The Campaign for Real Ale has announced the 2027 honours
Michael Gallagher from Gallaghers Traditional Pub
CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide has revealed the best pubs in Merseyside for 2027. Published annually by the Campaign for Real Ale, the guide celebrates the best pubs and beer across the UK, with a strong selection of local venues regularly making the list.
The list is independent and inclusion is free and dependent on merit, with all entries chosen and checked by the group’s own members. CAMRA’s vision is to have quality real ale and thriving pubs in every community.
The guide includes thousands of venues across the UK, with 72 pubs across Merseyside making this year’s list. Everywhere from historic venues and popular city centre haunts, to community pubs off the beaten track have received a place in the guide.
And although there are quite a few based in Liverpool, places like New Ferry, Newton-le-Willows, Crosby, Birkenhead, Bebington and more have made the honours.
We’ve listed just 10 of the Good Beer Guide pubs in the 2027 guide for you to see. You can purchase CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide 2027 now.
Birkenhead – Gallagher’s Traditional Pub
A historic military-themed pub once operated a barber shop inside it, where customers could enjoy a pint while getting a wet shave.
Gallagher’s Bar, on Chester Street in Birkenhead, has existed in various guises since the 1820s, but was taken over by Irish guardsman Frank Gallagher in 2010.
Before taking over the pub, Frank and his wife, Sue, already owned two Wirral barber shops, one on Market Street and one on Hoylake Road, but when the opportunity came to take over the pub, Frank decided to pursue his dream and combine the businesses.
Bromborough – Bow-Legged Beagle
The Bow-Legged Beagle first opened on New Brighton’s Victoria Road a decade ago as a “beer paradise” that celebrated locally produced cask and craft ale.
One of the first micro pubs on Merseyside, owners Andy Williams and John Smith have since expanded to three other locations – Bromborough, Upton and Heswall.
However, after a handful of lean months the micro pub picked up two Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) awards and found itself as one of the best spots on Merseyside for good beer and good conversation, while surrounded by lots of four-legged friends
Crosby – Coop
Stood on the south Sefton town’s busy College Road, the Coop has quickly become a local favourite since opening in October 2023. Rob Willis, one of the founders of the pub, thought of opening the venue over a pint with three of his friends.
Over seven months, they transformed the space into what Rob calls an “old school pub” – with an old Canadian maple floor, low lighting and a bookcase to give it a softer, more welcoming feel.
Freshfield – Beer Station
The compact pub is found on Victoria Road in Formby, spitting distance from Freshfield station. It is nestled among the mansions of the town’s “Millionaire’s Row”, where the Rooneys, John Parrott, Jurgen Klopp and Brendan Rodgers have called home.
Beer Station was opened in 2016 by the hands of Ian Walsh who runs the pub with his son, Keir. The dad “always wanted to try and open a pub” and eventually did so after a brief stint opening The Red Star brewery.
A combination of good beer and a friendly, welcoming atmosphere is what keeps people coming back, according to Ian.
Liverpool: Aigburth – The Masonic Arms
The Lodge on Lark Lane was a well-established fixture on the busy bohemian street. It reopened last year under new ownership as The Masonic Arms, a nod to its history as “the oldest pub on Lark Lane”.
The pub is now operated by 1936 Pubco, which is the group behind Liverpool venues including The Vines, The Monro and The Red Lion, as well as Lark Lane’s Old School House, Green Man and Bookbinder.
Liverpool: City Centre – Belvedere
The beloved Belvedere on Sugnall Street, just off Falkner Street in the Georgian Quarter, sits in a Grade II listed building constructed around 1836.
The Belvedere curving bar has a very good selection of European lagers, local cask ales and interesting craft beers on offer, as well as excellent baked savoury snacks. It was rescued from closure in 2006, however, and remains a favourite of Liverpool’s drinkers.
Liverpool: Mossley Hill – Black Cat Rose Lane
Black Cat opened on Rose Lane in Mossley Hill in 2024, serving a selection of craft beers and real ales. The bar is a haven for anyone who loves beer and is Black Cat’s second venue in the city, joining its sister site on Smithdown Road.
Rich Midgley, Andy Scott and Chris Welsh are the faces behind the business, who have since opened newer locations in Liverpool city centre and Woolton.
Liverpool: Walton – Raven
The JD Wetherspoon pub is named after a poem by the famous American author and poet Edgar Allen Poe. James William Carling lies buried in a pauper’s grave in Walton Park Cemetery.
Certain generations will remember when the now pub site was home to a cinema. From 1922, the building was known as the Walton Vale Picture House. The building was transformed into the pub we know today in 1998.
Hoylake – Plasterer’s Arms
What was once a quaint cottage is now a pub after a wife decided to transform her family home in order to keep her husband at home.
The Plasterers Arms on Back Sea View in Hoylake has been operating as a pub since 1836, after Mrs Youds converted the bottom of her family home into a small drinking area for her husband, who was a plasterer, and his friends to keep him at home and to stop him staying out until late.
The pub is now owned by Tony Rutter, from Hoylake, who became the landlord three years ago after managing it for two years prior to that.
St Helens – Cricketers Arms
Andy Evans, from St Helens, is the brains behind The Cricketers Arms, a thriving community hub that’s “packed to the rafters every weekend”. While Andy and his wife, Denise, have been at the helm of The Cricketers Arms for almost 15 years, the pub dates back more than 100 years.
The couple have a pile of historic documents that offer an insight into the building’s past—the oldest of which is dated 1835 and records the sale of the pub from one brother to another for the princely sum of £29.
Having worked to transform the pub into a popular destination for real ale fans from across the region, the owners are proud to hold a number of awards for their venue.
