A ridiculously detailed guide to British pub etiquette.

I haven’t read it all yet, but it gives great insight into the British pub culture:

Don’t ever try to ‘jump’ the invisible queue. The people who reached the bar before you will be served before you. Everyone is well aware of his or her place in the queue.

From your choice of beverage, the natives will make all sorts of assumptions about your social background, your age, your class, your personality and even your sexual orientation. Although some allowances may be made for foreign ignorance or eccentricity, they will judge you according to the rules of British drinking etiquette, not those of your own culture.

Rule number one: To the natives, round-buying is sacred. Not ‘buying your round’ is more than just a breach of pub etiquette: it is heresy.

You must always play your full part in the round-buying ritual. This means always remembering who has bought you a drink, and making sure that you reciprocate as soon as possible; never having to be reminded that it is your round; always being aware of your companions’ drinking-pace, so that you can say “It’s my round” at the correct moment without, of course, ever giving the impression of being too concerned or calculating about these matters.

Don’t expect strict justice in the round-buying ritual. One person may end up buying two rounds during a ’session’, while the other members have only bought one round each. Over several sessions, rough equality is usually achieved, but it is bad manners to appear overly concerned about this.