The best Newport pubs in CAMRA's 2023 Good Beer Guide

CAMRA’s 2023 Good Beer Guide – the 50th edition of the guide – helps beer lovers take a barometer of the local beer scene, and features 317 of the very best pubs across Wales.

Eight new pubs and one brewery have been added to the list of the regions best for real ale.

CAMRA national chairman Nik Antona says: “For nearly five decades, the Good Beer Guide has been a comprehensive guide to the UK’s breweries, their ales, and the best outlets to find them in across the country.   

“The Good Beer Guide has always had an important role in acting as a barometer of the beer and pub industry.

“We believe information gleaned from the guide is absolutely vital in the drive to save our pubs from closure and campaign for policies that better support pubs, local brewers and their customers. 

“Whilst we experienced a boom in the brewing industry over recent years, it’s clear that the effects of COVID-19 and subsequent cost of living and cost of goods crisis has been keenly felt.

“I’d encourage everyone to use this guide to seek out the very best examples of pub excellence and support these locals by visiting them.”  

Here are five of Newport’s pubs to be included in the 2023 guide – which can be bought here.

Ye Olde Murenger House

• 52-53 High Street, Newport, NP20 1GA

Newport’s Ye Olde Murenger House.

The guide describes Ye Olde Murenger House as “part of the fabric of Newport’s history”.

It provides “a pleasant and relaxing experience whether supping or dining”, with Samuel Smith Brewery drinks on offer.

Tiny Rebel

• 22-23 High Street, Newport, NP20 1FX

Tiny Rebel in Newport .www.christinsleyphotography.co.uk.

Tiny Rebel is listed as “one of the UK’s most progressive breweries”.

The High Street bar – described as the brewery’s “spiritual home” – is home to “a wide range of traditional and contemporary beer styles, both cask and craft”.

The brewery is also included in this year’s guide.

St Julian Inn

• Caerleon Road, Caerleon, NP18 1QA

The balcony at the St Julian Inn.

A mainstay of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide, the St Julian Inn was recognised back in August for being included for 30 consecutive years.

Visitors can enjoy “good ale, often of a light and hoppy style” while sitting out on the riverside balcony, with “pleasant views of the countryside and the ebb and flow of the tide”.

Weird Dad Brewery Tap 23

• Caerleon Road, Newport, NP19 7BU

Having started brewing in 2021, Weird Dad Brewery is one of the newest entrants to the guide.

Located in the city centre and just a short distance from Rodney Parade, the guide describes the tap room as “a small bar from which a mix of cask and other live beers are dispensed sits alongside two fridges full of bottled and canned delights”.

Their nanobrewery has also been included in the 2023 guide.

Bell Inn

• Bulmore Road, Caerleon, NP18 1QQ

The Bell Inn in Caerleon.

Caerleon’s Bell Inn offers “a snug and a cosy low-beamed restaurant”.

The guide says the “beer range reflects local preferences”, with “very popular” food offerings as well – with a “pleasant secluded garden”.