Cheers! We launch Shropshire Star Pub Week

Almost everybody has a favourite pub. You might have a well-reasoned argument for what makes your pub best, but it's not always for a reason that you can put a finger on.

As a proud Shropshire native, the choice of top stops for a pint and a pie, or indeed the more Masterchef-tinted gastropub offerings, is quite startling.

In Shrewsbury, The Loggerheads provides a unique night out in historic surroundings, while there are countless pubs within a five-minute walk of the town centre, and the Cock Inn in Wellington is great for a pre-match pint and does a great turn in pork pies and mustard.

The Whitchurch Cricket Clubhouse has regularly won awards from the Campaign for Real Ale, marking it out as the best club in the Midlands for a cheeky half.

Only 51 pubs can be listed in each year's Camra Good Beer Guide, perhaps because if we were given free rein to put in all the pubs that offer a top drop of ale in Shropshire then the print costs of the annual beer-swiller's tome would spiral out of control.

But while the quality of what's on offer is, it's safe to argue, climbing higher and higher, landlords find themselves moving in ever decreasing circles.

In 1982, there were 67,800 pubs in the UK. By 2011, 50,395 were left, catering for an increasingly large population which just doesn't seem to be as thirsty any more.

In the early part of the year, 26 pubs were closing every week across the UK, leading in April to Chancellor George Osborne cutting a penny in tax from the price of a pint in a bid to arrest the slide.

But according to Norrie Porter, vice-chairman of Shrewsbury and West Shropshire's branch of the Campaign for Real Ale, the county's rich array of alehouses has been even harder hit than that.

"On that basis you would expect seven pubs a year to close," he said. "But in the last 12 months we have lost 12 pubs, although hopefully some will reopen.

"Nobody has ever said 'business is great, I'm making shedloads', but there was a time about 10 years ago when you would speak to a licensee and they were reasonably comfortable.

"Even the pubs that are rammed are finding it very tight, because of the burden of taxes in one form or another."

He added: "Pubs have improved out of all recognition in the last 20 years.

• Tell us about your favourite pub - or of the locals you loved and lost. Email pubs@shropshirestar.co.uk

"Yes, the smoking ban has kept a lot of people out but it has literally made the atmosphere so much better – you wouldn't have taken your children to the pub 20 years ago, when you would have had to tie a handkerchief around their mouths.

"Pubs have become much more family- friendly, with a nicer atmosphere, much less trouble. The quality of the welcome is better and the quality of the beer is better, too."

Many pubs which used to feature regularly in Camra guides have fallen out because of space limitations, as others have drastically improved while others have stood still.

Look at pubs around Shropshire – Mr Porter points to the Salopian Bar, The Three Fishes in the town centre, and the Woodman in Coton Hill as three fine examples for beer enthusiasts in Shrewsbury, and the White Lion in Bridgnorth and Queen's Head in Ludlow further afield from the county town.

But he adds that he can expect to hear a few objections next time he finds himself somewhere he failed to mention today.

"Whichever you put I'm going to get grief," he laughs. "There's so many wonderful pubs."

In that case, though, why are there fewer and fewer from which to choose?

In the last 10 years, according to the British Beer and Pubs Association, the tax on a pint of beer has increased from 62p to 98p, and correspondingly the number of barrels sold has slipped from around 45 million to closer to 30 million.

The effect of the Chancellor's halt on the beer tax escalator in the budget has yet to really feed through into pubs, although Mr Porter is so far uncertain as to its early benefits.

In the first quarter of this year, the BBPA says, beer sales slid by 2.9 per cent, with the pub industry accounting for the majority of the drop thanks to its own 5.5 per cent decline.

The period saw 2.97 million barrels of beer consumed in British pubs. In the same quarter of 1999, the BBPA figures show, Brits guzzled their way through 5.46 million barrels.

The early part of 2013 was the first period since the BBPA's figures began 14 years ago that numbers have dropped below the 3 million mark.

Richard Matthews, the Midlands regional secretary for the organisation, says that landlords now need to do more to draw people through the doors of their local.

"Yes, the recession has taken its toll," he said. "But the other side of the coin is those that have maybe got their offer right are doing reasonably well. It's all about marketing the pub and tailoring the offer to public demand, whether it be through value for money meals, or a more upmarket food offer."

He added: "I know more pubs are making the most of social media to get offers out to customers and lure them in.

"There's so much competition from other outlets that could impact on the pub, so they have got to work hard to bring people in."

