Be an ale expert with Good Beer Guide

Information on the brewing process, beer styles and tastings is front and centre in the Good Beer Guide 2020, CAMRA’s premier publication featuring the very best pubs to find a great pint in the UK.

The Good Beer Guide, which surveys 4,500 of the best pubs across the UK, is the definitive beer drinker’s guide to the best pints in the nation’s pubs. New to this year, it boasts a new education section to fulfil CAMRA’s commitment to play a leading role in helping beer-lovers learn and discover more about their favourite drink.

Features include:

• How beer is brewed, outlining the key ingredients of beer and preparation methods

• How to appreciate beer, from the best temperature and glassware to tasting guidelines to assess quality 

• Guidance on when to take your pint back to the bar, if required 

• Charting beer styles to help find the right style for you

The 10-page section is the latest offering in a series of activities to help members become beer connoisseurs, complemented by tutored tastings at beer festivals meet the brewer events. It is also one of the ‘10 great reasons’ to join the campaigning organisation within its new membership drive.

Alex Metcalfe, Learning & Discovery Manager said: “The idea is to help anyone become a beer connoisseur and make the information accessible and available to all. Developing your tasting skills is an important step towards learning more about your favourite drinks, and we hope that this new section will give readers the sensory and verbal repertoire to articulate preferences when coming across a novel or unfamiliar brew.  

“Beer can be seen as an exclusive or ‘geeky’ hobby, which can be off-putting when a novice is trying to decide what to order at the bar. As a consumer organisation, we want to provide all the resources available to help more people feel informed and confident about their favourite drink.”

Nik Antona, CAMRA National Chairman said: “CAMRA is sometimes called an ‘old man’s drinking club’ - but it is so much more than that to so many people. Whether you decide to join to campaign for great real ale and cider, to save your local from closure, to find the best pubs in Britain or to get more value for money, there really is no better time to support the organisation.  

“That’s why we’ve come up with 10 Great Reasons to join – and I’m very proud that our Learn & Discover offering will become a new great reason to participate for anyone with an interest in beer and brewing.” 

Free Learn & Discover Zones will be rolled out at CAMRA beer festivals across the country, with basic beer-focused content available to anyone on the Learn & Discover platform. Members will be able to access additional ‘expert’ and ‘connoisseur’ content, which will continue to be built over the coming months.

Discover all of the pubs listed, and more, with CAMRA’s new Good Beer Guide app, available on both iOS and Android device or visit the CAMRA shop for your copy: shop.camra.org.uk