READING and Wokingham brewers, publicans and beer drinkers are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the guide to all things real ale.
CAMRA has launched its latest edition of The Good Beer Guide, aimed at helping people find the perfect pint.
And it should be no surprise that the Ding features heavily.
Award-winning author Laura Hadland has showcased the local beer highlights across the South East of England, including Finchampstead-based brewery Siren.
Writing in a bespoke foreword for the South East section of the Guide, Hadland she says the region is “a strong tradition of innovation and quality… [and] offers a charming selection of memorable activities, not least a visit to Britain’s oldest brewery, Shepherd Neame in Faversham, Kent.”
She encourages beer tourists to visit the twice-crowned National CAMRA Pub of the Year, The Bell in Aldworth, as well as the UK’s first micropub, the Butcher’s Arms in Herne. She also highlights Siren Craft Brew in Berkshire as a brewery to watch.
The Good Beer Guide, which is published annually by CAMRA, helps beer lovers take a barometer of the local beer scene.
As well as covering 659 of the very best pubs across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Kent, Surrey, East and West Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, it keeps track of brewery numbers, and notes a net loss of four breweries across the counties.
CAMRA National Chairman Nik Antona says: “For nearly five decades, the Good Beer Guide has been a comprehensive guide to the UK’s breweries, their ales, and the best outlets to find them in across the country.
“The Good Beer Guide has always had an important role in acting as a barometer of the beer and pub industry. We believe information gleaned from the Guide is absolutely vital in the drive to save our pubs from closure and campaign for policies that better support pubs, local brewers and their customers.
“While we experienced a boom in the brewing industry over recent years, it’s clear that the effects of Covid-19 and subsequent cost of living and cost of goods crisis has been keenly felt. I’d encourage everyone to use this Guide to seek out the very best examples of pub excellence and support these locals by visiting them.”
The Good Beer Guide, which reviews over 4,500 pubs across the UK, is the definitive beer drinkers’ guide to the very best pints in a variety of styles of pubs to suit individual tastes. Compiled by thousands of independent volunteers, it helps identify significant trends and themes locally and nationally.
Here are the Berkshire entries:
The Bell Inn in Aldworth, The Victoria Arms in Binfield, The Elm Tree in Beech Hill, The Tally Ho in Eversley, The Wheelwright Arms in Hurst, The Bell in Waltham St Lawrence, Wargrave and District Snooker Club, The Cripsin in Wokingham, Elusive Brewing Tap Room in Wokingham, Outhouse Brewery in Wokingham, The Queen’s Head in Wokinghamn, The Ship Inn in Wokingham, The Rowbarge in Woolhampton
Caversham: The Fox and Hounds, The Griffin.
Reading: The Alehouse, The Allied Arms, The Greyfriar, The Moderation, The Nag’s Head, Park House (University of Reading), The Retreat, The Three Guineas, The Weather Station (now closed)
Tilehurst: The Fox and Hounds, The Royal Oak.
BREWERIES: Bond Brews, Bucklebury, Butts, Dolphin, Double-Barrelled, Elusive, FutureState, Phantom Brewery, Renegade, Siren Craft Brew, Stardust, Wild Weather, Zerodegrees.
CAMRA has created a new Good Beer Guide app, available on iOs and as a web-based app at https://gbgapp.camra.org.uk
The beer guide can be ordered via: https://shop1.camra.org.uk/product/the-good-beer-guide-2023/
