'Good Beer Guide' selection and how you can help

Like many CAMRA branches we use the beer quality information compiled from beer scores submitted by CAMRA members (both locals and visitors to our area) over the course of the year to help choose which pubs go in the Good Beer Guide, so every CAMRA member has the opportunity to contribute to GBG selection.

The Highlands & Western Isles Branch has a maximum of 35 entries available in the GBG to allocate to the best pubs out of over 200 real ale serving premises across our huge branch area.

So how do we do it?

The work for our selection starts at our December Committee meeting, and continues through the January, February and March. Our initial list will be longer than our maximum allocation, and so we have quite a job paring it down. Once we have taken into account a combination of all the places we have visited, reports from some very active members, and using the What?ub beer-score reports, we end up with our final 35.

Obviously those places that are visited the most get more reports and these tend to be in the more built up areas, however we do give some weighting to pubs out in the more remote areas. It is unfortunate that some very good pubs won’t make the cut, but we only have 35 places!

Once selected, the Branch Committee must collate the information that goes into the GBG for each entry. Once complete, our entries are submitted to regional coordinators. Around April/May we get the proofs back for checking. At this time amendments can be made but we cannot change any entries - although we can delete. The final draft then goes to the Editor.

Following publication of the GBG, branches have the right to withdraw places which do not maintain the standards which gained them entry - if they change dispense, change owner-ship/tenant/manager, or if they close, or if they stop serving real ale. GBG Corrections & Deletions

The best way you can help in the longer term is to regularly submit your beer scores to www.WhatPub.com!

Not used What?ub yet? Go to www.WhatPub.com and login using your membership number & password.

If you just want to view a pub’s details, you do not need to actually login, just search for the pub.

Not sure how to score a beer? Go to http://www.camra.org.uk/nbss where the process is explained including videos on how to use the system and what the score definitions are. Any member can score a beer in any pub, not just your local pub or pubs within your branch. There is also Beer Scoring information on our own website

Frightened you may make a mistake? You can go to http://data.beerscoring.org.uk/ to edit your scores.