News

18 Feb

CAMRA supports calls for a freeze on beer duty
CAMRA has written to Chancellor George Osborne calling on him to freeze beer duty in his forthcoming Budget on 21 March. It has also urged him to scrap the annual duty escalator which requires beer duty to rise at 2% above the RPI rate of inflation. More.

14 Feb

SIBA Gears Up For Budget
The Society of Independent Brewers’ pre-Budget campaign has moved up a gear with the organisation’s Budget Submission now presented to the Treasury and its members briefed to lobby locally for a more beer-friendly tax regime
More. . .

 

12 Feb

The Bridge End Inn in Ruabon, Wrexham, has been crowned the CAMRA National Pub of the Year – the first ever Welsh pub with the title. More. . .
TV News Clip

 

3 Feb

Top Totty beer banned from House of Commons bar in case it offends women
A beer called Top Totty has been banned from the Strangers' Bar in the House of Commons because its pump plate, featuring a half-naked woman, offended female MPs. More. . . and More. . .
Good advertising for Slaters, not so for MPs yet again........

IPPR: 'policymakers must recognise pubs’ social value'
The social value of pubs is often overlooked by policymakers because official statistics only capture their financial benefits, according to the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR). In an updated version of its 2009 report, Pubs and places: the social value of community pubs, the IPPR has urged the Government to consider 50% business-rate relief for pubs serving as “centres of their community”. More. . .

2 Feb

CAMRA to launch new national pubs campaign in April

‘Community Pubs Month’ to champion the importance of local pubs in wake of new figures showing 16 pubs close across Britain each week More. . .

 

30 Jan

'Stop serving FULL pints': Pub landlord threatened with sack for topping up regulars' drinks.
A pub landlord and landlady face losing their jobs and their home after brewery bosses accused them of serving too much beer in their pints. More. . .

28 Jan

CAMRA's plea to save historic pubs across the country and in St Albans
Campaigners are calling on the Government to save historic pubs across the country, including many in St Albans and Harpenden, following research which reveals the threat of closure hanging over them. More . . .

24 Jan

‘Community life in Britain’s suburbs under threat’
New pub closure figures out today show 16 pubs close across Britain every week

• 8 suburban pubs close every week, compared to 6 rural, and 2 high street
• Over 1000 pubs lost in Britain’s suburbs in just 2 years
• 10 tied pubs are closing every week compared to 7 free of tie, with the number of managed pubs actually increasing by 1 opening per week.

CAMRA has today called for urgent Government action to save Britain’s historic pub culture in light of new research showing how 16 pubs now close across the country on a weekly basis. The consumer group has expressed particular concern that Government policy is failing communities on the peripheries of Britain’s towns and cities, with half of these closures (8 a week) taking place in the nation’s suburbs. More. . .

20 Jan

Champion Winter Beer of Britain 2012- Cornish brewer floats to victory!
Driftwood brewery’s (of St Agnes, Cornwall) ‘Alfie’s Revenge’ has today been crowned the Supreme Champion Winter Beer of Britain 2012 by a panel of judges at the National Winter Ales Festival in Manchester, at the city’s Sheridan Suite. More. . .

 

19 Jan

Wetherspoons to open 50 more pubs this year
JD Wetherspoon will press ahead with plans to open 50 pubs this year despite a squeeze on profit margins. But the chain, which operates some 850 pubs, warned future openings may slow drastically if the Chancellor presses ahead with planned increases in duty. More. . .

12 Jan

Glass beer tankards make return
Traditional glass beer tankards have made a comeback in trendy urban pubs as punters demand a return to old-fashioned drinking rituals. More. .

12 Jan

Parliament Unanimously Passes Fair Deal for Pubs Motion

Motion: That this House believes that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ proposals for reform of the pub industry fall short of the undertaking given to the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee in July 2010 and that only a statutory code of practice which includes a free-of-tie option with an open market rent review and an independent adjudicator will resolve the contractual problems between the pub companies and their lessees; and calls on the Government to commission a review of self-regulation of the pub industry in the Autumn of 2012 to be conducted by an independent body approved by the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee. More. . .

Travelling through Euston?
At first sight, the tall, narrow, grade II-listed Portland stone lodge that houses the Euston Tap might seem an odd choice of venue for a pub. More. . .

10 Jan

"Stay off drink two days a week" - Britons told
Britons should avoid drinking alcohol for at least two days a week to protect their health, a committee of MPs said in a report published on Monday. More. . .

5 Jan

CAMRA launches new style national website More. . .

15 Dec

CAMRA has officially announced the four finalists of its National Pub of the Year competition for 2011 More. . .

