Can anyone explain the logic of not having takeaway beer, but having takeaway coffee?

[FleetwoodRaincoat]

DH and I like to have a "pub night" each week, since obviously we can't actually go to the pub.

During the first lockdown, we went to our favourite pub and bought takeaway beer. All very organised and safe.

This time, pubs are no longer allowed to serve takeaway beer, but the government are happily allowing McDonalds, Starbucks etc to carry on opening.

I honestly don't understand why this is. Surely small, independent pubs are far more at risk economically than the massive global companies?

Why do you think this has happened?

Some towns don't allow street drinking, drunks bowling around swigging cider or did you stay at the pub and drink on the premises? That wouldn't be allowed now for obv reasons so there's two reasons I can't see this being a thing

Where I live the places that sold takeaway alcohol were crowded on the streets outside with people drinking and chatting and there were a lot of complaints, so don't know if this was a factor. Mind you I doubt this would be as prevalent in this weather!

Simple, because people were getting tipsy and congregating and SD goes out of the window.

You don't get drunk and hug people after drinking coffee or a mcflurry.

Takeaway drinks have caused a lot of gatherings with young people in many places, and after a few pints nobody is distancing.

@ViaGetty

Simple, because people were getting tipsy and congregating and SD goes out of the window.

Our local independent bar put a BBQ on the frontage and there were maybe 20 people all huddled together at any one time over Christmas, it was crazy.

No logic when carrying a take away hot drink is classed as having a picnic..

Yes, it's all about not gathering in the street into the night, and the SD thing. Seems sensible to me.

Around here there were huge crowds of people on pavements, loads of people taking pints up the road to the park etc

Def an excuse to stand outside with a bunch of mates and carry on

Because drunk, or even tipsy, people are crap at social distancing. What you were doing would be fine, but they don't know if the people their selling to are going to take it home, or drink in groups during "exercise".

the nearest of our many local pubs started serving takeaway. Cue 40 - 50 middle-aged men congregating daily, clogging the pavements, using parked cars as tables. Absolute nightmare and even in non-Covid times you'd say it was horrible. Plastic pint glasses everywhere.

Closed container offsales not a problem.

I see. Where we live everyone was very sensible and arriving to pick up beer then go home again.

I just feel so sorry for the little pubs who try so hard to do the right thing and to just keep their heads above water.

I think you can still get it delivered.
Thank you for supporting your local. The pub industry has been destroyed over the past 10 months.

I’m not sure, neither are necessities. Not sure why off-licences are open either.

Drunk people fill up A&E and utilise police resources. It’d be fine at a sleepy rural pub where people don’t congregate but not in towns and cities and they need a blanket rule for all. It’s social distancing too, but keeping A&E quieter is an aim.

Drunks in the town centre. People buying for underage kids. Do you really need to ask? (But if you want a takaway beer just go to a cornor shop)

Because of all the people that didn't take it home, but congregated together in groups, in public drinking.
In the initial phases of shutting down last year when staff were still onsite we were takeaway selling alcohol, people moved the barriers to our outside seating and just sat there, and then gave us shit when we told them they couldn't, barged past us to use the toilets, or to try and get served from the bar - that was being shut down and cleaned and all the stock that we were selling was by the front door.

Created more problems than it solved and from footage of other places where people have done the same, I can understand why the government have stopped it, though it does impact people who did it sensibly.
It's the pubs that are going to suffer for it though, as usual some people and their entitlement have ruined it for everyone, not least the owners and staff of these places who now cannot sell the stock they're holding off or have any income coming in.
I don't blame the government though, or the pubs for selling it, it's about time people took responsibility for themselves, anyone who did that is part of the reason this rule was brought in.

Where I live on Christmas eve there were public order offences resulting from bars that sold takeaway. It wasn't the genteel middle classes sipping Baileys coffees. Groups of men drinking pints instead.

@Megan2018

Drunk people fill up A&E and utilise police resources. It’d be fine at a sleepy rural pub where people don’t congregate but not in towns and cities and they need a blanket rule for all. It’s social distancing too, but keeping A&E quieter is an aim.

Yeah this is it really. I thought the 10pm closing time rule was ridiculous at first but hospital working friends said as soon as it was brought in there was a reduction in numbers coming into A&E late at night. Anything that reduces drinking reduces pressure on the NHS.

I like to walk along the river with the dog in the evening and in tier 4, the riverside pubs were offering takeaway pints, which is, in theory, a great idea and yes, it should continue just as takeaway coffee does. But in practice, it fails because of the numbskulls who congregate in groups of 10+ and ruin it for everyone else. Our riverside became totally packed and full of drunks. It was awful. Glad it stopped. But what a bummer for the pubs.

You can buy alcohol in any supermarket or off-licence and plenty of corner stores. There is no shortage of places to buy alcohol. By contrast a fresh hot coffee can only be purchased from a cafe or coffee shop (yes some supermarkets have coffee machines but not many and they are low quality and don't cater for people with dietary requirements).

Takeaway coffee isn't really a social thing. You buy a takeaway coffee to drink on the go because you need a caffeine boost. Okay some people who have already met up to socialise might buy takeaway coffees but it's incidental to the meetup. You don't see crowds of people gathering for the sole purpose of drinking takeaway coffee on a pavement together. Pubs are social and most people who'd buy a takeaway beer are doing it to stand around or sit around outside socialising and drinking.

And as mentioned, alcohol makes you drunk and disinhibited and impaired. Groups of drunk people aren't capable of observing social distancing and of course won't be wearing masks. Not the case with coffee.

I live near a naive area with a road of little wine bars, posh pizza places etc. They did takeaway in first lockdown - massive congregations of people and front gardens being used as public toilets. Classy, eh?

Naice obviously, but I guess the business owners were a bit naive!