Calling time on homophobic, sexist & racist abuse in pubs

Drinks writer and beer and pubs advocate, Jessica Mason has launched a new accreditation scheme for pubs called The Equality in Pubs Accreditation (TEPA) in an attempt to stamp out homophobic, sexist and racist abuse in pubs.

Pub owners/operators who want to tell customers that their pub has a zero tolerance policy on abuse in any of its forms can now sign up to TEPA and, from 2019, gain a window sticker and a plot on a map on TEPA website to let people know that their pub doesn’t support homophobia, sexism or racism in any of its guises from neither its staff or it’s drinkers. Joining TEPA means the publican has a civic duty to act should they recognise abuse in their venue.

The Accreditation has been pioneered to offer all people the freedom to visit the nation’s finest pubs without trepidation and to remind the pub, beer and hospitality industry as a whole that inclusiveness is everyone’s responsibility.

Jessica said: “Social equality is a human right. Let the best pubs, bars and taprooms, run by the most accommodating, kind and friendly staff identify themselves and help all people remember that the value of pubs is as much what they represent as anything they serve across the bar.”

“Pubs are for everyone. The word pub is short for Public House. People should feel that term is valid irrespective of gender, sexuality and race. They are a community hub for all and a place where everyone, whatever their identity, should feel is safe.”

TEPA will be open for submissions from publicans from September 2018 where after a shortlist will be drawn up and the first accredited TEPA venues will be visited and mapped before the close of the year.

From the spring of 2019, the TEPA map will become accessible to all – with its usefulness designed to help people navigate their way to places that are non-discriminatory.

For more information contact: Jessica Mason, Drinks Maven Ltd, email Jessica@drinksmaven.com , call 07939 220485 or tweet: @drinksmaven

Creating gluten freedom in our pubs

The drinks editor for The Publican’s Morning Advertiser – Jessica Mason – asks pubs to consider selling gluten-free beer to meet the rising demand of food intolerance. She suggests that no-one ever asks for an allergy but they do just keep side-stepping the offending food/drink products and those that sell them….

Creating gluten freedom in our pubs

By Jessica Mason, 29-Jan-2016

Gluten-free beer used to be a bit of a contradiction and had a fairly poor reputation too.

Women beer-lovers host beer and cheese tasting

A group of beer-loving women is holding a beer and cheese tasting in central London next Wednesday, 8 October,  to encourage more women to discover the delights of our national drink.

Dea Latis – named after the Celtic goddess of beer and water – was established by a handful of women working in pubs and breweries, and hosts regular tastings to demonstrate beer’s versatility as a partner with different foods.  The beer and cheese tasting is being held on:

Date:               Wednesday 8^th October

Time:              3.00 – 5.00 pm

Venue:            The Bishops Finger,  9-10 West Smithfield, London EC1A 9JR

Guests will be offered five different beer and cheese combinations, from goat’s cheese and fruit beer to traditional ale and cheddar. Hosting the event and explaining the beer and cheese matches is Annabel Smith, one of the country’s only female Beer Sommeliers.

Annabel says, “The hallmark of a great match of beer and cheese, or indeed any food and drink, is that they enhance each other’s taste.  Beer works especially well with cheese as its natural carbonation cuts through the fattiness of cheese – which is something wine can’t do.”

Tickets, including five beers, cheeses, expert talks and tea/coffee, cost £17 per person. Please visit our Eventbrite page to buy tickets:  http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dea-latis-beer-and-cheese-tasting-tickets-12781994289?aff=es2&rank=0

Further information:    Ros Shiel, ros@shielporter.com

Lisa Harlow: lisa@lisaharlow.co.uk

Beers at Breakfast – the next Dea Latis event

Stout and sausages?

Bitter with bacon?

Mild and a mushroom?

You get the idea….That’s right, the next Dea Latis event will be looking at the beers that best  match with breakfast!

On Friday, 7 December, we will be taking charge of the Parcel Yard pub at King’s Cross station from 10am to midday.

Top brewsters Sara Barton of Brewsters Brewery and Kathy Britton of Oldershaw Brewery will be guiding us through the tasting.

Tickets are £20 each and include a full breakfast (veggie option available), beer (of course), tea/coffee and the tutored tasting.  Afterwards there will be the opportunity for plenty of networking with women from the beer and pub industry.

Tickets are sold via EventBrite

http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/3809044956

Pubs, patriotism and pints…

Dea Latis member, Joanna Dring, was recently asked to write the Guest Column in the brand new Bedfordshire newspaper, Bedford Midweek.

Here’s the column in full:

As if us Brits need an excuse to celebrate….Have you recovered from an over-exuberance of patriotic parties yet?

I’m quite sure that at some point over the weekend, the majority of you stepped foot in a pub. Perhaps you are a regular and knew the events the pub was laying on, or perhaps you haven’t been down your local for a few months but knew that at times of national celebration, there is no where quite like the pub.

We are so lucky in this country to have pubs. No other country quite gets pubs. Bars – yes. But pubs – no. (The Red Lion(s) in the Costas don’t count either….)

