perfect! Thanks, PatrickLondon! I think this is exactly what I was looking for.

One could argue that beer that comes in pitchers - or for $1.25 each - are probably not drinkable.>

Yes PBR is probably not drinkable to you but it is a rage with younger folk these days - one of few independent breweries I think and made au naturel - oh what could food snobs drink before the advent of micro-breweries? Swill - a Bud is perfectly fine for me as it was for my parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents.

And the 3.80 quid pints of beer in English may be Bud too or Miller - you'd have to pay a lot more for some fancy micro-brew I'd wager.

So compare apples to apples not to oranges.

>> Many of the beautiful old pubs are parts of a chain, where the food seems to be standardized.<<

Indeed. I've seen the vans delivering to a fair few. Which is not to say the food is unpalatable or unhealthy (or no more so than you would expect from fat- and stodge-heavy pub food).

Pub grub is what it's called I believe - pubs are pubs - make most of their money selling booze not food I think - but the food there is probably what many Brits eat every day - wine bars which I hear are taking over some traditional old pubs on the other hand I think specialize in food and wine but not pints of lager or bitter.

This is my daughter's local
www..mayflowerpub.co.uk
Not cheap but so much atmosphere. On Friday nights they offer a fantastic deal.
Fish and chips for two - 10£ upstairs with candlelight. Might be out of the way for you. With an outdoor deck right on the Thames.

>>but the food there is probably what many Brits eat every day <<

I'd be surprised. An occasional thing, maybe.

<pubs are pubs - make most of their money selling booze not food I think>

Nope, other way round. The profit margins are in food. It is rare to find a pub these days that doesn't cater at least for lunch.

I suspect that many pubs are supplied by this firm
http://www.brake.co.uk
Their food is perfectly acceptable

I've never see Budweiser on tap in an English pub, although I've seen it in supermarkets.
The only time I've seen jugs was years ago in a tiny Cheshire pub run by a pair of elderly sisters. There were no pumps and the old ladies would bring jugs of ale up from the cellar

Sorry that did not work. Try this.
themayflowerrotherhithe.com

I've seen Bud on draught. I tried it once in 1989, on bad days I can still taste it, something like rice shavings mixed with wall paper paste and horrribly cold (to take the taste away)

If you want cheap beer go to wetherspoons, a sort of TGF without the cheer. They only buy close to out of date beer so it is cheap.

"lager" to store beer before consumption to improve the taste

makes you think

Because of high turnover, the beer quality at wetherspoons is often good (It's quite rare to get a bad pint). The food and clientele on the other hand ...

>> The food and clientele on the other hand ...<<

[cough] That would, on occasion, be me. Wetherspoon's pubs also have - hooray - NO PIPED MUSIC.

Wetherspoons seem to be a genuine budget pub!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wetherspoons

Wetherspoons are well known for the good value of their breakfasts. The downside is that the other patrons are the sort of people who need their first drink before 9 o'clock.

I tend to get around £20 worth of Wetherspoon vouchers a year, but hardly ever use them. I've been to one really pleasant Wetherspoons - on Cardiff bay.

All my local branches are ruined by the patrons - as Chartley has said, often those who need to start drinking at 9am. There are plenty of Wetherspoon pubs in the Good Beer Guide - possibly I'm just in a very bad area.

We go for breakfast at Wetherspoon's in Rotherhithe where prices are lower than any other Wetherspoon's. It's true the beer patrons are there at 9 a.m. or earlier.