The Good Beer Guide 2023 is finally here. Along with the existing numerous London pubs already on the list, a whole new load of boozers have been added this year.

Queen’s Inn in Hawkhurst, near Tunbridge Wells The Golden Lion sits right at the heart of the village of LuddesdownThe 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. Wetherspoon’s pubs across the UK have been acclaimed for the quality of their real ale – by members of their respective Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) branches. Pubs from Arnold to Worksop, in villages, towns and Nottingham city centre are amongst 4,500 across the UK that have all been vetted by thousands of CAMRA volunteers to make sure they're worthy of inclusion. To be listed is hailed "a fantastic achievement" for a pub.

This guide is a clarion call to get involved, to go local, to preserve humanity and courtesy in our Pubs, not have them turned into mere alcohol cash machines.’ Another pub to be added to the guide after only being open a short amount of time is Three Sheets to the Wind in Rochester. CAMRA’s national chairman Nik Antona said: “It is a huge achievement that we’re able to celebrate 50 years of publishing the Good Beer Guide, and a real testament to the hard work and dedication of our volunteers, who undertake the assessments. The original Kimberley Brewery sign on the ceiling at Roots Emporium (Image: Joseph Raynor/ Nottingham Post)There were also plenty of Kent pubs who kept their place in the guide for another year, along with a selection of local breweries. The Good Beer Guide is a book published annually by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) listing what it considers to be the best 4,500 real ale outlets ( pubs, clubs, and off-licences) in the United Kingdom. [1] Details [ edit ] First edition in 1974

We put theirs on and sometimes it will go in one night and the same with Oakham, it's a very popular beer for us, but they like Bristol Beer Factory and Twisted Wheel. It's giving people a choice really." Earl Grey in Northfleet, near Gravesend The Earl Grey has been a popular watering hole on Northfleet's Vale Road for more than 250 years The Little Gem is run by Ollie Aubrey, who is also in charge at the Walnut Tree in Maidstone - another new pub to have made the guide this year. The Boleyn Tavern was lately transformed from a football boozer into an upmarket gastropub (Image: 2018 Getty Images)

The family-run pub opened in April last year on Rochester High Street, selling Austrian and Kent beers to reflect the owners’ heritage. A number of notable pubs have also made a new appearance in this year’s guide, including The Alma in Painter’s Forstall, near Faversham, Smugglers Record Shop in Deal and The Magnet in Broadstairs. The content of the guide is decided upon by volunteers in CAMRA's 200-plus local branches. Throughout the preceding year CAMRA members anonymously rate the quality of the cellarmanship of beer in venues using CAMRA's National Beer Scoring System (NBSS) through either WhatPub or the Good Beer Guide app. [2] These scores are then reviewed by local volunteers in the spring who put forward those they consider to serve the best real ale. The number of entries each branch area has is decided at county level with an emphasis on ensuring that a geographically wide spread set of entries are included in each year's Guide. Entries for each venue give details on factual information such as opening times, food availability and accessibility of the property, as well as subjective information such as the attractiveness of the wallpaper and the welcome visitors are likely to get from the bar staff. The 2023 edition of CAMRA's Good Beer Guide is the 50th in the series of this essential reference to the best 4,500 or so of the UK's pubs. To mark this milestone, the layout of the book has been updated in line with that found in other major national guide books that appear annually such as National Trust and English Heritage. The anniversary was marked by launches in pubs around the country on 27 October, including in our own Seven Stars in Falmouth which has been in 49 out of the 50 Guides, only missing out in 1974 because our local CAMRA branch in Cornwall was still being formed. There are only five pubs in the whole country that have been in all 50 editions.

Boak, Jessica; Bailey, Ray (19 June 2014). Brew Britannia: The Strange Rebirth of British Beer. Aurum. ISBN 978-1-78131-271-1.

Meet the CofE trained minister set to star as The Yorkshire Exorcist in a new documentary on Really TV The 50th anniversary edition of the guide has a foreword by King Charles, who said pubs played a vital role during the pandemic, going above and beyond to supply meals to isolating households, selling necessities such as bread and milk and trying to counter loneliness through virtual events and quizzes.