PUB Glossary P to R

PUB GLOSSARY P to R

P

PALE ALE (see BITTER)

PARLOUR PUB – A very small pub, often with a modest bar and enough seating inside for 30 customers or less. The smallest in Britain is The Nutshell in Bury St. Edmonds, which can at best accommodate 15 customers at any given time.

PERRY Pear cider, though many pear ciders are now dropping the name Perry from their titles and re-branding themselves. Many of the big name cider breweries are now selling pear flavoured varieties as well as their traditional apple-ciders. The product survives but the word Perry is vanishing, as many people can’t be bothered learning what it means.

PHOENIX PUBS – Pubs rising from the ashes of closed down pubs, often with new names and management. Such pubs can often simply be renamed The Phoenix.

A common tax dodge is to bankrupt a pub on paper and then reopen it under a new identity or management company identity – this is known as phoenixing.

PINBALL – Increasingly common game to find in pubs is the electronic pinball table.

PINT POT – A Dappled glass with a handle, easily gripped, but phased out by the tall straight glass which is easier to store and wash, and less dangerous as a weapon in a bar-fight.

PLASTIC GLASSES – Bane of many drinkers and increasingly common in pubs. The plastic glass has long been a feature at rock concerts, where glass in large crowds can prove dangerous in accidental breakage, and as a missile in the hands of troublemakers. Nightclubs have often incorporated the idea, as a plastic glass can’t harm bouncers. Now many bars introduce them as cheap disposable alternatives to more expensive glassware. Seasoned drinkers lament the decline of traditional handled glass pint pots in favour of the tall glass, and see the plastic glass as another nail in the coffin. The beer can be spilt easily from a bendy glass, and rarely tastes the same either.

Worse is to come given that beer can now be served in cartons to, like milk.

POOL – Increasingly taking over from Snooker in pubs, the pool table is smaller, and the games are played more quickly, as even inexperienced players will hit the balls easily and eventually put them in the pockets, while a snooker game can take an hour in the hands of players of limited skill. Pool flourishes by generating more revenue for the pub and the table owners.