CONGRATULATIONS to the two local pubs that you report are celebrating entry into the 2017 Good Beer Guide. I know them and they deserve it.

But only two?

Shouldn’t the story be turned on its head to ask why many more locals fail to make the grade?

Almost every pub in town and around the outskirts now dispenses some cask ale so Camra appears to condemn how poorly it is stored, conditioned or served.

I’m not in Camra but I agree substandard ale is letting down aficionados of the drink.

So what is behind the decline? Has Camra tightened up its guidelines?

Are licensees getting lazy?

Or is the trend towards gastropubs to blame?

Those serving food invariably charge exorbitant prices for a pint that sometimes has to be handed back as undrinkable.

Whenever I do this, it is usually replaced without objection but the offending beer is not removed from sale. This means profit is being made from a less discerning customer or someone trying real ale for the first, possibly last, time.

Perhaps Camra can enlighten us further. Then I hope we can return to the days when stickers proclaiming “We are in the Good Beer Guide” are commonplace in Knutsford again.

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