Category: CAMRA

Lincoln CAMRA Pub of the Year 2026

Each year all Lincoln branch members have their chance to nominate two pubs for this annual competition. One pub within the city boundary and one outside the city but within the branch boundary. The top 3* voted pubs in each category then are judged by a group chosen at our AGM in November. Whilst beer quality is a high scoring factor, other aspects of the pub are also assessed in this competition, such as community focus, service and welcome, and style/atmosphere to name a few. The categories are the same that the pubs will be judged by when the overall winner is judged in the Lincolnshire round.
As ever this year the scores were very close which is only to be expected when people are choosing the best pubs we have to offer within the branch.

So the pubs chosen in each category this year were:

City Pub of the Year Nominations

  • Joiners Arms, Victoria Street.
  • Strugglers Inn, Westgate.
  • Tiny Tavern, High Street

Country Pub of the Year Nominations (*due to a tie in number of votes for this category, the committee agreed to allow four finalists in this category.)

  • Anglers, Saxilby.
  • Dambusters, Scampton.
  • Ripon Arms, Nocton .
  • Three Horseshoes, Waddington. 

Lincoln Winner = Joiners Arms
Country Winner = Three Horseshoes, Waddington. 

So for the Lincolnshire round we can only submit one pub for the competition, so our entry for the overall Lincoln Branch Pub of the Year 2026 is;

Joiners Arms, Lincoln! Well done to Paul and the Joiners team for this fantastic result! 

Well done to all our finalists, you all did really well, the scores were so close, which is to be expected for such great candidates! 

New Venue for Lincoln Beer Festival

Lincoln Beer Festival is moving to a new venue in 2025. Over the years, the event has been held in a number of locations across the city but, recently, it has been a fixture at The Drill. However, the organising committee from the Lincoln Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale has decided that the 43rd Lincoln Beer Festival will be held in Southside.

Formerly St Katherine’s Church, Southside is located by the junction of High Street, South Park and Newark Road. The building is owned by Acoustic Nations Live CIC, a not-for-profit organisation which produces music, events, films and videos. It also promotes numerous live events and community activities. Southside aims to showcase the heritage of its site, as well as celebrate all that is good about living in the south of the city.

Explaining the decision to move, Festival Organiser Mark Richards said, “We’ve had many great times at The Drill and the staff there are so helpful and accommodating. Unfortunately, since COVID, the footfall in the city centre, particularly in the evenings, has reduced significantly. As a result, our attendance has fallen away. We’ve decided that, if people aren’t coming into the city centre, we’ll take the Festival to the people. And where better to do it than Southside, a wonderfully atmospheric, events venue with a heritage home? We’re really excited about this move.”

Emily Nichol, Operations Director at Southside, said, “It is important to our small, but mighty, team of event professionals that Southside provides an eclectic programme of events for the City. We are honoured to be Lincoln Beer Festival’s new home for 2025 and can’t wait to work with Mark and the team on one of the City’s key events of the year.”

Lincoln Beer Festival will take place at Southside on Thursday 22nd, Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th May 2025.

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