This Thursday marks the start of the three-day Southport beer festival at the town’s arts centre. Always a good event, with good beer, it’s well worth a visit. More details can be found by clicking here.

The local Camra, meanwhile has included The Richmond and the Lloyds No1 bar in this year’s Good Beer Guide and have voted the Lakeside its Summer Pub of the Year on the back of its fine Tetley Cask (-; All three pubs have, in the past, received a drubbing from the poison keyboard of the Southport Drinker. Is the local Camra trying to tell me something?

The Bold in Churchtown and the Southport FC bar are out. The Guest House is back in after last year’s big cock-up.

Personally, I think some of Camra’s decisions this year are barmy, but wouldn’t dream of saying anything to that effect.

In between gigs at the Southport Jazz on a Winter’s weekend festival I went hunting for real ale in pubs I don’t usually go to in an effort to broaden my horizons and escape the attentions of an amorous German.

At the Wellington, on Eastbank Street there was no cask, just 3 other customers and a lingering smell of sweaty peas. Over the road at the Ship, there was also no good beer, a handful of aggressive drunks crouched over journeyman lagers and some old doll desperate for conversation. I made a sharp exit.

Both pubs had Sky Sports on, for which they will have paid handsomely. So why not invest in some proper beer, eh? Maybe then you’d get some customers.

Defeated I slunk into a packed Baron’s Bar, where there was a massive choice of good ale. I tired a pint of Whingers’ Bitter (£2.05) from the George Wright Brewery of St Helens/Rainford.

Aggressively hoppy and strong at first sip (probably brewed that way in a shut-your-mouth nod to the name of the beer), it has a sharp, fizzaway after-taste that sounds unpleasant but wasn’t bad.

With time a-wasting, I headed back to the Arts Centre and the brilliant Southport Brewery bar, where I’d enjoyed a couple the day before while watching Arnie Somogyi’s Ambulance give a breathtaking double set of modernist bop.

Cursed be all the names of the devil, the last pint had just been sold. “I knew I should have got another barrel in” said the bar-keep. Too bloody right, thinks I, settling for a bottle of Spitfire with tears in my eyes. Dozens of others were equally disappointed.

After the gig I decided to stop off for one last drink at Ainsdale’s Railway. Despite sometimes having three cask beers on, there was none when I arrived, with the barkeep giving the now usual, but still insane, complaint that customers are drinking it too fast.

With my dander up, I decided I’d walk up to The Sands, where there is always good Moorhouse’s ale on offer. But half way there, I remembered I was closer to the Arion, that unusual 60s style pub/restauraunt on Kenilworth Road.

There were three cask ales on offer there, all usual suspects, but welcome nonetheless: Jennings, Black Sheep and Deuchars.

I went for a Black Sheep, which wasn’t memorable but did the job.

Today has taught me is that Southport is crying out for more real ale, but most pubs can’t get their heads round the fact.

No wonder trade is down.

Some of the Southport Brewery’s pumpclips

Popped into the Mason’s Arms today and was instantly reminded of why it’s number two on my list of  great local boozers.

In a short time I’d met a man who’d survived being shot in the head, a gang of pro-gamblers and more old-school drunks than you could shake a bag of nuts at. Even the Robinson’s Unicorn ale was in fine form.

You can read a previous review of the Mason’s here.

On a separate page of this blog, I’ve started compiling a list of the best pubs in Southport in my order of preference.

Want to find out what the top five are, in which order and what I think of them? You may be surprised.

Click HERE to see my top five

Feel free to leave a comment about your choice or your top five.