It’s your favourite day* of the year !
CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide is officially launched this morning, only a few hours after the local media get there first with the new entries;
Is that Carlton Club in Whalley Range actually a pub ? Looks more like a car boot sale.
First and foremost, a big, big, thanks to all the CAMRA members and staff who produce the Guide. Despite criticisms, often from people who don’t visit pubs much, I reckon the GBG gets it right the vast majority of the time.
The 4,503 pubs and us tickers in the Privilege Club saw our copy drop (ugh !) almost 2 weeks ago, causing fury about “breaking the embargo” on Discourse. If you’re going to break the embargo, do it the classy Spurs way,
My book landed (ugh !) 10 days ago, 10 days I’ve used to complete South Yorkshire before BRAPA, something I intend to do every year, even after my death.
The big news is that the GBG has gone back to putting the “counties” in straight alphabetical order, rather than by “regions”. Yawn. BRAPA and I will continue to campaign for an end to that brewery section we have to cut out with a Stanley knife so the book can fit in our man bags.
Actually, just scrap breweries altogether, yeah ?
Some really great new entries again this year, and I really mean that.
Not a duff pint in sight. Pubs are struggling with cost increases but all the pubs I’ve been in had folk enjoying pubs and (OK, occasionally) enjoying cask.
The big decision this year was Corrie or Emmerdale cover ?
My Woolpack edition (top) has a bonus pub, the ONLY outlet for cask John Smiths, and anyone completing the Rovers Return book will therefore NOT be a true completist.
Let the ticking begin.
*Apart from 22 December, obviously
retiredmartin 
Martin,
I see the Crafty Kernel in Shipley (West Yorkshire) is in the guide, but is now closed.
79 new pubs in Yorkshire out of 399 entries. Not sure if that is average churn.
Cheers
Robin
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Sounds on the high side, doesn’t it, Robin ? I shall take a closer look.
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Treat yourself to a larger man bag. It will save all that messy cutting and might even save the odd finger, or two!
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I’ve got 10, it’ll be fine…
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Pubmeister’s copy has 4510 entries “after revisions”. So what happened to the missing seven – is this the origin of the Magnificent Seven?
[IPW]
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I took the word of the Official Pub Counter it was 4,503 , Ian ! Actually my spreadsheet says 4,514. I’m assuming there’s some clan rivalry going on and they regard the Orkneys as Danish.
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In my archives is a copy of the 2010 Danish Beer Guide “Vegan til godt ol” which only has 57 full entries but, crucially, excludes the Orkneys. There are rather short entries, a bit like the old ‘Try Also’ ones in the GBG. Maybe Greenland makes up the difference?
“Godt ol” is missing the accent on ol, which as it seems to mean ‘beer’ means that Danish beer writers need a special keyboard.
Ian Worden
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I meant of course that ‘in addition’ there are some rather short entries.
[IPW]
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I admire your dedication, folk like yourself and Brapa toil away all year, and then they move the goalposts. Is it not very frustrating having visited an awkward pub to get to, only to find another that was nearby now in the guide? I challenged myself to visit every pub in Oxfordshire a few years ago, it was difficult but rewarding, especially as I don’t live in the county. While I’ve visited most again a few times, some were extremely awkward to get to on public transport/ walking.
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Thank you !
I was actually mentioning the point about new entries in a town you’ve just been to with BRAPA this week. We like the challenge, and the going back is part of the fun. It would be dull to only go to Tring once in your life because the two GBG entries never change !
There’s a half dozen or so of us actively trying to complete a current GBG (have done all the entries at some point over time) before the new one comes out. The difficulty is that each year sees around 350-400 new pubs enter the guide, like that one in the Oxford covered market.
I quite like the idea of doing all the pubs in a county; Oxon is as good as any and the villages like Deddington are worth exploring.
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All the pubs in Gloucestershire might be best.
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Interesting suggestion, for those of us who have moved to an entirely new area, say,oh, North East Wales from Staffordshire. Given the GBG churn one mustn’t aim too high.
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I’d be happy ticking North east Wales but I fear Patricks in Bangor would distract me !
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Is that true about the Woolpack edition having an extra pub, and if so can it really considered to be in the Guide if it isn’t in both editions (and only got in one due to a proofing error)?
You’ll be glad to know you can re-visit Harwich for a first time entrant.
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I think I remember when a full stop after a pub name indicated that it served ‘lates’.
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Well, if it’s in this blog you can consider it true, Ed, and even if it isn’t you can have fun looking. There’s a pub ticker called Jim from Saddleworth who compares the entries in the printed book to the on-line app and he’s already found discrepancies (Castle Eden for one).
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And yes, a return to Harwich long overdue, a gorgeous town.
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But, unlike Parwich, you can’t get Robinsons in a proper rural pub.
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Indeed, but I’ve no doubt you’d love Harwich pubs, Paul. Only £222.10 day return.
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I don’t know Parwich but will probably be in Harwich for their Shanty Festival (11th to 13th October) and Sausage Festival (4th November). I’ve not heard whether the pubs are doing a Winter Ale Trail this year (as they did last year) as well as the regular early May one.
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Yes, I’m due another visit as the last time I was in Harwich was nearly forty years ago when Manningtree had a very nice Station Buffet.
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I drank at Manningtree Station Buffet three times in September (according to credit card statement – the signs now say, and the WhatPub name now is, Mainline Coffee). Not quite what it was when it was a regular Guide entry (though I didn’t know it then). It tends to be Greene King beers though it was two of their seasonal brews in good condition rather than the more common options when I was last there. I’ll probably be there tomorrow – I’m testing different walking routes between Manningtree Station and Stratford St Mary (where the Swan have an Oktoberfest event on tomorrow, and had a beer festival 3 weekends ago) via Dedham (return via Flatford Mill if I walk both ways rather than taking the bus back to Colchester station). Tomorrow will be using the Essex Way which is a bit of a longer route. Last weekend was a group of eight of us taking the route I’d tested at the start of the month (though I went off course during the test, which is why I usually test walks alone before taking a group).
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It was a GBG regular from early 2000s to 5+10 years ago, Ed, lovely stop.
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Tendring peninsula very underrated in all regards.
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Manningtree Station Buffet appeared most recently in the 2000 Guide (their 20th appearance since their first in the 1977 Guide), which remained the most appearances for any venue in the Tendring district until the Railway Tavern in Brightlingsea matched them in 2013 and overtook them in 2014 (and they are now appearing for the 30th time, despite changing hands since then).
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Good grief.
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