Books : Good Beer Guide 2008

Rating: - B R Drinker "S.A.D." is close to the truth
I get the GBG every year as a CAMRA member and I have to agree with B R Drinker "S.A.D." to a certain extent. There is also the problem that some places don't get visited very often by whoever chooses which pubs go in the Guide for that area whereas other do (look at the number of entries for St Albans!). Plus some pubs in the past have been marked down and taken out of the Guide for reasons which escape me -- I suspect that "poor beer quality" sometimes means "I didn't like the look of the other drinkers".

Some pubs will never get in the guide (McMullens managed pubs spring to mind as they use cask breathers) but the absence of an entry does not automatically mean a pub is poor.

Having said all that, it is invaluable in those parts of the country with reputations as "beer deserts" and doesn't just list the pubs but also the independent breweries, so I won't knock more than one star off.

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Rating: - It's simple, it's a guide to the best pubs for beer
Contary to the rather confused review below, I personally think the mission statement of the Good Beer Guide couldn't be simpler: it's a guide to the best pubs for real ale in Britain. Hence the neatly descriptive title. All guides potentially suffer from the fact that some pubs/tourist attractions etc in certain areas get left out even though they are almost as good/interesting as those that get included. Largely it's a matter of regional taste. A Lancastrian might well find a revered Somerset pub not to their tastes and vice versa.

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Rating: - Beer or Pub Guide?
The problem is that this book doesnt know whether it is a pub guide or a beer guide. In those areas that are poor in Good Beer outlets an entry might be achieved for a pub which would never get in if it were in an area with lots of good beer pubs. It would be better if CAMRA branches waived their right to an entry in favour of those outside their boundries to let better pubs in which have fallen out of the allocation. Entries are proposed by local branches for their area. It would be much better if a national scheme was in place and only good beer pubs went in. If this meant some areas had no entries and others had many so be it. CAMRA is a campaigning organisation and some incentive to improve should be present. It is not a beer drinkers club.