Snug

A small, separate room in an older pub, once used for quieter or more private drinking — many Victorian pubs still have one.

Free house

A pub not tied to any one brewery, free to choose which beers it stocks.

Tied house

The opposite of a free house — a pub owned or leased by a brewery or pub group, usually required to sell its beers.

Landlord / Landlady

The person who runs the pub day to day — not necessarily its owner.

Round

Buying drinks for the whole group in turn — it's your round when it's your turn to pay.

Last orders

The final call to order drinks before the bar closes for the night, traditionally rung on a bell.

Local

Whichever pub someone drinks at regularly — "my local" — usually the nearest one worth going to.

Cask ale

Beer that finishes maturing in the cask it's served from, rather than in a factory tank — served at cellar temperature, without added gas.

Real ale

Another name for cask ale — the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) popularised the term to distinguish it from keg beer.

Bitter

The classic English pub pour — a pale to amber ale, malty with a firm hop bitterness, traditionally served on cask.

Session bitter

A lower-strength bitter, usually under 4%, built for drinking more than one over an evening — a "session".

Pale ale

A lighter, hop-forward relative of bitter — the term now covers everything from traditional English pale ales to modern craft versions.

India Pale Ale (IPA)

A stronger, more heavily hopped pale ale, originally brewed robust enough to survive the sea voyage to colonial India — today's versions range from traditional English to fruity, punchy American-style.

Golden ale

A pale, easy-drinking cask ale developed in the 1980s as British brewers' answer to lager's growing popularity.

Mild

A low-strength, malt-forward dark ale — once the everyday drink of industrial Britain, now rare but still cherished where it's kept.

Porter

A dark, roasty beer that predates stout and gave rise to it — typically lighter-bodied and slightly less intense.

Stout

A dark beer built on roasted barley, giving coffee and chocolate notes — Guinness is the style's best-known example.

Barley wine

A strong, dark, sweet ale closer in strength to wine than beer, traditionally served in small measures.

Lager

A bottom-fermented beer served cold — most of what's poured on tap in Britain is lager, usually mass-market rather than cask.

Pilsner

A pale, crisp lager style that originated in the Czech town of Plzeň and became the template for most modern lagers.

Wheat beer

A pale, often cloudy beer brewed with a large share of wheat alongside barley — fruity, slightly spicy, and usually served in its own tall glass.

Gin & Tonic

Gin poured over ice and topped with tonic water — by far the most ordered cocktail in a British pub.

Aperol Spritz

Aperol, prosecco and a splash of soda over ice — the modern staple of a sunny pub garden.

Espresso Martini

Vodka, coffee liqueur and a shot of espresso, shaken until it foams — a popular after-dinner order.

Negroni

Equal parts gin, Campari and sweet vermouth — bitter and bracing, an Italian classic that's found its way onto most pub cocktail lists.

Old Fashioned

Whisky, sugar and bitters, stirred over a single large ice cube — simple, and a fair test of how good the pour is.

Mojito

White rum, lime, mint and soda — built for a warm evening in a beer garden.