The Who's Who of brew

Rather like the minor celebrities and second-rank aristocrats who scurry to pick up each year's edition of Who's Who to see if they've merited a mention, arguably the major publishing event on the beerhunter's calendar is the release of the Campaign for Real Ale's Good Beer Guide.

The 2009 edition is just out, and editor Roger Protz has once again compiled an indispensible guide to more than 4,500 of the best pubs in Britain.

In the West Midlands, for instance, we have listings for the the Vaults in Knowle (Solihull CAMRA's Pub of the Year 2008), the Waggon & Horses in Oldbury, the Old Joint Stock in Central Birmingham and the Port 'n' Ale in Tipton. Plus, of course, the famous Bernie's Real Ale Off-Licence in Shirley, Solihull.

Nor is the GBG devoted entirely to pubs, also finding room for extensive entries on the UK 's many independent breweries, including regional brands such as Tunnel and Church End (both Nuneaton), Purity (Great Alne), Enville (Stourbridge), and Titanic (Stoke-on-Trent).

Copies cost £14.99, but CAMRA members pay just £11.00. Why not come along to next month's Solihull Beer Festival and pick up your own map to this country's brewing treasures?