The National Beer Scoring System (NBSS) is a 0-5 point scale for judging real ale quality in pubs. It is an easy to use system that has been designed to assist CAMRA branches in selecting pubs for the Good Beer Guide, and monitoring beer quality for any pub in the UK.

Having logged into WhatPub with your CAMRA membership number and password, find the pub, then go to ‘Submit Beer Scores’. A little practice will show you there is predictive text for finding brewery of the beer you’re scoring, or just use freetext. You can also score on the GBG Web App if you subscribe.

NATIONAL BEER SCORING GUIDE

0. No cask ale available.

1. Poor. Beer that is anything from barely drinkable to drinkable with considerable resentment.

2. Average. Competently kept, drinkable pint but doesn’t inspire in any way, not worth moving to another pub but you drink the beer without really noticing.

3. Good. Good beer in good form. You may cancel plans to move to the next pub. You want to stay for another pint and may seek out the beer again.

4. Very Good. Excellent beer in excellent condition.

5. Perfect. Probably the best you are ever likely to find. A seasoned drinker will award this score very rarely.

Shrewsbury and West Shropshire Branch have also produced an easy guide with great examples, and a step by step guide to using WhatPub. Please see SAWS - CAMRA Beer Scoring, well worth a look.

If pubs and clubs don't get enough good scores, they can't get into the Guide. It only takes a couple of minutes, so give it a go.

So what is Real Ale? It is a LIVE beer that continues to mature and condition in it's cask or bottle, and served at atmospheric pressure i.e. without excess or additional carbon dioxide. Real Cider or Perry is fermented from the whole juice of fresh pressed apples or pears, without the use of concentrated or chaptalised juices. Both products are fairly unique to the UK & Ireland, and come in hundreds of interesting and tasty varieties.