New CAMRA Edinburgh/SE Scotland real ale guide released

Three hundred and seventy-five public houses. Sounds like an awful lot – and it certainly is, of course. That’s how many there are that serve real ale in Edinburgh, the Lothians and Borders area, apparently. Running a pub can still be a huge struggle, despite the recent easing of alcohol duty and opening hours – VAT is still crippling, for one thing. But it is a fillip to see several hundred pubs within a two-hour radius of my home city that serve great beer.

How do I know this? Well, CAMRA Edinburgh have recently released their revised and updated Edinburgh and SE Scotland Real Ale Guide – a handy, jacket-pocket sized booklet of all the aforesaid 375 pubs in the region. The last time it was published (2008), there were 305 inside; so with all the closures, mergers and tenancy issues, there were still the best part of 14 new pubs opening every year since – which is great to see.*

*Check back tomorrow here for news of one of Edinburgh’s most recent.

That, of course, is the inherent problem of publishing a five-year, paper guide – on release, almost instantly it becomes obsolete. But the guys at CAMRA Edinburgh are sanguine about this, there’s nothing they can do (short of turning it into an app), and the best pubs hang around for generations, so there’s no reason the booklet can’t be referred to for a long time to come. Without wishing to patronise anyone, I’d stick my neck out to say CAMRA members likely enjoy working with the multi-appendiced physical media, anyhow.

The guide is broken down into the regions, and has a useful inventory on each real ale (or cider) toting pub, with detailed listings featuring opening times, directions, public transport links (including nearest tram stop), as well as the likely beer haul on offer, including any house ales on tap. It also lets the reader know whether other things such as food or outdoor drinking are available – the latter an important consideration recently!

You can pick up the guide in person at many of the real ale outlets in the area, for £3.50 (look for posters advertising the guide). Alternatively, email guidesales@edinburghcamra.org.uk to receive a posted copy (£4.75 inc P&P), order online at CAMRA’s website, or head along to a branch meeting and purchase one for £3 (if a member). Thanks to John at CAMRA for the review copy (full disclosure).