Good Beer Guide 2023

The 50th Edition of the Good Beer Guide was released on 27th October. This guide lists not the ‘best pubs’ but the pubs where you can find the best quality real ale in the country – more than 4,500 of them. There are styles of pub for every taste – from country inns through urban style bars to backstreet boozers.

Whenever a new guide is released, there is always plenty of comment on social media (mainly from the people who never miss the opportunity to ‘have a go’ at CAMRA) and it normally covers two areas – the guide is out of date before it is published and/or we’ve selected pubs that aren’t very good. This year has been no exception; so I’d like to take the opportunity to put our side of the argument.

Firstly, is the guide out of date? There is inevitably going to be a time lag between final selection of the pubs and the book being printed. There is always the possibility that a pub will close, or a change of licensee lead to a reduction in beer quality or availability. Many of the pubs that are included are Free Houses, with a constantly changing array of beers on offer, and it is never going to be possible to tell our readers exactly what is going to be on the bar. Opening hours can change – and for this reason we have omitted these from the guide for the last two years. Our recommendation to anyone using the guide is to cross check the information with the entry on WhatPub before setting off. This will give up to date (or as up-to-date as we can get) information on each entry and fuller information than is available in the book. The website is available to members and non-members completely free and can be found at https://whatpub.com. The one area in this year’s guide that is out of date already is in relation to the foreword, which we proudly announce was written by HRH The Prince of Wales. Of course, by the time the guide was printed, HRH had become King Charles III, but the message and sentiment are unchanged and worth reading.

The second criticism is that we’ve selected pubs that aren’t very good. The selection of the pubs in any area is down to the individual branches and relies on contributions from our members – through scoring beers and making their thoughts known. If you think we’ve got the local pubs wrong – by all means tell us, but even better, why not get involved and help us make a better selection next year?

We don’t produce full lists of our pubs that make the GBG, although the local press invariably get hold of a copy and splash the information across their social media sites. This time round 5 of the branch pubs make the guide for the very first time, so we’re going to give them a special mention. These 5 pubs all have one thing in common – they have only been in existence for a few years at most, some of the new breed of micropub that has changed the drinking scene in many towns across the country.

The longest established of these is the SHED & GARDEN in Chorley. It opened in 2017 (just called the Shed), but following expansion into the adjoining unit and a change of name, the beer quality has improved significantly. The pub not only makes the GBG for the first time, but was awarded the Branch’s Most Improved Pub Award for 2022.

In Adlington, the OLD POST OFFICE only opened in 2021 and serves as the brewery tap for the Escape Brewery in Westhoughton. Unusually for a micropub it has a sizeable garden with pleasant views. This pub was our Pub of the Season for Autumn 2022.

LOSTOCK ALE in Lostock Hall opened in 2020 and shortly afterwards expanded into an adjoining unit. With 6 handpumps, serving mainly beers from local microbreweries, the pub was our Pub of the Season Winter 2021/2.

The other two are both in Preston. CRAFTY BEGGARS in Fulwood opened in 2020 while TAP END at Ashton opened in 2020 and was the Branch’s ‘best new real ale outlet’ for 2022.

While it is encouraging to see new real ale pubs making their mark and getting in the guide, it is also great to see long-standing entries clock up significant milestones. The WHEATSHEAF in Croston has notched up a creditable 10 years running in the guide, which is even more noteworthy given that this is pubco owned. Even more amazing is the SPINNERS ARMS (Bottom Spinners) in Adlington which has now achieved 20 consecutive years in the guide. Both pubs will be getting the special Dave Linley award in the New Year for their achievement.

The 2023 Good Beer Guide is on sale at all good booksellers and direct from CAMRA. The list price is £16.99, reduced to £14.99 for members. With Christmas just around the corner, this would make an ideal stocking filler for the beer lover in your life (or just buy one for yourself). ADRIAN SMITH