What makes an ideal English pub? In a book review of 1946, George Orwell knew. In his favourite, The Moon Under Water, the clientele were mostly “regulars(常客)”, “who occupy the same chair every evening and go there for conversation as much as for the beer(与喝啤酒一样多)”. The fittings were “uncompromisingly Victorian(毫不妥协的维多利亚风格)”, from the grained woodwork to the cast-iron fireplaces. The house had neither a radio nor a piano, and any singing “is of a decorous(端庄的，得体的) kind”.
什么是理想的英式酒吧？在1946年的一篇书评中，乔治·奥威尔知道答案。在他最喜欢的“月亮水下”酒吧，顾客大多是“常客”，“每晚坐同一把椅子，去那里是为了聊天，也和为了喝啤酒一样多”。装修是“毫不妥协的维多利亚风格”，从木纹工艺到铸铁壁炉。店里没有收音机也没有钢琴，任何唱歌“都是端庄的那种”。
Humphrey Smith took this to heart(铭记于心). As owner for nearly four decades of the proudly independent(骄傲独立) Samuel Smith Old Brewery in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire (estd. 1758), he wanted his pubs to fit Orwell’s template. And there were a lot of them: almost 300 scattered(散布) up and down Britain, mostly in small villages in the north, but also in Bristol and Bath, and 39 in London. There he owned some famous hostelries(旅店), including Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese(老柴郡奶酪酒吧) in Fleet Street, the haunt of(常去的地方) Dickens and Dr Johnson.
汉弗莱·史密斯对此铭记于心。作为位于北约克郡塔德卡斯特、建于1758年的骄傲独立的塞缪尔·史密斯老啤酒厂近四十年的所有者，他希望自己的酒吧符合奥威尔的模板。这样的酒吧有很多：近300家散布在英国各地，主要在北部的小村庄，但也在布里斯托尔和巴斯，伦敦有39家。在那里他拥有一些著名的旅店，包括舰队街的老柴郡奶酪，那是狄更斯和约翰逊博士常去的地方。
Accordingly, all his pubs had a certain look and sound about them. Dark, cosy, heavy on the leather and brass, with not a TV or a piano about. No Muzak(背景音乐), either; just the buzz of conversation(聊天的嗡嗡声). Nothing was for sale that was not brewed by Samuel Smith or grown in Yorkshire, even to the crisps; but no branding was allowed, inside or out. The beer (Old Brewery Bitter, Nut Brown Ale and Yorkshire Stingo, to name but a few(仅举几例)) had been brewed from Tadcaster spring water filtered through Permian limestone(二叠纪石灰岩), and the worts had been fermented in rare slate tanks called Yorkshire squares(约克郡方槽). Barrels were made on the premises by his own coopers(箍桶匠), and those going to pubs round Tadcaster were delivered on a dray(平板马车) by two magnificent grey shire horses(夏尔马) stabled in the brewery.
因此，他所有的酒吧都有特定的外观和氛围。黑暗、舒适，多用皮革和黄铜，没有电视或钢琴，也没有背景音乐，只有聊天的嗡嗡声。出售的东西必须是塞缪尔·史密斯酿造或在约克郡种植的，连薯片也不例外；但内外都不允许有品牌标识。啤酒（老啤酒厂苦啤、坚果棕艾尔和约克郡斯廷戈，仅举几例）是用经二叠纪石灰岩过滤的塔德卡斯特泉水酿造，麦芽汁在称为“约克郡方槽”的稀有石板槽中发酵。酒桶由他自己的箍桶匠在场内制作，运往塔德卡斯特周边酒吧的酒桶用一辆运货马车由两匹饲养在啤酒厂的灰色夏尔马运送。