Update September 2021: In the event, publication was further delayed beyond March 2021 due to the ongoing lockdowns. It’s now been confirmed for October 2021: see the main London page.
Following discussions with the publisher, CAMRA Books, I’m sorry to announce that the long-awaited new edition of my book London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars, won’t now be published on 21 May 2020 as planned. Instead, we’ve agreed to delay publication to March 2021, allowing plenty of time for everyday life in London to return to some semblance of normality.
There’s little sense in launching a new guide to beer, pubs and bars when all the pubs and bars are still shut, many breweries are mothballed and nobody can go out. We couldn’t hold launch events, and we’d lose the initial momentum of sales if people can’t put the book to use immediately, as well as the important market of visitors to London. While the authorities are now discussing a phased ending of the lockdown, it’s still not clear when this will happen, and likely that pubs and bars will be among the last businesses to reopen.
It’s gutting to have to do this, especially as I know many people were looking forward to the new edition. I’d been working on the project in earnest for over a year, and our editor, project manager, designer and cartographer had also worked hard for many months. The book was in the final stages of page makeup as the first restrictions were introduced. But of course the top priority in the face of the Covid-19 epidemic is to protect our health.
I’m painfully aware of the impact of the current situation on the industry of which I’m a very small part. It’s been amazing to see so many people rally round and find innovative ways to cling on to at least some business, with the shift to home deliveries and schemes like vouchers for future discounts. Much of the London brewing scene is very firmly rooted in local communities and that really counts at a time like this, so it’s heartening that beer businesses are now involved in more general community initiatives too.
CAMRA, which publishes the book, has also taken the initiative with its Pulling Together campaign in partnership with independent brewers’ organisation SIBA and online platform Crowdfunder. It’s launched an online pub, the Red (On)Lion, compiled lists of businesses offering special services, including home delivery, and supported a national Pay it Forward scheme enabling customers to pay in advance for goods and services for the future. See camra.org.uk/pullingtogether for more.
Despite such initiatives and the various government support schemes and rent deferrals put in place by some landlords, some businesses will inevitably find it hard to survive the lockdown or regain their previous momentum when they reopen. And it’s impossible to compensate for the loss of social opportunities resulting from the current closures. So it’ll soon be more important than ever before to get out and about and support all those great breweries, pubs, bars, shops and other outlets.
The book has always been a champion of our wonderful industry, and when it’s finally published, I’ll return to the task with renewed enthusiasm. With more time for additions and revisions, the new edition will be as current as possible. And we’ll have a packed programme of events, tours, tastings and signings to underline the message.
In the meantime, please support your local independent beer businesses as best you can by using the various home delivery schemes now in operation. As well as the resources on the CAMRA site, Beer Guide London (beerguideldn.com) has a useful list specifically for London on its news page, so there’s absolutely no reason to buy beer from supermarkets. Please stay well and safe, and we’ll share a beer when all this is over.
More about London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars
Des
Let’s just hope it doesn’t have to be half the size …