In honour of Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) celebrating its 50th anniversary, we are delighted to share with you the Northampton pubs that featured in their 2021 Good Beer Guide.
The Good Beer Guide, now in its 48th edition, is a guidebook to the finest UK pubs that serve real ales. It shines a spotlight on local pubs selling the best real ale from micro, regional and national breweries.
CAMRA evaluates each pub based on the availability and consumption of quality real ale and cider and how each pub and club adopts the role as social centres as part of the UK's cultural heritage.


. The Cordwainer
The Cordwainer - a large, popular town centre Wetherspoons, which has a rooftop bar and a ground-floor garden area. It has one large bar on each floor and offers a wide choice of 12 real ales. Photo: Pippa Hudson

. St Giles Ale House
A former local CAMRA pub of the year, St Giles Ale House is Northampton's first and only micropub and opened in 2016. It specialises in real ale and real cider, featuring newly released ales from around the country that tend to come from more obscure breweries. Beer club runs from Tuesday to Thursday teatime with a discount on ale and cider. Photo: St Giles Ale House

1. The Cordwainer
The Cordwainer - a large, popular town centre Wetherspoons, which has a rooftop bar and a ground-floor garden area. It has one large bar on each floor and offers a wide choice of 12 real ales. Photo: Pippa Hudson

2. St Giles Ale House
A former local CAMRA pub of the year, St Giles Ale House is Northampton's first and only micropub and opened in 2016. It specialises in real ale and real cider, featuring newly released ales from around the country that tend to come from more obscure breweries. Beer club runs from Tuesday to Thursday teatime with a discount on ale and cider. Photo: St Giles Ale House

3. Albion Brewery Bar
Albion Brewery Bar, on Kingswell Street, was opened next to a Victorian brewery in the heart of Northampton. There is a glass and oak partition so that the brewery equipment can be viewed and there is a variety of memorabilia on display. Eight handpumps serve six in-house ales plus a rotating guest, with the final pump reserved for a Northamptonshire cider. Photo: Albion Brewery Bar

4. The Malt Shovel Tavern
The Malt Shovel Tavern can be found opposite the Carlsberg brewery close to the town centre. This popular pub has won many awards over the years, including local CAMRA pub of the year on numerous occasions. It features real cider, local ale, Belgian draught and has bottled beers available. Photo: The Malt Shovel Tavern