Raise a Pint with TV’s iconic pubs: The Good Beer Guide 2025 unveils dual covers featuring Coronation Street’s Rover’s Return & Emmerdale’s Woolpack!
The Good Beer Guide 2025
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 covers 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.
Famous Five, Secret Seven, the gang is bigger than you think….
As well as the ‘Famous Five’ (Pubs who have been included in the Good Beer Guide since the first edition) there are a number of other pubs out there that are on a massive streak for inclusion in The Good Beer Guide.
The South Oxfordshire Branch of CAMRA is marking the publication of The Good Beer Guide 2024 with a special event and Award presentation to The Leathern Bottle pub in Lewknor, which has attained a remarkable 50 entries into the prestigious Good Beer Guide. This is no mean feat and has only been achieved by a handful of pubs across the country.
The Leathern Bottle is a Grade II-listed traditional country pub, spread over three rooms separated by a large open fireplace and the main bar area. It has served consistently good cask ales from Brakspear over many years and also excellent home-cooked food, using locally sourced produce. The pub has been run by Les and Julie Gordon since 1998, with Julie’s father Mike, and Lesley, having previously run it since 1980. The pub has always offered a very warm welcome to all, whether locals or visitors from further afield, including walkers from the nearby Ridgeway.
We are excited to have the nation’s favourite pubs!
Iain MacLeod
ITV’s Executive Producer for Continuing Drama
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 Edition
The Good Beer Guide 2025
RRP: £16.99
Pre-order price to members price £12.99
You can choose between Coronation Street or Emmerdale or if you are a keen soap watcher both!
Recently, Coronation Street character Steve McDonald calculated on-screen that he’d drunk more than 17,000 pints of Newton and Ridley (Corrie’s fictional beer) in the Rovers over his many decades on the show. On Emmerdale and Coronation Street, the Woolpack and the now re-opened Rovers will remain central to our characters’ lives, so that he and others can enjoy thousands more. Let’s hope the same will be true for the many pubs under threat across the country. – Iain MacLeod
Save £’s with the Privilege Club subscription
Subscribe to the Privilege Club and order the ‘Standard’ Edition or the ‘Alternative Edition’ for only £12 with free postage
As a Privilege Club subscriber, you also get delivery up to 2 weeks before release date!
As a Privilege Club member, you can also order multiple copies for friends and family.
Please note: The hardback edition is only available directly from the CAMRA shop for £25, and is not available as a Privilege club subscription – this edition will be delivered on or around 28th September 2023.
This year’s guide is sponsored by Midland Snacks
THE ULTIMATE PUB SNACK
Using a time-honoured recipe, Midland Snacks are crafted by gently hand cooking the finest rind to create the most traditional of pork scratchings so beloved in the Great British pub.
We’ve stayed true to the original recipe and method of cooking as we truly believe this is the best way to make the best traditional scratching and are really proud to say that Midland Snacks has received a 2-star Great Taste Award. Having our scratchings recognised by food industry experts is truly an honour, proving that sometimes the traditional way is best!
Celebrating the launch of The Good Beer Guide 2025
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To celebrate the publication of the 52nd edition of The Good Beer Guide on 26 September 2024 many CAMRA branches are holding special events in pubs up and down the country.
If you are holding a special event you can enter it onto the CAMRA Events Page using the link below