Today (August 1) marks International Beer Day, offering the perfect excuse to enjoy some tasty pints and visit Liverpool’s best boozers.
The Good Beer Guide, which surveys 4,500 pubs, is considered to be the ‘definitive beer drinker’s guide’ for those seeking the best pints in the nation’s pubs and is published annually by The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). More than 70 pubs in Merseyside feature in the latest edition.
In honour of International Beer Day 2025, we have scoured the list and picked out 13 of our favourite pubs in and around Liverpool city centre. Take a look through our photo gallery to see 13 of the Liverpool pubs listed in the CAMRA guide – and find out why they were included.
5. The Denbigh Castle, Hackins Hey
The Denbigh Castle is an old-fashioned pub, serving a range of draught and bottled beers. CAMRA said: “Open-plan pub that has had many different identities before being refurbished and relaunched in 2020 as the Denbigh Castle. | Denbigh Castle
6. Roscoe Head, Liverpool
Managed by members of the same family for over 40 years, the Roscoe Head is currently run by Carol Ann Ross, who started the ‘Save the Roscoe’ campaign back in 2015. Sold to property development company New River Retail at the time, the pub faced being turned into a convenience store and Carol faced losing her home. Alongside Liverpool CAMRA, Carol fought for many years and, in 2020, finally acquired the freehold of the Roscoe Head. The pub is one of the ‘Famous Five’ pubs that have featured in every edition of the Good Beer Guide, and the only tavern in Liverpool to do so. | Phil Nash from Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 & GFDLViews
7. The Vines, Lime Street
The Vines (also known as the Big House) was brought back to life by the 1936 Pub Co. in 2023. CAMRA said: "Rebuilt in 1907 as a Cains pub, the Vines, like its sister pub the Philharmonic, is one of the great show pubs of the country, and has been identified by CAMRA as having a nationally important historic pub interior. The harvest- themed plasterwork in the smoke-room was created by sculptor Walter Gilbert in 1908. The plasterwork and glass in the other room are the work of Henry Gustave Hiller." | @vinesbighouse/IG
8. The Belvedere Arms, Sugnall Street
CAMRA says: "A tiny pub nestled in a terrace of houses, it boasts nevertheless a smoke room and a bar with a lobby between. The bar has a fine curved counter while the other two drinking areas are served via sashes in a five-bay screen that contains excellent etched and cut glass. A good example of a locals’ pub form the nineteenth century." | The Belvedere Arms