Have you ever wondered how pubs get into CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide? Unlike some guides, entries into the Good Beer Guide are based entirely on the assessments of CAMRA members over the course of a year. Beer scores play a major part in this. During the year, thousands of scores are collected on London pubs alone and it is only the consistently highest scoring pubs that are considered for the guide; a pub cannot buy its place. The number of pubs allocated to Greater London is only 293 even though there are 2,426 pubs and clubs selling cask beer within our area. It is no easy task to be chosen to be included.
A place in the guide is a label that says ‘We sell great cask beer’ and, for that reason, pubs are delighted when they find out that they have been included. It reflects the hard work and dedication of the whole of the pub’s team over a considerable amount of time. The reward is usually an increase in footfall and a raising of the pub’s profile, particularly for those who have made it into the guide for the first time.
Behind each new entry is a story. Take the Duke in Bloomsbury. Bill and Maddie took on the pub in 2023 and gradually started building a reputation for good quality beer, making this historic 1934 Art Deco pub a place to go to other than for the décor. Coming from a family connected with pubs (Bill’s dad runs the Old Red Lion in Holborn) Bill had a good idea as to what he was doing and the Red Lion is not yet in the Guide! A bit of family rivalry!
There is also the Northumberland Arms in Brentford. This pub is unusual in that the licensee, Ivo Penev, originally from Bulgaria, brews his own beers at a nano-brewery on a tiny island on the Thames. This includes Dark Matter, a 5% ABV porter that has twice won the beer of the festival award at the Twickenham Beer Festival. Ivo also serves a changing range of interesting, often dark ales from other breweries and there is live music from local groups five days a week. This a special pub.
Our third example shows how the expertise in getting one pub into the GBG can be used to do the same with another. Nick Bailey took over the Robin in Stroud Green after running the renowned Southampton Arms in Kentish Town; a regular GBG entry. Using his knowledge and team building skills, the Robin won CAMRA North London branch’s Cider Pub of the Year award in the Spring and now it has its first entry into the Good Beer Guide.
These are just three of the great London pubs in the guide. In all, the guide features 4,500 pubs across the UK and also includes a unique and comprehensive listing of UK breweries (both cask and keg). At only £14.99 plus postage (with the discount for CAMRA members: cover price £16.99), it makes a great Christmas present for anyone who loves pubs or even a treat for yourself. To buy your copy and support CAMRA go to https://tinyurl.com/GBG2026.
All CAMRA members can and indeed are encouraged to enter beer scores for any pub visited. Simply find the pub’s entry on CAMRA’s pub database (https://camra.org.uk/pubs) and then click ‘beer score’ beneath the photo of the pub.
Christine Cryne