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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Good Beer Guide - still the best after 30 years, 1 Dec 2002
Beer! The preserve of bearded men with pot bellies, served with lots of unidentifiable floating bits, in a smoky pub? How wrong the stereotype is. In our cool Northern European climate beer is our traditional drink. As varied and as interesting as wine; sometimes light and smooth, often amber and bitter, but also sweet potent and powerful, those who dismiss it haven't ever really tried it. Here is a book that will guide you to an understanding and appreciation of beer. Wherever you are; waiting for a train, on the way to a theatre, on holiday, or planning a night out, this book will make a pub serving good beer easy to find.Celebrating its thirtieth edition, the Good Beer Guide remains the ultimate reference work for those who are interested in that difficult combination - good beer and a good pub. This is not a run of the mill pub guide with the usual emphasis on inglenooks, beams and extensive food menus. True the reader will find plenty of classic country inns with horse brasses and fireplaces, but also many excellent urban hostelries ranging from basic back street locals to sophisticated brew pubs and specialist ale houses. The common factor uniting this disparate and eclectic collection is beer. Good Beer Guide listed pubs all serve cask conditioned beer ('Real Ale'), with the choice ranging from a couple of ales to well into double figures. Consistently excellent beer quality is the overriding qualification for entry rather than the building, landlord or services offered, after all there is little point in sitting in a pretty pub with a choice of a dozen ales which are all stale and flat. That said those that receive the accolade of an entry tend to be vibrant and interesting places. In some conversation rules, others host live music, some champion traditional games, others quizzes or beer festivals. The well organised listings are divided alphabetically into counties, whilst larger cities are divided again into manageable areas. Each features a useful map indicating the location of both pubs and breweries. An extensive and thorough brewery section details every independent brewery in the UK, giving details of their beer range and comprehensive tasting notes. An index for both places and beers makes locating information simple and practical. Most entries receive a full listing giving information about the type of pub, beers stocked, opening times, facilities, meals, proximity to rail services and accommodation where applicable. Some 'Inn Brief' entries have shorter pen portraits. Watch out for these as they are often located on a different page to other entries for the same town and are easy to miss (the only real gripe with this book). The guide's introductory section carries a number of interesting articles from top beer writers, including Roger Protz (editor), Jeff Evans and Michael Jackson (no, the one with the beard, not the one who dangles babies out of windows!). A great strength of the guide is its reliability as all the recommeded pubs are visited regularly throughout the year. Volunteers from the Campaign for Real Ale (which has about 65000 members) undertake the work, making this a truly independent and authoritative publication. About a third of entries change every year, so don't be tempted to try to get by with last year's copy. An indispensable purchase.
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