The Good Pub Guide 2013

Posted on 06. Sep, 2012 by Robert Gale in Books

The 31st edition of the Good Pub Guide is as thick as ever featuring over 4,700 of the ‘very best British pubs’. Self-described as the ‘only pub guide you’ll ever need’, it is a main competitor to CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide.

The book has drawn some criticism with the last edition of the book due to decision to start charging pubs up to £200 to be featured in the guide. The pubs editors assured readers that the selection of the pubs for inclusion would remain the same and pubs wouldn’t be able to pay for entry into the guide. Pubs would still need to be anonymously inspected before being included in the guide.

About the Guide

The pubs in the book are divided into main entries and lucky dip entries. The main entries are fully inspected anonymously by a member of the editorial. The inspection includes the quality and selection of drinks, the food, the decor, history and more. The pubs need to have some special quality that would appeal to strangers who visit them.

The lucky dip entries contain pubs that have been recommended but not inspected by the team. These pubs will have been consistently recommended so you can still rely on these pubs being good.

The pubs are once again sorted by county after they were sorted into geographical area in the 2012 edition. This didn’t prove popular with readers and made it difficult to quickly find a particular pub or town.

Pub Information

The main entries offer a detailed description on each pub along with the beers that you are likely to find. An equally detailed description of the food on offer is also included. The smaller entries offer a shorter, succinct description of the pub.

Awards

Each year the guide provides awards for the best pus around the country. Pubs winning awards this year are the Fat Cat in Norwich which was awarded Beer Pub of the Year, the Watermill in Cumbria which won Brew Pub of the Year and the Cock in Hemingford Grey which won Pub of the Year. The full list can be viewed here.

Purchase the Book

The book is published by Ebury Press and is available for £15.99. You can buy the book at a reduced price on Amazon.

Robert Gale (Twitter: @awv)

Beer Taster, Pub Attendee, Photo Taker

Robert Gale likes beer, pubs and beer festivals. He also likes to take photos of beer, pubs and beer festivals. Most weekends of the year you can find him travelling around the UK (and sometimes beyond) photographing and reviewing good quality pubs and beer festivals. He also has a day job in the form of a web developer for Ozum.