If today has done nothing else it& #39;s reconfirmed my believe that *most* pubs and restaurants care not a jot about local (or & #39;craft& #39;) beer. They will put in a token tap, as it& #39;s expected, or put a few bottles on thier drink list to bulk it out ...

... but they don& #39;t restock, don& #39;t train their staff and, when it comes down to it, don& #39;t really care. One pub said that the were waiting on a supplier delivery and that & #39;all [they] do are ales anyway& #39; - whatever that means. That was exactly what I was looking for/asked for...!

Later in a restaurant I was sold a house pale ale brewed by & #39;a gang up in Dublin& #39; that was unpale ale-like, unpleasant and unfinishable. Its bottle conditioned local replacement was given to me with a half pint glass of ice! I had to teach the server why I needed a pint glass.

Who& #39;s to blame? The retailer? The supplier? The consumer? Probably a bit of all three but I think it ultimately rests with the latter for allowing it to happen. Am I being too precious about this and possibly preoccupied? Maybe but either way the experiences soured my day a bit.

Thanks everyone for the replies, and apologies for the typos - I was on a roll. I probably need to digest this trip and spit it out in a blog post or two. It& #39;s been a thought provoking few days - I& #39;m enjoying our trip but haven& #39;t *quite* scratched that wanderlust itch yet ...

... It may have made me a tad narky.