CAMRA 40th anniversary: How it all began
We were four young men from the north of England, all of us under 25 and more concerned with making the most of our youth while it lasted than getting involved in a serious consumer campaign. More. . .

9 Dec

Pubs ‘urged to under-fill glass’ claim
Ministers are being urged to investigate pub firms over claims cash-strapped landlords are "under-filling" pints. Union leaders last night complained customers were at risk of being short-changed. More. . .

IPC and Mulholland demand halt to code of practice
The Independent Pub Confederation (IPC) has demanded that the Government halt the self-regulation agreement over the pubco-tenant relationship. Following yesterday’s Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Committee meeting, the organisation has called for the business minister Ed Davey to launch a consultation on the issue. More. . .

8 Dec

The Business, Innovation and Skills Committee (BISC) will “not let it go” over the decision of the Government to support self-regulation of the pubco-tenant relationship More. . .

5 Dec

CAMRA leader encouraging more lady ale drinkers
June Scott, women’s group leader for Tyneside and Northumberland CAMRA says both ladies and landlords need to overcome a few misconceptions to make progress More. .

4 Dec

We're not a pub Tesco: Wetherspoon boss hits back at critics of his chain’s growing dominance
Once found almost exclusively in busy city centres, Wetherspoon pubs – usually cavernous affairs because they were former banks, cinemas, funeral parlours and fire stations – are now springing up in smaller towns and threatening existing pubs with cut-price offers. More. . .

25 Nov

CAMRA accuses Government of weak reforms
The Government response to the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee report will not be enough to avert the “disaster” facing thousands of British pubs More. . .

23 Nov

What makes the perfect pub?
Join the debate More. . .

15 Nov

'Two-thirds pints are being shunned'
Pubs and pub goers have shunned the two-third pint glasses, says research from the CAMRA More. . .

14 Nov

Here is Lib Dem ministers’ chance to save the pub. Greg Mulholland writes… More. . .

7 Nov

York Station Tap
opens on the 16th November with a selection of 18 cask ales - worth getting off a train for! More. . .
website

1 Nov

CAMRA urges restrictive covenants ban
CAMRA has called on the Government to ban the practice of selling pubs with restrictive covenants that force change of use. More . . .

25 Oct

Pub campaigners welcome parliamentary motion to free pubs from tie
Pub campaign groups have welcomed calls for MPs to back a parliamentary motion on the Government to free landlords from restrictive tied arrangements imposed by pub companies. The Forum of Private Business warned that the voluntary industry codes of practice introduced in recent years were not working and many pub companies still had a hold over their tenants, who often found themselves tied into unfavourable contracts and subsequently struggle to control costs. More. . .

21 Oct

CAMRA encouraged by pub friendly Government
CAMRA has said it is encouraged the Government is committed to its pub friendly tag but warned that more progress is needed on cheap supermarket alcohol and beer duty. More. . .

18 Oct
National Cask Ale Week turns ale triers into real fans
Beer writers have declared National Cask Ale Week a success. It’s a week when daring drinkers give ale a try, enthusiasts extol its virtues, and CAMRA sends out suspiciously-posed pictures of attractive young women drinking bitter More. .

17 Oct

Radio feature on pub closures (You and Yours R4) that also includes a
contribution from CAMRA Regional Director for Wessex John Buckley:

38 minutes in..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b015pbhg/You_and_Yours_14_10_2011/

15 Oct

Italian beer: a new sparkle
Italian craft brewers are creating a thriving scene in a country regarded as a beer backwater More. . .

Pubcos support MP drive
The push to get MPs behind the bar to support the pub trade received a boost this week as leading pubcos — St Austell Brewery, Punch Taverns and Greene King — backed the campaign More. . .

12 Oct

CAMRA ups pressure over beer-tie reform
CAMRA is upping pressure on the Government to keep its word over beer-tie reform. More. . .

E-mail your MP

11 Oct

Pubcos fail to act decisively on reforms
Anyone who witnessed the last Business, Innovation & Skills Committee hearing in July could see that the report was only ever heading one way. And so it proved, with the select committee recommending a statutory code of practice backed up by a full suite of sanctions, which could take the form of naming and shaming to financial fines More. . .

Pubs chains' last chance to cut landlord's beer ties
Major pub chains such as Burton-based Marston’s and Punch Taverns have come under fire for the way they treat landlords. It is claimed landlords are forced into a ‘beer tie’ which forces them to pay skyhigh prices for alcohol from the pub companies. More. . .

