Good Pub Guide is now just a paid for directory

[Fletch456]

Bad news - The Good Pub guide is no longer an independent list of reviewed pubs but a list of paid for entries and therefore a directory. I’ve had lots of success at finding good pubs with it so am glad I have a 2011 copy – it’s been very handy when wanting somewhere to eat or drink in a town I don’t know well and enabled me and family to avoid boring obvious places that are on the High Street.



Perhaps they shot themselves in the foot when put the whole thing online, though I for one still buy the book and take it out with me. Suspect it’s also down to lazy management who want greater margin and cost reduction. Though this changes the guide entirely and I won’t be buying it again whilst it operates like this.



Explorer is playing up so am unable to insert a link to the article but if you google good pub guide it is in the Daily Mail and appears in the top 5 results.

 

[srw]

‘However, selection of the pubs for inclusion remains exactly as before. No pub can gain an entry simply by paying a fee. Only pubs that have been inspected anonymously, approved and then invited to join are included.’

Other good pubs will appear in the guide free of charge but with a limited review.

So. No change to the criteria for selection.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Get the CaskFinder app. Shows you all the nearest Cask Marque pubs and what's 'on tap'.

 

[dodgy]

I think the Good Beer Guide has always been the more trusted of the two publications? And with smartphones and all that, we don't need to carry a gert big book around with us everywhere

 

[Fletch456]

So. No change to the criteria for selection.

True though it suggests to me that the much more useful, longer reviews will be those that were paid for. So pubs I usually go to may end up with a smaller listing such as the lucky dip one that exists currently.

 

[Fletch456]

+1 Ive got the book, the app and the satnav way points. In fact its almost a hobby

Dear All Good Beer Guide fans,

Of which I am one too so it will be handy for me so will follow up on your endorsements. Though one very useful thing in the good pub guide is finding pubs to eat in, does the beer one cover that too?

 

[Alan Whicker]

Good Beer Guide. It's where it's at. You do get anomalies where the local CAMRA judges may or may not have fallen out with a deserving publican though...

As for Cask Marque ... very unreliable in my 'umble experience.

 

[dodgy]

I'd go as far as to say that Cask Marque is a joke. I know a few pubs that have been awarded it and they're nothing of note. One of them likes to keep their beer (not lager) so cold, you get condensation on the outside of the glass. I complained to a member of staff (young girl, so probably not 'up' on her real ales ) who replied by saying "that's good though isn't it? beer is supposed to be cold".

 

[Fletch456]

I complained to a member of staff (young girl, so probably not 'up' on her real ales ) who replied by saying "that's good though isn't it? beer is supposed to be cold".

lol! Maybe CAMRA could test the staff.

 

[Christopher]

Cask Marque has been the most reliable indicator of good beer I've found, but it isn't infallible. I've found the GBG and Camra local newsletters to be very subjective. For example there's apparently a decent brewpub near Manchester that isn't in the GBG whereas a more ordinary pub nearby is (won't name them as I haven't been to either). Also one of the four supposedly best pubs in the UK according to the GBG is near me. It's quite good but it should be extraordinary if it's better than the Eagle & Child at Bispham Green. It isn't even as good.

Another thing that i hate is unimiginative cask ales: Deuchars, Timmy Taylors Landlord and Theakstons Bitter. Boring boring boring. Went on hols to North Yorkshire and seemly every "real ale" pub had those same three beers. They are the real ale equivalents of Watneys Red Barrel and Double Diamond.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Another thing that i hate is unimiginative cask ales: Deuchars, Timmy Taylors Landlord and Theakstons Bitter. Boring boring boring. Went on hols to North Yorkshire and seemly every "real ale" pub had those same three beers. They are the real ale equivalents of Watneys Red Barrel and Double Diamond.

I agree with Landlord as a dull cask ale, shame really, because the bottled version is very good in my opinion.

 

[Stephenite]

You lot don't know you're born!

 

[Stephenite]

A good pub guide for norway would be one page long, inc. photos. A good beer guide would be a paragraph. What i wouldn't give for a pint of 'unimaginative' real ale.

The 'British' theme pub has just re-opened under a new name in Oslo. Beer (there's only one sort) costs £7.50 a glass. A couple of 'Irish' pubs sell Caffrey's at c.£8. But there is one bar/pub selling Old Speckled Hen. Nectar! But probably considered 'unimginative' by connoisseurs.

Of course, there are three pubs/bars that brew their own beer in the the country. One in Oslo, one in Moss and one in Trondheim.

There you go. I should publish that with a few photos. The Good Pub and Beer Guide of Norway - £30.00

 

[vernon]

I agree with Landlord as a dull cask ale, shame really, because the bottled version is very good in my opinion.

Taste is a subjective thing and I have a diametrically opposite view of Timothy Taylor's wares.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Taste is a subjective thing and I have a diametrically opposite view of Timothy Taylor's wares.

I respect your right to be wrong!