The Campaign for Real Ale’s (CAMRA) Good Beer Guide is celebrating its 52nd edition with the publication of the 2025 Good Beer Guide.
To mark the milestone, the popular guide has two covers featuring two of the UK’s favourite locals: Coronation Street’s Rovers Return Inn, and Emmerdale’s Woolpack.
The Guide, which lists 4,500 of the best pubs across the UK is on sale now and a whopping 314 pubs in Scotland feature, including 52 new entries. The Scottish pubs and bars are part of over 900 featured in the 2025 Good Beer Guide.
Despite the tough trading environment facing a lot of licensees, these businesses continue to battle against the odds.
Information in the Guide is collated by thousands of CAMRA volunteers who give up their time every year to select the best of the best across the UK.
As well as covering 314 of the very best pubs across Aberdeen & Grampian, Argyll & The Isles, Ayrshire & Arran, Borders, Dumfries & Galloway, Edinburgh & The Lothians, Greater Glasgow & Clyde Valley, Highlands & The Western Isles, Kingdom of Fife, Loch Lomond, Stirling & The Trossachs, Northern Isles and Tayside, it includes 52 new pub entries across the counties.
The foreword of The Good Beer Guide 2025 has been written by multi award-winning Iain Macleod, ITV’s Executive Producer for Continuing Drama.
In his foreword, MacLeod says: “...the story which threatened one of our pubs the most was also the one which most resonated with our times. In 2023, the Rovers Return closed its doors. A combination of the lingering legacy of the Covid lockdowns and the cost-of-living crisis meant that landlady Jenny Bradley couldn’t afford to keep it open. The characters – and the viewers – lamented the news like the loss of a loved one. If it were needed, it was a timely reminder of the central place the nation’s pubs have in our lives and in our affections.”
CAMRA Chairman Ash Corbett-Collins added: “The Rovers Return Inn and the Woolpack represent the UK’s love of their local, and to have them featured on the covers for this year’s Guide is very exciting.
"CAMRA’s mission is to ensure support from both the UK and Scottish Governments as well as tangible legislation to protect pubs in this country. By next year’s edition of the Guide, we want to be talking about the beer and pub trade growing with the support of communities and parliaments alike.”
Earlier this year the Hillend Tavern was named best in Scotland by CAMRA.
Some of the best bars and pubs in Scotland, featured in the Guide include The Globe Inn in Aberdeen, Tigh An Truish in Clachan-Seil, Kinloch Hotel on Arran, Allanton Inn in Allanton, Famous Star Hotel in Moffat, Abbotsford Bar and Restaurant in Edinburgh, Doublet in Glasgow, Applecross Inn in Applecross, Auld Hoose in Kinghorn, Bobbing John in Alloa, Helgi’s Bar in Kirkwall Orkney and Atholl Arms Hotel in Blair Atholl.
The Good Beer Guide 2025 is out now, and is available to order online.