 

8 Oct

from the National Measurement Office

Alcoholic Drinks

2/3 pint will become a legal specified quantity for the sale of draught beer
and cider served on licensed premises from 1 October 2011. Use of the new
size will be optional, but its availability will provide licensees with more
freedom to offer a wider range of sizes and will give consumers more choice.
Servings of glasses of wine below 75 ml will be deregulated, allowing for
the sale of samples of wine for the first time.
The sizes available for the sale of fortified wines are also changing - to
50 ml or 70 ml or a multiple of either size - bringing the law into line
with common trade practice.
The specified quantities for spirits are unchanged.

29 Sept

Row brewing with CAMRA
Small craft brewers claim they are being discriminated against by the Campaign for Real Ale Channel 4 News Video

 

29 Sept

Coming Saturday - the people's pint! New range of 2.8% beers which will be 50p cheaper thanks to tax reduction. Cash strapped drinkers and people looking for a low alcohol beer will have more choice from this weekend as new ranges of tax-busting beers are introduced More . . .

27 Sept

Real ale 'helping UK pubs stay open'
With 15% share of British beer market, cask ale is shaking off flat-cap image to become 'cool drink' for younger consumers More. . . (The photo on the article is of Andy Clipston at the Black Horse in Walcote, taken back in 2008 when the Black Horse was CAMRA's New Build Pubof the year. Sadly the Black Horse is no longer open!)

25 Sept

Pubs tsar could be appointed to save our local boozers
A pubs tsar will be appointed to stop more local boozers from going to the wall if a powerful group of MPs gets its way More. . .

A write-up in the Good Pub Guide? That will be £200... landlords in revolt over 'ransom' More. . .

17 Sept

Two British pubs 'close every day'
Two pubs are closing in Britain every day, reflecting a "perfect storm" of tax increases, cheap supermarket promotions and lack of support for licensees, according to a report.
A study by the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) found that almost double the number of pubs which are "tied" to a company - so-called pubcos - are closing compared to others. More. . .

13 Sept

Beer price rise 'over inflation'
A pint of lager is 80p higher and beer 65p more expensive than justified by rises in inflation and tax changes since 1987, with "sky high" rents charged by landlords to blame, according to a study. More. . .

1 Sept

BBPA defends pubcos after new study
The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has defended pubcos treatment of tenants after they were slammed in a report from the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR). More. . .

30 Aug

Cheers! It's a real ale renaissance
Despite pub closures and a dwindling lager market, record number of microbreweries are opening More. . .

29 Aug

Beer Tie Blamed For Pub Closures
The pubs industry needs major reform to prevent thousands more facing closure, says a key report today. More. . .

21 Aug

After real ale, brewers cash in on trend for 'real lagers'
After years of derision and association with loutish behaviour, lager is mounting a fightback. Sales of a drink once associated with continental sophistication have dropped by 11% since 2004, with lager ceding market share to real ale last year for the first time in living memory More. . .

20 Aug

Beer: Ale and hearty – the best of British
British brewing hasn't been this exciting in years More. . .

Core values keeping the Coopers Tavern at the top of the tree
A Burton watering hole, frequently visited by H&B members, has been named the best cider pub in the West Midlands for the fourth year in a row More. . .

Hosts hail freehold deals
Licensees who bought their freeholds from Punch Taverns two years ago say the move has paid off with bigger profits being achieved, allowing greater investment in their businesses. More. . .

16 Aug

Manx underwear promises to banish the beer belly
For those men wishing to banish the beer belly without spending hours in the gym, a new range of figure hugging boxer shorts have hit the market More. . .

8 Aug

Traditional pubs are an 'endangered species', says MEP
Pubs like the Rovers Return in ­Coronation Street are in danger of ­becoming an endangered species, a report claimed yesterday. More . . .

Drinkers bitter after Wells weakens ale
Beer lovers have hit out at a brewery for cutting the strength of one of their favourite tipples. Bedford-based Wells and Young’s has come under fire for reducing the alcohol by volume level (ABV) in its flagship Bombardier drink from 4.3 per cent to 4.1 per cent. More . . .

5 Aug

Real ale wins new generation of fans
Young, female and black faces join Camra regulars at this year's Great British Beer Festival. More. . .

4 Aug

Champion Beer of Britain 2011
After a year of local tasting panels and regional heats leading up to the finals, CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, is today proud to announce that Might Oak brewery's Oscar Wilde has been crowned the 'Best Beer' in Britain at the Great British Beer Festival, Earls Court, London.
Oscar Wilde, which has an ABV of 3.7%, is described in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide 2011 as a 'roasty dark mild with suggestions of forest fruits and dark chocolate. A sweet taste yields to a more bitter finish'.
Overall winners
Champion Beer of Britain - Oscar Wilde, Mighty Oak (3.7% ABV)
Second - Chocolate, Marble (5.5% ABV)
Third - Shropshire Gold, Salopian (3.8% ABV)
Complete list of all categories - GBBF website

Boost to community pubs with launch of review into restrictive covenants
As part of the Government's commitment to the Great British pub, Community Pubs Minister Bob Neill today launched a review of restrictive covenants More. . .

