59* (not out) new Good Beer Guide pub ticks for the month of April, meaning I only need one more tomorrow (30th) for it to become my best month of 2026 so far.
This takes me onto 3407 out of approx 4500 Good Beer Guide pubs, so I'm 75.7% complete. These are heady times at BRAPA Towers, and no time to rest on those laurels as my birthday BRAPA holiday is imminent. The celebrations have started early in York's excellent Black Horse. Get it in the Guide!
Drunk in Derby, earlier this month
11 pre-emptives were ticked too. Most were speculative rather than shoo-ins for a 2027 GBG place, but I'd probably conclude that the Fargate Sheffield, evil Thornbridge's new vehicle (jeez Si, let it go, it's been over 4 years!) is most likely to make the cut in September .....
In 'Wetherspoons Watch', I ticked five new 'Spoons which takes me onto 430/814 but I'm a bit Spoonsed out at the moment to tell you the truth!
This dude called Andreas from Brierley Hill gave me something called a 'Black Country Ales passport' so now I'm thinking, I should tick all of those off too. I've done 37/55, not sure if that is an exclusive list, but that's what is in the booklet.
I'd have to revisit them all to get them stamped if I want a BCA tee shirt though, but not sure I do!
After beating my churn from last September with the 3,360th tick, my highlight of the month was undoubtedly the 3,375th which represents 75% (three quarters!) of the Guide.
Buzzin', and it came in a fabulously friendly pub with a cracking pint of Bass ......
Rainbow Inn, Allesley, Coventry
It only seems two minutes ago when I was declaring I'd reached 66.6667% (two thirds of the GBG). I was lapping up all the replies "Congrats Si, great achievement" etc. and feeling very chuffed with myself when the late Curmudgeon writes "It' gets difficult from here Si". Classic Mudgie, way to kill my buzz!
But in truth, if you are reading Ghost Mudgie, this last 9% hasn't been too bad.
Boring Breaking News
To celebrate the 75% (which I'll probably drop back below in Sept anyway), I'm starting to look at the Good Beer Guide in terms of 'what is left' rather than 'what is done'. 1.098 pubs, and I've even filtered my spreadsheet by how many I need to do in each county.
Any counties with 20+ pubs remaining, I'm deeming 'unacceptable' and making sure any BRAPA holidays / long weekends are exclusively in these areas. I have 18 such counties remaining.
If I have 10-20 pubs left, I'm saying 'needs work' but making them slightly lower priority.
And those with 9 or less, I'm generally satisfied with for now unless they are called Warwickshire cos I've got a bee in my bonnet about completing that one and not swerving the tough stuff!
Malt Shovel, Bubbenhall. Nice pub, first outdoor BRAPA pint of the year, but had to mark down lack of grassy area
GBG Progress Report
Let's spend the rest of this blog looking at the counties where I did well this month, with a pub of the month and a bit of commentary re. 'where my head is at ....'
... so it is
Thanks for that Rachel off of The Traitors, right let's get going ......
Oxfordshire (17 ticks, 2 left - 97.1% complete)
My Easter / BRAPA's 12th anniversary holiday got me to within two in Oxon. A funny county. Has its moments of pure class, but dining predominance and some yokel attitudes mean that when I come to do my controversial county countdown in five years time, I doubt it'll trouble the top 20.
I was never gonna tackle Ashbury because it pairs much better with Wilts (Swindon to be precise). Lower Wardington only made sense if I was pairing with Daventry, and their cruel opening hours put paid to that. Still, I'm VERY happy with my Oxon over the past two years and will have a rest from it now.
Oxon pub of the month - Bell, Adderbury
West Midlands - 11 ticks, 0 left, 100% completion
When Dudley Duck helped me wield the green Stablio on Snow Hill's wildcard 'Wolf' entry, it meant I'd completed the West Midlands for the first time in BRAPA history. And that feels like just cause for celebration.
