The Campaign for Real Ale’s (CAMRA) Good Beer Guide – the UK’s best-selling beer and pub guide – is celebrating its 52nd edition with not one but two editions featuring two of the UK’s favourite locals: Coronation Street’s Rovers Return Inn, and Emmerdale’s Woolpack. The Guide, which surveys 4,500 of the best pubs across the UK, is the definitive beer drinker’s guide for those seeking the best pints in the nation’s pubs. The Good Beer Guide 2025 is available for pre-order now.
The Rovers Return Inn and the Woolpack represent the familiarity and community spirit of pubs across the UK. This edition of the Guide pays tribute to the communities that are beamed into homes, providing entertainment and companionship to those that may not have a local pub of their own. Research commissioned by CAMRA found that people who have a local rate themselves as significantly happier because of it, and have more close friends, and the pubs on television reflect this feeling. Some of Coronation Street’s and Emmerdale’s most iconic, touching and memorable moments have taken place in their respective pubs.
The foreword of The Good Beer Guide 2025 will be written by BAFTA and multi award-winning Iain MacLeod, ITV’s Executive Producer for Continuing Drama. MacLeod has been Coronation Street’s Series Producer for the last 5 years taking the reins in December 2018. He kept the show on air during the Covid pandemic and throughout his tenure the serial drama has won multiple awards and accolades, celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2020.
The representation of pubs on television is vital in a time when the trade is under significant pressure. CAMRA’s pub closure statistics for 2023 show that 194 pubs were lost forever due to conversion or demolition, including venues like the Crooked House in Himley, and shocking 1,293 pubs closed their doors to their communities.
CAMRA Chairman Nik Antona said: “Working with ITV to celebrate the Rovers Return Inn and the Woolpack is a great honour for CAMRA. The pubs and the soaps themselves reflect many of CAMRA’s values, including the importance of community and the preservation of UK culture and traditions.
“The last few years have been an incredibly difficult time for the industry, and we need more support than ever before to keep our nation’s pubs open and thriving. I’d encourage everyone to use this year’s Guide to visit the very best pubs across the UK and support them for generations to come.”
Coronation Street and Emmerdale are available to watch on ITV and ITVX. This year’s Guide is sponsored by Midland Snacks Traditional Pork Scratchings and endorsed by Cask Marque. The Good Beer Guide 2025 is set to be published on 26 September 2024, and is available for pre-order now from https://shop1.camra.org.uk/product/the-good-beer-guide-2025/
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