Chris Pollard & Siobhan McGinn

Here’s a novel twist on the well-worn pub/bar guide format. Don’t just pick the best places, but choose a beer to drink in each of them, too.

Around Bruges in 80 Beers was first published in 2006. This second edition reflects the changing commercial climate, even in a seemingly timeless place such as Bruges. As the introduction reveals, twenty-five of the recommended places are new to the book and nearly half the beer choices have changed.

The format is simple but highly effective. There’s a page devoted to each of the establishments, which are listed in alphabetical order. A small fact box gathers together all the vital information – address, telephone number, opening hours, number of beers served and food offering – then several, well-written, scene-setting paragraphs sum up the charms of the chosen locale.

What really lifts the book, however, is the full use of colour throughout, with each page laden with good internal and external shots of bars, plus tempting glasses and bottles of the selected beer.

It’s not just bars that get a look in, either. With the emphasis on beer, the range of establishments extends to restaurants, hotels, beer shops and even a boat.

The A5 paperback format doesn’t quite lend itself to pocket stuffing, but it’s by no means a bulky book to carry around and, with an introduction to local food and beer styles, an included map and an index, you need nothing else for a long weekend in this most pleasurable of cities.

The linchpin, however, is the choice of drink. After all, what better sums up a pub or a bar than its beer provision?

By picking out a brew that is typical of the bar’s selection, or even more significantly, unique to the establishment, authors Chris Pollard and Siobhan McGinn really nail down what bar hopping is all about.

Second edition (2009)

96-page paperback (Cogan & Mater)

£7.99

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