The decline, Mr Matthews said, is not as sharp as it has been in recent years. As the problems peaked, pub numbers were plummeting at a rate of around 50 a week across the country, and the fact that has now halved is something of a blessing.

Companies like Marston's are exceptional because they are actually looking to open new premises, finding better value in building their own pubs near to business parks than to work on existing premises.

Take, for example, Lawley's new Grazing Cow pub, which opened recently as part of the extensive redevelopment of the area on the west of Telford.

Its staff posed proudly inside the gleaming new pub when it opened in February.

It is typical of the type of modern pub that thrives today – more restaurant than bar, packed full of families who are offered the chance to eat out without breaking the bank.

Marston's has outlined plans to build – not just open – another 20 pubs this year, on the back of rising sales in recent months, although profits have been knocked back by the bad weather in January and March.

In the half year to the end of March Marston's sales rose to £358.1 million from £342.1 million at the same point a year ago, but pre-tax profit was down to £27.6 million from £33.5 million, due to higher finance costs and the harsh winter weather keeping customers at home.

The Marston's Beer Company's new managing director Richard Westwood clearly sees the potential for increasing sales as lying in a variety of markets.

As well as keeping close tabs on all five Marston's breweries, including Jennings in the Lake District, Wychwood in Witney and Ringwood in Hampshire, he will be working closely with his fellow directors running Marston's two pub companies, with 2,100 pubs between them.

Then there is the job of supplying pubs, off-licenses and major supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Morrisons and the Co-op.

And there are the export markets – demand for British beer overseas is mounting, particularly in Russia, Scandinavia, Canada and the US.

"The potential is infinite," Mr Westwood said. "Exports are going to be one of our biggest growth areas in the next two or three years."

However, look then at Punch Taverns and its portfolio of pubs and you see another story.

The company made a reduced £64 million profit last year, but is tackling a debt mountain worth more than £2 billion, and has offloaded hundreds of pubs to reduce its estate of 4,500 to tackle its debt.

It demerged from the Spirit Group two years ago, sending away the Fayre & Square, John Barras and Original Pub Company chains in the process.

Spirit itself saw pre-tax profits increase by 16 per cent last year, but when including exceptional items including a revaluation of its core estate, it lost almost £600 million.

Wetherspoon, meanwhile, is a juggernaut that continues to gather pace.

As of early May, it had added a net total of 14 new pubs to its estate in the current financial year. And as pubs continue to look for alternative ways to reach out to customers, it is Wetherspoon which has come up with perhaps the most eyebrow-raising idea so far.

It already owns the Shrewsbury Hotel and Montgomery's Tower, Wellington's William Withering, Bridgnorth's Jewel of the Severn and The Thomas Botfield in Telford Town Centre as part of a core estate of 875 sites nationwide.

Now it is looking to open its first pub in a motorway service station, on the M40 in Buckinghamshire.

"We have seen a considerable change in the way pubs operate," Mr Matthews said. "Perhaps it was the smoking ban that triggered the first sharp decline in numbers.

"Pubs have always evolved in the past and there may be a levelling-out, and lots of companies are trialling new concepts such as micro-pubs that only hold about 30 people.

"Even Harvester do takeaway meals and a lot are looking at breakfasts, coffees, that sort of thing.

"There's lots going on, and we believe the pub still has a future despite the general downturn."

One model that has been gaining increasing traction around the UK is for village pubs, of which Shropshire has a plentiful supply, to become a central focal point for the whole community.

The Pub Is The Hub project was initiated by the Prince of Wales in 2001, and was designed to support local communities looking to make the most of their local hostelry.

More than 100 pubs have already received support as part of the project, including the Fighting Cocks at Stottesdon, near Bridgnorth.

It began to sell groceries amid increasing demand at the turn of the millennium, and later joined with Pub Is The Hub to invest £30,000 in opening a village shop on the side of its premises.

It is broadly accepted that it's a model that works, but according to landlady Sandra Jeffries, the central business of running a pub is increasingly central to the income of the operation. But supermarket deliveries and bargain stores in nearby towns have created problems since its opening.

"The shop has been a good meeting point, and different people that use the shop use the pub," she said. "But Aldi opened in Bridgnorth, Ludlow and Kidderminster, and even though we aren't expensive, I can't compete with Aldi."

She added: "The shop and pub is an important part of the community, we advertise local events in the shop, it acts as a place to advertise the local community.

"The link is a good idea and does work, but people have got to realise they have to use them, whether it be the shop or the pub."