Just like the Queen (WARNING – a tenuous link between pubs and Her Maj) pubs are always there for us. There is no other place that has quite the same atmosphere and is the focal point of the community. Pubs are a place where people come together to celebrate and I have seen over the last few months many pubs leading their community’s Jubilee celebrations. From beer festivals and street parties to live music and Queen quizzes – the Great British Pub has reigned supreme over this weekend, and got the nation partying.

I was in the White Horse on Newnham Avenue last week for their regular pub quiz and Nigel the landlord read out the list of Jubilee events they were holding. Events for the whole family and ones that would make the weekend extra special. This is no mean feat. This is utter dedication from a licensee who knows the importance his pub plays in the community and works tirelessly to create a welcoming, comfortable and relaxing environment, and a memorable weekend for all.

And Nigel’s not alone. It must have been two and a half months ago that I saw the Embankment pub was already advertising its Jubilee events – providing something special and different to their usual weekend activities.

The Horse And Jockey in Ravensden ensured a British-bonanza by theming their menus to all things British and hosting a BBQ for the community on the Tuesday.

I think it’s quite easy for people to forget the important role pubs play in their community – they can be taken for granted as always being there, a constant feature of your town or village. But the harsh reality is that pubs continue to close across the country – a sign of the continued pressure the challenging economic downturn is having on the nation.

This year is the perfect storm of patriotic events. We’ve had the Jubilee and now have the Olympics to look forward to. Add in EURO 2012 and Wimbledon, there is every excuse to get down the pub. And if sport’s not your thing, there are quizzes, live music, open mic nights, charity fundraisers, beer and food matching evenings….the list is endless.
So if you have neglected your local recently, why not find out what’s on and drop in?

They are a British institution – we need pubs and pubs need you.

On Monday evening I had ventured out of Bedford to visit a friend in Weston-Super-Mare where we saw the lighting of one of the 4,200 beacons for the Queen. Of course this was followed up by a pint of ale in the local as we watched the closing of the Jubilee concert. After Prince Charles had spoke there was a huge roar of cheers from the crowd and a round of applause. I heard one lady say: “They can’t hear us but I’m going to clap anyway – it feels like I’m there!”

Surrounded by people who were bursting with pride and joy, the atmosphere was electrifying.

And that for me sums up why pubs are so great – there’s no place like ’em.

This column first appeared in Bedford Midweek on Thursday 7 June 2012.

Follow Joanna on Twitter.

Follow Bedford Midweek on Twitter.

Women only beerfest in Leicester

Well done to the brewsters who have organised this weekend’s beer festival. All beers brewed by women. Wish I was a bit closer to Leicester!

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/Brewers-putting-ale-female/story-15198794-detail/story.html

Dea Latis welcomes pub-loving Cathy

Dea Latis, the industry beer and women forum, has welcomed a pub enthusiast into its fold. Cathy Price, who is on a mission to visit every Red Lion pub in the country, has been made an honorary Dea Latis member in recognition of her unique contribution to the group’s aim of ‘bringing beer to women’.

Cathy Price, centre, is presented with the certificate by Annabel Smith (left) and Ros Shiel (right) of Dea Latis.

Cathy’s pub pilgrimage began in April last year after a visit to a Red Lion in Hawkshead, Cumbria. To date, she has visited 135 of the estimated Red Lions in the countryand is expecting the challenge to take until 2014 to complete. Cathy orders a beer – preferably local ale –  in every pub she visits, having been ‘converted’ by Dea Latis members from her previous tipple of red wine.

Unsurprisingly, Cathy’s ambitious pub crawl creates interest wherever she goes and she has been interviewed countless times by local press and radio stations. She has written about all her visits and is planning to put them in a book. “It’s been the most amazing experience,” she says. “There’s something unique about walking into a pub in a new part of the country and sitting down with a glass of beer. It’s the best way to find out about a local area and the people who live there.”

Read Cathy’s poem about her pub experiences – good and bad –below. Follow Cathy via on Facebook/Cathy’s Crazy Red Lion Pub Crawl or onTwitter CathyPrice@RedLion-Quest

Red Lion’s with brass bellsThose with bad smells,Good home cooked foodBar tenders in a mood, Slug trails on the floor Toilet seats behind the door, Signs which are faded Décor old and jaded, Super helpful staff Locals good for a laugh,, Beer gardens with umbrellas Merry beer- drinking  fellas, Brewery’s at the back Red Wines in a rack, Smelly ash trays outside Hanging baskets that have died, Curtains that need cleaning Bars shiny and gleaming, A local Cask Ale A pub up’ For Sale’,

I have sat on church pewsSeen Estuary views,Perched on a bar stoolIn some we play pool, A perfect thatched roof Staff cold and aloof A Bowling Green at the rear A pint of “Off” Beer A Punjabi Landlord Offers on the blackboard Pink Port over ice I thought it sounded quite nice Cheap House Doubles A flat glass of bubbles All this I have seen To these Red Lion’s I have been And there are still hundreds more To enjoy, and explore. The worst and the best Of this RED LION QUEST!