The 'churn' is always cruel on me here, and I have been chipping away at it since my very beginnings in 2014 so I'm delighted to finally get it done. No doubt it'll be cruel to me in 2027 once more, but perhaps on the way back from Worcs / Warwicks trips, I can do a few pre-emptive 'Spoons / Black Country Ales houses done to alleviate September heartache.
Carpet at the Weavers, Stourbridge. My favourite one of that mini pub chain so far
My county of the moment is Worcestershire, and I'm wondering if has now gone top of my leaderboard re best pub counties, that's how impressed I've been.
It is getting trickier now but I've booked a long #ThirstyThursday for August to try and get me down to single figures. I'm vaguely thinking about a Hereford based week in 2026/27 which I combine with a bit of Worcs, South Shrops and Mid Wales, but nothing definite yet.
Pub of the month for was the Mug House at Claines, but there's honourable mentions for so many. Swan Chaddesley Corbett, Plough Shenstone, Chester Tavern Kidderminster and Black Star Stourport are all majestic. Alvechurch and Callow End also above average.
Overall BRAPA pub of the month - Mug House, Claines
Cambs (7 ticks, 13 left, 81.16% complete)
At St Ivesy based Saturday aimed at bringing me below that 'acceptable' 20 pub mark was a huge success, and with Godmanchester's Black Bull unexpectedly closed, I chalked another one off there (although if this was the final year of BRAPA, I'd not allow myself to do that unless I had proof it was permanantly dead!)
With Suffolk very much in my mind for 2026/27 (please Ipswich, remain in the same division as us!) , I might get across the border for some of those more easterly ones. Or perhaps just a random Cambridge-based day trip. Got bigger fish to fry at the moment though.
Cambs Pub of the Month - White Swan, Conington
Kent (5 ticks, 9 left, 93.1% complete)
Down to single figures for the first time in Kent history. Could this be the year I finally crack it? I've got my ole' mate Paul G to thank (oh, and the long term closure of Matches in Ashford).
Although Paul tells me there's no such thing as South Kent, we had a great day out in South Kent last Saturday cracking absolute rotters like Lydd, Stone in Oxney and Iden Green. Good quality too, which wasn't so prevelant on my Thanet day a while back.
Plenty of low hanging fruit remains, that's the encouraging thing. Problem is, they are splayed apart like a Kentish cat's bottom. With plans to do some Surrey and possibly even Sussex before September, could I be tempted to sneak the odd one in? Even I can't answer that at the moment.
Kent pub of the month - Six Bells, Woodchurch
Derbyshire (4 ticks, 7 left, 92.55% complete)
I'm not hugely arsed about Derbys completion this year but it is close enough to home to provide me with a handy morale boost from time to time.
Like on a very drunken day when we were losing (unfairly) at Sheff Utd. As usual with one of top UK pub counties, I was impressed with the quality of both pub n beer on offer, and the people are top banana too.
I might be back with Daddy B in the summer to mop up 3-4 of the southern ones. Bolsover let me down in the snow even with 4pm Saturday opening so that can eff off. And I have no Casteton / Bakewell plans this Guide cos I'm sick of the sight of both.
Pub Snack Range of the Month - King William, Milford
Best of the Rest
Northants - 2 ticks, 10 left, 77.8% complete
Staffs - 1 tick, 15 left, 82.95% complete
Warwicks - 1 tick, 7 left, 85.4% complete
South Yorkshire - 1 tick, 0 left, 100% complete
All five pubs were 'good' or better. I guess the highlight was completing S.Yorks for another year in a real quality micropub.
All that leaves me to mention is my vague hopes and dreams for May.
45 ticks (1% of the GBG) is the bare minimum I expect of myself, smashing through that 76% barrier and possibly pushing for 77% if things go really well, although my holiday destination isn't the kinda place you can knock of six ticks daily!
Oh, and I've got into a bit of an annoying habit of feeling obliged to do a rubbish limerick / poem every time I do an Untappd check in which I'll have to try knocking on the head soon. This was in my 'top 5' for the month.
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