2 Aug

Real ale enters a golden age, with 800 breweries in UK
The number of drinkers trying real ale for the first time has increased by 40 per cent in the past few years, while 200 new breweries have opened More. . .

Real ale revival led by small breweries
Great British Beer Festival set to toast figures showing microbreweries opening at rate of almost 50 a year More. . .

31 Jul

Fry 'good for a quip and a quaff'
Broadcaster and writer Stephen Fry has been voted the most popular person to have a pint with at a beer festival.
Actor Oliver Reed was runner-up in the poll, Top Gear host James May came third and Winston Churchill was fourth.
Over 600 people voted, and one of the reasons given for Fry was "the quipping would be as good as the quaffing".
The survey was published ahead of the Great British Beer Festival, which starts on Tuesday.
The women with the most votes were the Duchess of Cambridge and Lady Gaga, who shared 11th spot with Prime Minister David Cameron.
Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2011, All Rights Reserved

24 Jul

World record beer drinker (44,243 pubs and counting)
Bruce Masters has supped a pint in 44,243 locals the length and breadth of Britain More. . .

23 Jul

Russia classifies beer as alcoholic
Until now anything containing less than 10% alcohol in Russia has been considered a foodstuff More. . .

12 Jul

Oldies’ drink warnings are based on myths
Having scourged the young for the sin of binge drinking, it’s now the turn of the oldies to receive alarmist warnings about alcohol consumption from the medical profession. Royal College of Psychiatrists recommend that the ‘safe drinking’ limits of 21 units a week for men and 14 for women should be halved for those aged 65 or older. More. . .

CAMRA’s critics should aim at the real enemies
a disconcertingly large number of people in our business seem to have declared open day on the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). More. . .

26 Jun

Sunday Mirror Support Your Pub campaign – time for the PM to honour pledge to helps pubs More. . .

24 Jun

Greene King to rollout beerhouse concept
Greene King Pub Partners is to roll out a beerhouse concept called Local Hero aimed at boosting wet-led local pubs within its tenanted estate. There is a focus on provenance and local sourcing at Local Hero, with licensees able to source microbrews directly within 20 miles to take up 50% of the cask-ale offer alongside Greene King ales. Licensees are offered a 25% discount on existing rent and receive a £100-a-barrel discount on Greene King cask products — but pay a 6% royalty on net turnover
More. . .

19 Jun

Save Our Pubs: The Sunday Mirror's campaign to save the Great British local
They have been at the heart of our communities for centuries – but now Britain’s pubs are under threat.Six close down every day and those still open face a constant struggle to survive.
The local is in crisis.
So today the Sunday Mirror calls on PM David Cameron to honour his election promise that his ­Government would be “pub-friendly and take the urgent action needed to protect a treasured national institution”. More. . .

Closure of Tetley's brewery marked with 'wake'
The local branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) met at midday on Saturday outside the brewery gates to hold a silent "wake".
Chairman John Rowe said: "It is with much regret that we see Tetley's leaving the city of Leeds, especially for employees at the brewery." More. . .

13 Jun

Rumour!
Whilst visiting Wiltshire last week, there was a rumour around that Wadworth would be Marston's next aquisition...............only a rumour.

26 May

Great British Beer Festival - 2-6 August 2011, Earls Court.
Tutored Tastings & Advance Admission Tickets now on sale

Also Festival clothing or perhaps you would like to volunteer to work at the festival?

Click here for details

 

20 May

Beer duty: MPs want Osborne to help the brewers
It's hardly surprising that the MP for 'the home of British brewing' should be urging the Chancellor to relax beer duty. But the Conservative MP for Burton and Uttoxeter, Andrew Griffiths, is convinced his numbers make sense; that the beer duty escalator is an expensive way for the Government to raise money.
Significantly, more than 100 other MPs have agreed with him by signing his Parliamentary motion.
Andrew Griffiths will be live in the Politics Show studio this week starting at 12:00 BST on Sunday 22 May 2011 More. . .

 

9 May

Chef & Brewer on web TV
Punch managed chain Chef & Brewer has launched a web TV programme dispelling some of the myths around cask beer. more. . .

 

8 May

National Cask Ale Week will run from 1-9 October this year — spanning two weekends — to help pubs promote the event.
Cask Marque, which runs the week with the support of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), will urge its 7,500 licensees to promote “Try Before You Buy”, which is an initiative designed to encourage consumers to try a cask beer. more. . .