TWENTY-four Oxfordshire pubs have been given a boost after being named as new entries in the 2010 Good Beer Guide.

The national guide – the real ale enthusiast’s bible – lists 4,500 of the best places to have a pint across the country.

Seventy pubs in Oxfordshire are in the new edition of the Campaign for Real Ale book.

Among the new entries is the Royal Blenheim, in St Ebbe’s Street, Oxford, which changed hands in October last year to become the brewery tap of the White Horse Brewery, at Stanford in the Vale.

The city centre pub sells between five and nine real ales, the cheapest, White Horse Bitter, at £2.30 a pint.

Assistant manager Ade Fisher, 44, said: “I’m sure it will make a difference – it’s the most popular pub guide.

“This is a recognition that we sell good beer and we’re a good place to come and drink real ale.”

She added: “The last year has gone really well. We’ve changed the pub, introduced more real ale and worked on getting an identity.

In Abingdon, the Stocks Bar at the Crown & Thistle Hotel was listed for the first time after completing a £25,000 revamp of its cellars and bar. It now sells seven real ales, many of them delivered direct from local breweries.

The bar’s 20-year-old manager Tom James, who previously worked in a JD Wetherspoon’s pub in Sussex, said: “This is fantastic for us. We’re a local pub, with quite a strong local following and this shows we’re passionate about ale.

“I love real ale and drink it all the time. I used to drink stout, until I got involved at Wetherspoon’s in promoting local beers. I started drinking it and discovered I quite liked it.”

Two of the county’s biggest towns, Bicester and Didcot, do not boast a single entry in the guide.

South Oxfordshire Camra branch secretary Paul Dixon, said: “It’s more difficult for pubs attached to a chain to get in, because they’re often restricted as to the range of beers they can offer.

“The fact that places aren’t in the guide doesn’t mean they’re bad pubs.

“I don’t think there’s a single pub in south Oxfordshire that doesn’t serve real ale, and generally speaking, the quality is pretty good.”

lsloan@oxfordmail.co.uk