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The Southport Drinker
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The best pubs and bars in Southport plus news from beer land about the war against drinking and anti-pub legislation, camra news, beer, real ale, best ale, top pub, greatest pubs in Liverpool, Ormskirk, Southport and Manchester
Recent Posts Tagged With 'cains'
Thatch yer lot
The Thatch in Blowick has reopened under the watchful of pub entrepreneur Ray Edwards, who also now has the Railway in Ainsdale. In news that will gladden the heart of any true Lancastrian beer fan, R...
Dusanjs poised for a comeback?
In a slippery switcheroo that can only happen in the world of business, there are rumours that the Dusanj brothers could emerge from the collapse of Cains with the brewery, the very profitable canning...
Thatch gone
No, not Margaret, but the Thatch pub in Blowick - another victim of the big Cains close down. Few in Southport are mourning the pub’s loss, as the professional Sandgrounders round there took del...
Blood Tub closed
The Ship at Lathom (aka the Blood Tub) has closed down. The administrators of Cains are continuing to close down their pubs with the Thatch in Southport and Black Horse, Croston, looking over their sh...
Cains sale attracts lots of interest
The administrators for Cains brewery have had 50 expressions of interest, says the Publican, although clearly some of these are from time wasters. Marston’s are still the front runners....
Marston’s in the frame for Cains brewery
Marston’s - brewer of such beverages as Pedigree - is tipped to be in the running to take over at Cains Brewery, reports the Morning Advertiser. The Burton-on-Trent brewer kept brewing alive in ...
Cains officially finished
Cains has gone into administration. Update:Co-owner Sudarghara Dusanj says that Cains’ fate is in the hands of the Gods but they are resigned to fact that it’s over for the Dusanjs at ...
Cains attempt rescue deal
The Publican has a story of how Cains are trying to save the sinking ship here. Liverpool Echo story here...
Revenge of the Blood Tub
Taking umbrage at my view of the Cains situation, Alan Hastings of Ormskirk has contacted me with his opinion. Mr Hastings has been fighting a campaign to reinstate Moorhouse’s Pendle Witches Br...
Cains - the Capital of Culture dividend
There’s talk from union bosses, MPs and others this morning about trying to keep Cains afloat, but it all seems pretty grim. Sudarghara Dusanj told the Post this morning: “There is a very r...
Banks stick knife into Cains - updated
The Bank of Scotland is refusing to give any more money to Cains. This means that unless a rescue can be mounted the company will be wound up within two weeks and the brewery tap turned off. The windi...
Cains latest
Will update here as news comes in about the Cains situation. The feeling is that an announcement will be made today. Meanwhile, I have written a think piece for The Champion newspaper which you can re...
Cain’s situation looking grim
The Liverpool Echo has interviewed the Dusanji brothers here. The tone is pretty grim. The brewery is appealing for the banks to save them, although I can’t see fat-cat finance chiefs from the B...
Cain’s on brink of closure
Cain’s Brewery of Liverpool could close because of unpaid tax, reports the BBC. The news, which is a dagger in the heart to its many fans and the 1,000+ workforce, follows notices in the local a...
Cain’s latest
UPDATE 1: Cain’s chairman Roy Morris says: “The directors recognise that there is a material uncertainty related to this situation and the loss reported for the six month period which may ...
Cain’s in trouble
Rumours are that Cain’s Brewery may close! Updates to follow...
Cocktail Golf Open
Rounds are being sunk at Maloney’s bar as the Cocktail Golf Open swings into action. While some clowns brave the rain at Royal Birkdale to watch grown men hit a wee white ball around a field wit...
Rabbit’s out of the hole
The Rabbit is back and business is booming. The pub on Southport’s Manchester Road has reopened with genial Glaswegian Neil Hanson at the helm alongside wife Jacky. The Rabbit is the couple̵...
A case for trading standards?
Seeing in the latest issue of Camra’s Ale and Hearty magazine an advert for the Railway of Ainsdale which promises “Cain’s Cask Bitter plus 2 guest bitters”, I toddled down the...
Love on the rocks
On a hot tip from newshound Jmensa that my beloved Brains SA was coming on at the Phoenix, I hot-footed it over there to find it was still a day or so away from pouring. I noticed that the new pub was...
Creamy Stout time running out
There’s only a few days left before Cains Creamy Stout makes way for Indian Export in the Liverpool brewer’s seasonal craft beer roster. I tried the stout for the first time in the Guest...
Back on the binge
Back to Southport’s pubs after my Lenten sojourn, my crawl was boosted by a range of locally produced ales. I was welcomed like the prodigal son by lovely staff at the Guest House and ordered a ...
Phoenix is flying - but Brains won’t last
The new Phoenix pub opened its doors today and was doing brisk business from the start. A lot of old dears wandering round Southport had been given free-coffee vouchers and taken up the offer with gle...
Definitely the best lager
Cains have teamed up with artist Peter Blake, designer of The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper album sleeve, to launch a limited edition bottle of its lager. The Union Jack label kicks off Cains’ su...
Drinking pals
I gave a speech to the Southport Winemakers Society last night on the joys of alcohol. They are a lovely bunch, who come together every month or so, listen to a talk, catch up with friends and - best...
Here’s to cans and Cains
Cains are reporting good sales in these troubling times and are also celebrating the launch of what they claim to be Britain’s first one-pint can. We’ll have to take their word for it, a...
Windmill’s a gem
With so many pubs closing these days, it’s a pleasure to see one on the up. The Windmill in Ormskirk offers a glimpse of the future, where the only pubs standing survive by offering a first-class se...
Best Liverpool pubs
Liverpool is to put booze at the centre of their Capital of Culture events. A special 08 event aims to take drinkers ‘Around the City in 80 Pubs’ as part of a celebration of the city&#...
Cains evolution
Sudarghara Dusanj puts my mind at rest (see last post) with a pledge in the Publican that the Cains expansion will be about “evolution not revoltion”. To be fair, everything seems to have ...
Cains punched
The news that Liverpool brewer Cains have taken on Francis Patton ex of Punch Taverns as a non-executive director is not to be welcomed. Licensees of Cains pubs generally get on well with the excellen...