Launch of the 2026

 CAMRA Good Beer Guide

 Friday 26 September

The Seven Stars

BS1 6JG

CAMRA is launching the 53rd edition of its ever-popular Good Beer Guide at the end of September. The guide is the UK’s best-selling beer and pub guide, which showcases 4,500 of the best pubs across the UK. It is the definitive source for those seeking top quality ale and cider, and the guide includes 63 pubs chosen by our local Bristol & District branch, covering Bristol and parts of South Gloucestershire and North Somerset. (Bath & Borders branch has its own separate allocation.)

Those 63 pubs were the subject of many visits and much debate amongst local members over the last 12 months, and many more pubs were nominated than we have space for. As is the case every year the selection procedure was particularly close in our branch area and a number of pubs that serve quality real ale have narrowly missed out on inclusion.

A place in the guide is much sought after by all licensees who are serious about keeping real ale, so commiserations to those pubs that are not included. It doesn’t mean that you don’t sell good quality beer, it’s just that the competition continues to increase and we are restricted on numbers of pubs that can be included.

Nobody who enjoys a quality pint of ale should be without this book – especially if you plan to travel around the UK for business or pleasure. The guide will steer you towards some of the pubs with the best quality beer in that area, and you could always try other pubs nearby as well. Even if you bought the guide last year, the ever-changing pub industry means that a significant amount of it will now be out of date.

In addition the Good Beer Guide aims to list all known real ale breweries and their regular beers (many thousands). Many ofthese will also have tasting notes supplied to steer you towards your style of beer – it can be bewildering to see a large bank of handpumps and have no idea which one is for you. This list also comes in handy at beer festivals or when buying beers in an off-license or supermarket. There are also always numerous interesting beer-related articles to read.

The guide is set to be published on 25 September and will be available from the CAMRA online shop.

To order yours go to Good Beer Guide 2026 - CAMRA shop

Alternatively, come along to the local launch at the Seven Stars on the 26th and buy a discounted copy while you’re there...

If you have any feedback about existing or potential Good Beer Guide pubs in our branch area you can email Martin Gray: marting1@sky.com

The selection process used by the branch to arrive at our Good Beer Guide entries is documented HERE