Presentations
Before we talk about the changes to the Beer Scoring System, I wanted to let you know that if you are able to get to Horwich this Saturday – 13 June – there will be a couple of presentations going on. At 3pm we will be presenting the Cider Pub of the Year Runner-Up award to Blackedge Brewery Bar. At 5pm we will be at the Bank Top Brewery Ale House where we will be presenting the Pub of the Year award for the Ale House itself and the Runner-Up award for the Bank Top Brewery Tap. We will also be presenting an award for Bank Top’s Leprechaun Stout.
Beer Scoring Changes
There are tens of thousands of pubs across the country serving cask beers, and many of those serve really good pints.
For lovers of a decent pint, it’s important to be able to find them. CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide has been the ‘bible’ for finding the very best ones since 1974 and continues to be relied upon by tens of thousands of people. CAMRA’s online pub guide camra.org.uk/pubs can also help because beer quality is indicated by the ‘3 Pints’ symbols that CAMRA members can see when logged in.
Pubs and clubs that serve really excellent pints, and serve them consistently well, can be potential candidates for the Good Beer Guide. To help identify them, CAMRA members score their pints whenever they have the opportunity. Their scores help local branches determine candidates for the Guide, and these can change year on year because the standards are high. Serving live cask beer requires skill in the cellar and attention by bar staff all the time. Competition for a place is stiff because only 4,500 places are available.
Up until now, the scoring system has used a numbering system of 0 to 5. But there are problems with this. It requires memorising the criteria for each score and using them consistently, but memories can be variable. Some people genuinely struggle with numbers, so they don’t take part. It becomes open to individual interpretation with resulting inconsistency between scorers. There’s also the potential for individual bias and a reluctance to ‘award’ high scores.
We all know when we are drinking a good pint that’s been well-kept, and we also know when a pint is very good or excellent – who cannot resist telling everyone else about it! And likewise, a pint that is simply OK or, hopefully not often, undrinkable.
So, to make things easier for everyone, a new intuitive ratings system is being introduced, which is more descriptive of the beer being drunk. Each of the new ratings has a description and a likely reaction to help you pin down the most appropriate rating. Ratings can be recorded on CAMRA’s online pub guide camra.org.uk/pubs by all CAMRA members so start rating your beer now.
The new ratings and descriptions and your likely reaction to being served a pint of this quality are:
EXCELLENT – Exceptional and clear (if intended to be) with fantastic aromas, flavours and ideal carbonation. Superb!
Your reaction:
You tell your friends and compliment the
cellar manager.
VERY GOOD – Satisfying and well-kept with a great
appearance, good carbonation and enticing
aromas and flavours.
Your reaction:
You consider having another and may cancel plans to
move to another pub.
GOOD – Nice appearance, good carbonation, aromas
and flavour. Pleasant but not memorable.
Your reaction: You’re happy to have
another but might consider something else.
ACCEPTABLE – Unremarkable and ordinary, with no noteworthy characteristics.
Your reaction: You’re unlikely to have another unless it is all there is and there isn’t another pub to go to.
POOR – Noticeably imperfect.
Your reaction: Drinkable with resentment, but you politely ask for a replacement.
UNDRINKABLE – Unpleasant to drink, likely with a disgusting taste, incorrect appearance and off/foul aroma.
Your reaction: You politely ask for it to be replaced and consider asking the publican to take it off.
The number of members scoring beers has been steadily increasing as has the number of pubs and beers being scored. I hope you find the new system easier to use and that you too can get involved in choosing our entries for the Good Beer Guide and letting other members know where to find the best quality cask ale in Bolton and across the country.
Cheers.
John Mitchell – Chair