Frequently Asked Questions

What is this site trying to achieve?

The founders of this site like real ale. They also love pubs. But what they like best is great beer in a great pub. There are many web sites out there that specialise in just beer or just pubs but none that really specialise in rating the beers in pubs.

We are interested in finding pubs that serve interesting pints of beer consistently well and to do this we rate the beer not the pub. However, the ratings shown is of that beer, in that pub on that day. For instance you may have a pint of your favourite beer but it may have been served poorly. Therefore the rating will reflect this. The rating doesn't mean the beer is bad but rather that the pint you had wasn't on top form.

How do you rate beer?

This is how we rate beer.

Scale	Description	Definition
	Undrinkable	A beer that you have to return
	Poor	A beer that is either not ready\past it's best or just not very nice
	Acceptable	Drinkable but there's nothing overly special
	Good	It's good enough that you could carry on drinking it if there was nothing better on
	Excellent	A beer with interesting flavours, complexity and balance that has been served well. Basically, if you walked into a pub and saw this beer again you would definitely have a pint.
	Exceptional	A beer that from the very first taste is one of the best beers you've ever had.

 

Why don't you give the pub a rating

Although we like visiting friendly pubs with pleasing interiors the real focus of this site is on beer in pubs.

There are plenty of web sites that specialise in rating pubs but none we've found that go into the level of detail we do about the beers on sale.

Therefore, we concentrate on rating the beers a pub sells.

Why should I register as a contributor?

The more contributors we have the better your chance of finding good pubs with good beer wherever you go.

Becoming a contributor is free.

How do I register as a contributor

If you would like to contribute to this site please click here or on the Sign-Up! link on the home page.

What type of comment should I give?

We only rate real ales or other beers of interest.

Therefore we don't list the range of ciders, lagers, keg-beers (eg. guinness, caffreys, smooth flow beers etc) bottled beers available at every pub.

When describing the pub try to give an impression of what it was like when you visited it. You could give details such as location, idea of the beer range, interesting architecture, garden, pub layout, service, time of day you visited (lunchtime, late afternoon, evening etc) clientele, atmosphere.

When describing the beer you could comment on its colour, nose/smell, flavour (hops, malt, acidity, sweetness, fruit, yeast), appearance, temperature, head, texture, balance, character, finish (type and length of flavours left in the mouth - short/long, dry, hoppy, acidic, sour etc).