Hanging Bat to dispense with pints
When it opens at the end of next month, the Hanging Bat on Lothian Road has the potential to be the best bar in Edinburgh – even with the flurry of recent competition. At this stage, the announcements on what the Bat will be like are coming thick and fast. One, however, really caught the attention last week.
There can’t be another pub or bar in the city that doesn’t serve pints – so the Hanging Bat is blazing a trail in that respect. The BrewDog bar in the Cowgate would seem the most likely venue to abandon that cherished icon of British drinking – but they still serve their house beers in pints, at least at this stage.
Of course, BrewDog Edinburgh don’t serve cask ale, so could be excused ditching the biggest measure – but the Hanging Bat will have some (highly exciting) cask lines in place. Serving these beers in two-thirds measures I find really interesting. Will the punters complain? Or will the average Batgoer be someone used to trading down in size for quality?
Maybe the pint isn’t as iconic as we think – provided the prices are in proportion the vessel isn’t that important. As their Facebook statement continued, if you’re desperate for a pint, you can mix and match the measures until you come up with one. There are also plenty of boozers within an easy stagger that serve the full whack of beer.
That said, it’s tougher to linger over an afternoon 2/3rd’s – and what do you ask for? Possibly the different sizes will be themed – a ‘pipistrelle’ of double IPA, or a ‘flying fox’ of cask porter. To be honest, the Hanging Bat will succeed or fail based on the fact that it’s going to be very different. If not being able to source a pint there is a bad thing, you won’t like the rest of it.
I’m not bothered either way – at the end of the day, what really matters is what’s inside the Schoonglass.
UPDATE 01/11/12
It was announced yesterday that work is nearing completion, and the official opening night for the Hanging Bat will be on Monday the 19th of November…
1 Comment
HaxSyn
June 7, 2012I’m not convinced this is an entirely good idea. Yes, I often have less than a pint in BrewDog (not often elsewhere) and can see the sense in this for the particularly strong (or rare and hence expensive) beers, I’ll also concede the point that the time it can take to drink an entire pint can mean it’s not at it’s best when I reach the bottom (whether because it’s warm and/or flat) on occasion (but not often).
However, I do enjoy an entire pint of beer in most bars without noticing any adverse effect, on a hot summer day a nice long cold pint can disappear pretty fast! Assuming that price isn’t a consideration I don’t see myself objecting to drinking from a 1/2 or 2/3 glass but sometimes I suspect I’ll want a full pint in a full pint glass.
It’s an interesting idea and I’ll be interested to see if it works (will it mean ordering at the bar more often? causing the bar staff to be busier?). I hope the Hanging Bat succeeds because they provide a quality product with good service, time will tell.