This page was last on 03 February 2008 22:49:38.

What do you and I look for in a pub?  Almost certainly, they will be different things.  From my time in the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), their definition of a good pub for inclusion in the Good Beer Guide was strictly limited to whether the real ale was up to standard.  A broader selection criteria is used for Pub of the Year contests and when I organised such contests for the Forest area the considerations I requested people to look at when assessing a pub included – 

• Quality, price and selection of real ale

• Welcome and service offered by staff

• Does the pub promote real ale?

• How much does the pub involve itself in the local community?

• External tidiness and layout

• Internal tidiness and layout

• Atmosphere of pub 

• Age range/mix of customers

Personally, I consider one of the more important of these (and also the hardest to judge objectively) is the atmosphere – the feel – of the place.  It makes all the difference between a place you just go for a beer, and one where you can relax as well!  Although I don’t have this checklist to hand when visiting a pub - or even actively think about it – anyone will pick up on most of these things automatically.  By the time you order your beer you will have your opinion on the layout, welcome and atmosphere, and shortly afterwards the quality and price of your beer!  

For ease of use, I have given the pubs listed on this web site marks out of  four – four being excellent – but these are strictly my own opinions.  The marks are heavily weighted towards real ale: no real ale and the mark will not go above two out of four!  If you think differently about my write ups and marking I will be pleased to insert your views on this site – either via the guest book or directly onto the site – provided that your views are printable and legal.

Free Houses

A lot of pubs that advertise themselves as a free house do not have the ability to buy beer freely.  Some pubs not owned by pub chains but have had cellar refits done by a brewer or pub group.  In this area it is likely to be Greene King, which is why you get so much of it in the area.  Effectively, the pub then has to sell sufficient beer to repay the work done which, of course, means that other beers are excluded from sale.  This doesn't just happen for a short time, the arrangement is normally indefinite to take into account maintenance and replacement.

Pub groups are aggressively buying free houses when they come onto the market, which restricts places you can buy a range of real ales.  Often you will find a small range of nationally available beers which are sold VERY cheaply to the group, then expensively to the tenant or manager.  Groups are naturally loath to remove a free house sign as it attracts more people to the pub, who may then be disappointed at the beers on offer.