I like the Good Beer Guide. I always buy the latest edition. I have it on my sat-nav, I use it on every trip. Over the years, I have helped with surveys, editing and distribution - I trust the formula.
However, every now and then it lets me down. Last week, I came across the most dirty pub I have been in for years. The furniture was filthy, the carpets too. It has had no investment for years despite being owned by one of the regional breweries. Sometimes these pubs do make it into the GBG if the beer is of sufficient quality to overcome all of these deficiencies. After all it is the GOOD BEER Guide. On this occasion the beer was close to being undrinkable too.
I suppose the guide covers about 5,000 pubs so sometimes things will slip in depending on each local CAMRA branch. I would be surprised to see this pub in the Guide again unless it receives some significant improvements - both to the decor and the beer.
I hope I have more luck this week. My research continues.
9 comments:
You're not going to let us know where it was, then?
Are you going to name and shame it? Or contact someone from the relevant CAMRA branch so they can check it out and have it deleted.
Corrections to GBG are published on CAMRA web site and in What's Brewing.
Deletions and other changes are applied directly to the SatNav and Mobile versions of the guide.
Give us a cryptic clue Stevie!
There are too many holy cows put in by certain branches. I know of one pub in the guide where a landlord is a racist and regularly tells English customers to "F off". Still in the Guide.
The worst one I'm aware of is run by the town drunk - a violent racist and homophobe - the pub even runs out of beer regularly - the town drunk being too incapable of changing barrels. Yet this stinking pub is still in the GBG!
I am one of the volunteers who inputs into the GBG and I know how much unpaid hard work volunteers put in. However this was the first year I did not buy one. I have visited over half the guide now and would fail 1/3 of them for not even being standard beer quality. Would like to know which pub this was! I find local Camra magazines and the internet far more useful and up to date now. I know there are many and varied ways pubs are voted in, still if only 5 members out of a total 350 branch turn out then you get what you are given!!
How's the research going?
I have elaborated more on the latest post. Steve
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