One of the enduring, and somewhat underappreciated facets of your local, is having a glorious pot of your favourite brew from the tap.

However, the lockdowns across Victoria have meant that, for the moment, the ritual of standing around the bar, or enjoying one from the tap in a comfortable lounge, is on hold until an easing of the restrictions which still may be some distance away for pubs.

So, why not enjoy the taste of tap beer from home!?

An initiative from CUB has seen the release of 20,000 re-sealable (and reusable) bottles into the market place wherein participating pubs can offer two sizes for takeaway purposes knowing that the freshness is retained until the last drop.

Take your time over a “Squealer” (one litre), or “Growler” (two litres) of Carlton Draught, VB, etc, from participating outlets, and when finished return and/or refill.

Two of Melbourne’s favorite pubs, All Nations (Bob O’Kane) and Rising Sun (Liam Reardon), both located in Richmond have been really surprised by the take up of this and obviously keeping a cash flow going while the lockdown continues is vital to the long term future of pubs, especially Owner/Operators.

Go to www.cub.com.au for the list of pubs offering this takeaway service.

Many thanks to Paddy O’Sullivan, CEO for the Victorian Branch of the AHA  who provided the following video that best explains how it works;

Many thanks to Lancer Worldwide, www.lancerworldwide.com who not only participated in the videos, but the generous offer to pubs for a cleaning of the beer system free of charge while this lockdown continues.

Lastly, there is some good news about pubs around the state!

Let’s head out to the Club Hotel Kaniva, one of, if not, the last pub before the SA border heading west.

This pub had been run down by previous occupants, so the original owners Jacquie and John stumped up everything they had to give it another shot. The news of this  reached the Lifestyle Channel, and the show Selling Houses Australia took on the challenge, with some generous locals providing support with the sole aim of  bringing it back to life. The show aired on the Lifestyle Channel on 30 April and the results have to be seen. Take a look, google it, and see for yourself.

Every town needs it pub, and in a community of 800 like Kaniva, the pub is the focus for nearly all community activities, and travellers using the Western Hwy.

Long may it trade!

Again, I invite any operators of pubs in Victoria to contact me via email – tony.leonard@macquariemedia.com.au – if I can assist in promoting what’s taking place at this time.