Each year Sunderland & South Tyneside CAMRA award a branch area Pub (PotY), Club (CotY) & Cider Pub (CPotY) of the Year award. To win the award the venues are visited & scored by volunteer judges using the standard national judging criteria.
The three winning venues are then entered into the North East Regional competition & could potentially go on to become CAMRA’s national champion!
Pub of the Year 2026:
Winner: Blue’s Micro Pub, Witburn
Runner-up: Dun Cow, Sunderland
Other Finalists:
- The Steps, Washington
- The Stags Head, South Shields
- The Ship Isis, Sunderland (winner 2025)
- The Marine, South Shields (winner 2024)
Club of the Year 2026:
Winner: Boldon Cricket Club, East Boldon
Runner-up: Ryhope Catholic Club, Ryhope
Other Finalists:
Cider Pub of the Year 2026:
Winner: Blue’s Micro Pub, Witburn (winner 2025)
Runner-up: The Avenue, Sunderland
Judging:
Any current member of Sunderland & South Tyneside CAMRA was eligible to volunteer to be a judge in each competition unless associated with one of the finalists in a particular “otY” competition.
How we select our “otY” entries can be found detailed in this download: GBG entry selection & *otY processes (last updated 2024.)
Judges visited each venue between the 1st December & 15th February & returned a score card based on the CAMRA national judging criteria. Results were obtained by adding the scores from each judge together & dividing by the number of judges in each competition to give a simple mean average score. The venue with the highest score was declared the winner in each competition.
The final 6 pubs where short listed between September & December 2025 from the 21 pubs in the Sunderland & South Tyneside area included in the 2026 edition of the Good Beer Guide (Published in September 2025). The shortlisting process for 2027 PotY will start again once the 2027 GBG is published this coming September.
The Judging criteria:
- Quality and Condition of Product
- Promotion and Knowledge of Product
- Cleanliness and Staff Hygiene
- Community Focus
- Service and Welcome
- Style, Décor and Atmosphere
- Sympathy with CAMRA’s Aims
- Overall Impression and Value
Sunderland & South Tyneside CAMRA congratulate all the venues mentioned above.