CAMRA pub app - essential for the cruising yachtsperson

[Bristolfashion]

I've added this to my boat armoury! When you turn up on your boat in a strange town or are wondering whether that country pub is worth the walk, this will help you decide.

The free version shows the nearest 10 pubs which is probably enough for most - I paid the very modest fee for the enhanced capabilities and to support them.

A nice touch is being able to record & review both beers you have tasted & pubs

Available from the app store.

 

[JNKScot]

I've added this to my boat armoury! When you turn up on your boat in a strange town or are wondering whether that country pub is worth the walk, this will help you decide.

The free version shows the nearest 10 pubs which is probably enough for most - I paid the very modest fee for the enhanced capabilities and to support them.

A nice touch is being able to record & review both beers you have tasted & pubs

Available from the app store.

Here you go:

CAMRA's Good Beer Guide App - CAMRA - Campaign for Real Ale

 

[Frogmogman]

Good idea. Another app which is excellent for this purpose is called cask finder, the App of Cask Marque.

Cask Finder | Cask Marque

For those not familiar with Cask Marque, it is an independent auditor of real ale quality, set up because one of the things that made consumers reticent about ordering real ale in a strange pub was uncertainty about the likely quality of the beer.

I should maybe declare a tenuous interest; Paul Nunny, one of the founders (who is Executive director) was the managing director of Adnams Brewery when I first started working with them back in 1995, and is an all round good bloke.

 

[Bobc]

Downloaded, thanks!

 

[RobbieW]

The thing that concerns me with either app is the ongoing quality control of the beer served. My experience is that a better pint is available from a CAMRA assessed pub than elsewhere. That's experience over 40 odd years use of CAMRA guides

 

[JNKScot]

The thing that concerns me with either app is the ongoing quality control of the beer served. My experience is that a better pint is available from a CAMRA assessed pub than elsewhere. That's experience over 40 odd years use of CAMRA guides

You can avoid that concern on the GBG App by paying the annual subscription which allows you to filter by whether the pub is in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide for which, in most Branches, one of the main criteria for selection is Beer Quality.

If you are also a CAMRA Member, scoring the beer which, whether in a GBG pub or not, is fed back to the National Beer Scoring System.

The WhatPub database which fuels the GBG App is of (almost) all licensed premises i.e. pubs, bars, hotels, clubs etc. in an area; typically less than 5% of premises in a Branch area will make it into the GBG in any year.

 

[Frogmogman]

The thing that concerns me with either app is the ongoing quality control of the beer served. My experience is that a better pint is available from a CAMRA assessed pub than elsewhere. That's experience over 40 odd years use of CAMRA guides

Usually, pubs with good beer will be the same ones that feature on either app. The whole point of Cask Marque was to provide independent audit of the beer quality in pubs that are members of the organization. An inspector will call unannounced, taste and test the real ales for clarity, temperature, freshness and condition, and (in my experience) will also ask to visit and inspect the beer cellar.

I have great respect for CAMRA and all the work they did in preventing the destruction of the traditional brewing industry. Truly, without their input at a critical time, it could all have gone South.

I did historically have some reservations about CAMRA, on a couple of issues where they have long since corrected their stance. There was something of an attitude back in the day that a GOOD real ale pub was one with a large selection of ales on tap, whereas in truth, a good real ale pub is one that has traditional beer in perfect condition, even if they only have one or two on draught. In a pub with say, 8 or 10 real ales on draught, some will be good sellers, whilst others may be slow movers. Whenever I go to such a pub I always ask the barman which beers have just gone on, and which are the most popular in that pub. Then ill have a pint of one of those.

CAMRA was also initially resistant to cooled beer lines and beer engines, and against the use of devices such as breathers, swan necks or sparklers. Nobody really wants "warm" beer - ideally it should be coming out of the tap at about 10°C - still a lot less cold than a keg beer, but not warm. Breathers in the shive of the cask help to maintain condition; it's like pegging the barrel between each dispense. Some parts of the country value a thick head more than others, so swan necks and sparklers have their place too. They appear to have come around to these things.

 

[capnsensible]

Wind finder. ?

 

[JNKScot]

Usually, pubs with good beer will be the same ones that feature on either app. The whole point of Cask Marque was to provide independent audit of the beer quality in pubs that are members of the organization. An inspector will call unannounced, taste and test the real ales for clarity, temperature, freshness and condition, and (in my experience) will also ask to visit and inspect the beer cellar.

I have great respect for CAMRA and all the work they did in preventing the destruction of the traditional brewing industry. Truly, without their input at a critical time, it could all have gone South.

I did historically have some reservations about CAMRA, on a couple of issues where they have long since corrected their stance. There was something of an attitude back in the day that a GOOD real ale pub was one with a large selection of ales on tap, whereas in truth, a good real ale pub is one that has traditional beer in perfect condition, even if they only have one or two on draught. In a pub with say, 8 or 10 real ales on draught, some will be good sellers, whilst others may be slow movers. Whenever I go to such a pub I always ask the barman which beers have just gone on, and which are the most popular in that pub. Then ill have a pint of one of those.

CAMRA was also initially resistant to cooled beer lines and beer engines, and against the use of devices such as breathers, swan necks or sparklers. Nobody really wants "warm" beer - ideally it should be coming out of the tap at about 10°C - still a lot less cold than a keg beer, but not warm. Breathers in the shive of the cask help to maintain condition; it's like pegging the barrel between each dispense. Some parts of the country value a thick head more than others, so swan necks and sparklers have their place too. They appear to have come around to these things.

