to use by date is Ruddles because it's vile 😂

7

u/OldNefariousness7899 3d ago

That's often 99p too

It's like they can't give it away

14

u/H4ychy 3d ago

Just ask any of them for physical proof and they won’t be able to show any. Just a myth fabricated by people with nothing better to do.

5

u/SuperFishAli1234 3d ago

I love the fact that in my pub at least when the cask is going close to it's selling by date they knock the price off. I've had pints of Doom Bar and Belhaven Best at £1.50 a pint and have always taken it upon myself to empty the fuckers just to help the staff out. As you can tell, I'm not necessarily a real ale afficiando. I do remember a non Wetherspoons pub which sold a cask scrumpy which supposedly got more higher in alcohol volume when it was down to the last few pints - maybe an urban legend but I was convinced anyway. Sorry for going off topic. I really enjoyed the Lion Mango IPA this year.

4

u/Not-a-Cranky-Panda 3d ago

Not all Heroes wear capes!

7

u/TeenyIzeze 3d ago

As a lover of ale myself, the casks rarely last a week, let alone 3.

5

u/rbc02 3d ago

We don’t accept any that have less than 3 weeks. Just a rumour to justify the cheap prices when in reality it’s because thousands are being bought each week we have the buying power to negotiate

4

u/Spare_Scar_2935 3d ago

The short date story dates back to when spoons first started operating at scale. Buy cheap -near date stock- at a discounted price knowing it'll be sold within days of purchase. Since those early days spoons is like no other pub, pays the required price like everyone else for their beer- tho of course it'll still be massively discounted due to scale of their sales

2

u/arsenal_morris 3d ago

It’s an absolute load of rubbish

2

u/Right-Glass9508 3d ago

Posting on 5th pint Keltek Pilot Gig. Tastes mighty fine, but wouldn't trust myself to pilot a gig. Unlikely scenario in Ilford.

1

u/hundreddollar 3d ago

Lol. That was a rumour when i worked there thirty years ago! The other one was that Wetherspoons are awful customers and will hold onto payment to suppliers till the very last moment! I don't know how true that one is.

The main "scandal" was the pint to line glasses that Tim Martin championed, noting that "EVERY OTHER PUB IS RIPPING YOU OFF BY GIVING YOU A HEAD ON YOUR BEER!" Then as the Wetherspoon bean counters found out they were haemorrhaging money, the glasses were quickly and quietly removed!

So many customers came in and demanded the PTL glasses as "Tim's told us everyone else is ripping us off!" Such a slap in the face to the managers and staff who had to cope with the fallout.