In conjunction with the launch of the 2026 Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) bestselling book, ‘The Good Beer Guide’, and national ‘Cask Ale’ week, West Dorset CAMRA are proud to announce that the Thimble Inn, Piddlehinton has won the 2025 ‘Beer Drinkers Pub Of The Year’.
The award is presented to the pub that consistently serves the best, well kept, cask conditioned real ale throughout the last year and has different qualification attributes than CAMRA’s Pub of the Year winner.
This is a unique award that CAMRA members judge throughout the year through a national beer scoring system via the CAMRA website “Whatpub?” Members can enter a score of 0.5 – 5 for the cask ale they are drinking, 0.5 being the worst undrinkable beer possible to the rarely awarded 5 which is the perfect pint. Every month the scores are presented at CAMRA branch meetings (which all members can attend) by an unbiased coordinator and throughout the past year the Thimble Inn has led the way, standing out as consistently good.
On being told the news of winning Thimble Inn licensee Emma-Jayne Trawicki said “We are incredibly grateful to have been chosen as CAMRA’s Beer Drinkers Pub Of The Year. Our team work tirelessly to make the Thimble a welcoming environment where everyone can come and enjoy a good pint. It is fantastic that we have been recognised by CAMRA for this.”
Speaking on behalf of West Dorset CAMRA spokesperson Rich Gabe said “Overall beer quality in West Dorset is getting consistently better year by year and this award is a sheer reflection of the good cellarmanship at the Thimble Inn. This is only the second year we have presented this award and there was a lot of strong competition. Well done to Emma-Jayne and her fantastic team.”
Other pubs in West Dorset that have made the 2026 Good Beer Guide include Pursuit of Hoppiness, Ropemakers, Tiger Inn and The Woodman in Bridport with the Rock Point in Lyme Regis. The county town of Dorchester promotes The Bakers Arms, Copper St Brewery Tap and Tom Browns with guide regular The Digby Tap in Sherborne. Weymouth has The Doghouse Micro and The Dolphin Hotel with The George Inn, Portland. If you wish to venture more rural there’s The Fox at Corscombe or Winyard’s Gap Inn, Chedington, heading towards the Crewkerne/Somerset border, or The Three Horseshoes at Burton Bradstock along the Weymouth to Bridport coast road.
Last year’s winner The Sailor’s Return at Chaldon Herring still keeps its place in the guide for selling excellent consistent beer.
To many, the CAMRA Good Beer Guide is regarded as the beer drinker’s bible and is the only guide that promotes pubs on beer quality alone. Unlike other guides publicans cannot pay to be in this publication. The book not only lists every county in the UK but has a comprehensive brewery directory, with beers brewed also listed. The guide is released on Friday 26th September and is available in all good book shops or to order from CAMRA books.
CAMRA Competition Coordinator Kylie Stroud (left with Thimble Inn landlady Emma-Jayne Trawicki.Credit Rich Gabe