We know how unpredictable the British summer weather can be, but a national pub company has found the perfect solution to getting caught out in the wrong gear during the Bank Holiday sunshine, as it launches the UK’s first beer garden vending machine, containing all of your summer essentials.
With UK temperatures set to soar for the bank holiday weekend, Greene King, the UK’s leading managed pub company and brewer, has revealed the unusual vending machine at the Anchor Bankside pub in Southwark, which is stocked with everything you might need for a day relaxing in the sun with a cold pint – from sunglasses and flip flops to sun cream and hats.
And you can forget any embarrassing t-shirt tan lines, as the machine also stocks a range of light-weight and stylish shorts and vests, to help keep beer garden lovers cool in the sizzling August sun.
The quirky vending machine has been revealed after Greene King found that more than one third of Brits (36%) spend up to three hours in their local beer garden on an average visit and one in ten spend up to FIVE HOURS in the hot summer sunshine.
Despite this, the average pub-goer will not be beer garden ready, with almost half of Brits (49%) claiming they forget the sun cream and 38 percent admitting to burning whilst enjoying a day of outdoor drinking.
Punters at the Anchor Bankside pub will be able to stay safe and comfortable during the hot weather, with a host of summer essentials available from the beer garden vending machine, at just £1 per item.
The pub company, which has 1,000 pubs with beer gardens across the UK, is predicting a bumper bank holiday weekend, with over 170,000 burgers, almost 2 million pints and a quarter of a million gin and tonics expected to be sold as the public head to the beer garden to make the most of what could be the last of this summer’s hot weather.
Phil Thomas, chief commercial officer at Greene King, said: “When the sunshine comes, we know there’s nothing better than getting outdoors and enjoying a pint in the sunshine, which is why we’re trialing the beer garden vending machine to ensure our guests don’t get caught out in the heat without the sunshine essentials.
“With temperatures set to get up to 30 degrees this bank holiday, it is shaping up to be a fantastic long weekend and a very busy couple of days for our pubs!”
The beer garden vending machine is being trialed at the Anchor Bankside now, and if successful, could be rolled out to over 1,000 Greene King beer gardens up and down the country.
To find your nearest Greene King pub, visit www.greeneking.co.uk/pub-finder/