The "warm" beer chimera is probably still a hangover from comments by Americans and, to a lesser extent, Canadians during WW II and later who were used to beers chilled to within an inch of their lives and a 10° - 12° temperature was too much for them to tolerate, let alone appreciate the actual flavour brought out at cellar temperature.

The rest of the points are valid but still are bones of contention amongst die-hards of many persuasions.

 

[RobbieW]

You can avoid that concern on the GBG App by paying the annual subscription which allows you to filter by whether the pub is in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide for which, in most Branches, one of the main criteria for selection is Beer Quality.

I pay the sub which is well worth it. The only quibble I have with the app (which I've never got round to feeding back) is that when you look at a pubs details then go back you end up back at your current location. That makes it a PITA to investigate pubs for lunch when on a trip.

If you are also a CAMRA Member, scoring the beer which, whether in a GBG pub or not, is fed back to the National Beer Scoring System.

That is worth knowing and may tip the balance to joining My experience is that I've had mediocre (or just bad) pints far more often in a Cask Marque pubs than CAMRA (where I cant remember having a bad pint, had some I didnt like but thats different)

 

[RobbieW]

Wind finder. ?

One end or the other, the gassy stuff is going to come out

 

[RobbieW]

In a pub with say, 8 or 10 real ales on draught, some will be good sellers, whilst others may be slow movers. Whenever I go to such a pub I always ask the barman which beers have just gone on, and which are the most popular in that pub. Then ill have a pint of one of those.

Never thought of asking that, mainly as I have quite defined tastes so go for what fits the criteria - generally lower ABVs and lightish bitters, amongst the favourites is Youngs Ordinary. I'm aware that, in general, the faster the turnover the better the beer - not exactly CAMRA stuff but some of the best Guinness I remember was in the Orange Tree in Richmond, early 80s they reckoned on 15 barrels a week.

 

[Wynn]

Cask ales should ideally be served between 12-14ºC (10ºC is a little too cold!). This will nearly always be well below room temperature and so the beer will feel chilled but you will still be able to get all the flavours that the brewer has spent time creating. Much colder than this will result in a loss of flavour and a more gassy beer when you swallow it with the inevitable result! If you are a CAMRA member you will be able to score the beers you drink using the CAMRA app. This essentially rates the pub as to how well they store and serve the beer. Each CAMRA branch will use these scores to help decide which pubs are put into the Good Beer Guide and the more scores there are the better the data will be and the pubs which serve the best beer will make it into the guide.

 

[JNKScot]

I pay the sub which is well worth it. The only quibble I have with the app (which I've never got round to feeding back) is that when you look at a pubs details then go back you end up back at your current location. That makes it a PITA to investigate pubs for lunch when on a trip.

Even using the Yellow arrow at the top of the page?

 

[Frogmogman]

Cask ales should ideally be served between 12-14ºC (10ºC is a little too cold!).

If it comes out the tap at 10C into a room-temperature glass it’ll be at about 12C in the glass.

 

[RobbieW]

Even using the Yellow arrow at the top of the page?

Yup, just tried that. Use the map function; find the area of interest; look at the detail for a pub; use yellow arrow or phone back button; map returns to current location

 

[JNKScot]

Yup, just tried that. Use the map function; find the area of interest; look at the detail for a pub; use yellow arrow or phone back button; map returns to current location

Try using the search function; use a post code or named location; gives pubs by radius distance from location; open one to get details; use yellow arrow; it goes back to that pub; look at details of another one; back using yellow arrow; repeat.

Unfortunately, for map copyright reasons, the search doesn't work for locations in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man; the nearby function works in Jersey, at least, though.

 

[RobbieW]

Try using the search function; use a post code or named location; gives pubs by radius distance from location; open one to get details; use yellow arrow; it goes back to that pub; look at details of another one; back using yellow arrow; repeat.

Thanks, I persisted with the search function and can now use it more effectively. Given my usual use is, say, find a pub for lunch between Southampton & Chester I find the map a more useful way to search near my likely route. I still find the way the map goes back to where it started rather than where I'd moved it to a less than useful feature

 

[Bristolfashion]

When mocked by my Australian mates for the British penchant for warm beer, I pointed out that;
1. Beer was invented a LONG time before refrigeration,
2. Australians also insist on drinking ice cold beer in the snow!,
3. The only reason Australian beer is served at brain numbingly low temperatures is to freeze your taste buds so you can't taste how appalling it is!,
4. They really need to learn the difference between warm & cool.

 

[laika]

With the acknowledgment that such an app could be an invaluable cruising accessory I’ve been checking this out this morning and am pretty unimpressed by functionality without subscription. Maybe I just don't understand the presentation? Seems you just get a list of pubs with no "scores", only "good" or "not good". Plug in "lower swanwick" or "bursledon" and there are no "good pubs" within 2 miles. Looking at the old ship (listed under "pubs" but not "good pubs") they tell you it serves "London pride + 2 others", missing out the critical information that, arguments about how it changed post-Gales aside, one of those is HSB. A paper copy of the good pub guide (if ordered from amazon, but not direct from camra where it's 50% more expensive) is cheaper than 12xmonthly subscriptions.

(Disclaimer: I haven't been into a pub in 18 months and all the beer I've drunk in the past 2 months has been of the alcohol-free variety but I am looking at a "Grand Re-opening" with my boat's first trip out, hopefully this week)