The latest edition of CAMRA’s premier publication the Good Beer Guide is now available, featuring the very best pubs to find a great pint. 

The 2022 guide has found the number of independent UK breweries has risen to 1,902 in 2021 from 1,816 in 2020. This is the highest number recorded in the guide since publication began in 1974, and a national increase after seeing the first decline in numbers since 2008 in the previous edition.

However, while 138 breweries opened this year, 75 have closed with some regions reporting more closures than openings. 

While last year’s edition of the guide captured data pre-Covid, the 2022 edition shows the ramifications of 18 months of lockdowns and restricted trading had on the industry.

CAMRA has been calling on the Government to go further with its support package for pubs and breweries to mitigate the damage done to a sector in recovery and still scarred by extended closures.

The guide surveys 4,500 pubs across the UK and, despite being hampered by lockdowns and restrictions in the early part of this year, thousands of independent volunteers worked together to compile this year’s entries. This year's edition has been sponsored by Stay in a Pub and Cask Marque.

CAMRA national chairman Nik Antona said: “After the struggles of the past 18 months for the industry, it is great that the Good Beer Guide figures are showing the resilience of pubs and brewers in the face of strife – an increase in brewery numbers after they dipped last year for the first time, as well as more than 500 new pub entries. This is great to see, especially coupled with the news from the Government’s latest Budget, including the announcement of a new, lower rate of duty for draught beer and cider.

“However, the industry is still vulnerable in the aftermath of Covid-19 lockdowns. Breweries still face issues around costs of goods, lack of business rate relief and silence from the government on Small Brewers' Relief reform. We are calling on the government to make sure the new draught duty rate applies to containers 20-litres and up so all our small and independent brewers can benefit.”

The foreword for this year’s edition was written by best-selling singer and owner of the Fox & Pheasant pub in Chelsea James Blunt, who reflected on the industry’s struggles during the coronavirus pandemic.

Blunt highlights the importance of pubs to communities and encourages Brits to get back to the pub to support their locals writing: “While, in recent years, there might have been a trend for people to drink cheap supermarket beer at home, those people have been locked away for the best part of a year, and now those people want out. They can taste real beer from the tap, and food cooked by a pro, and they can meet legally and joyfully.”

The Good Beer Guide 2022 is now available at  https://shop1.camra.org.uk

There is also an updated app version available for download on both iOS and Android devices.

CAMRA members can order the guide at a reduced rate of £12 plus p&p. You can also become a member and help save pubs from just £28.50 a year by visiting https://join.camra.org.uk/