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Campaign for Real Ale
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Campaign for Real Ale
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs.
The organisation was founded on 16 March 1971 in Kruger's Bar, Dunquin, County Kerry, Ireland, by Michael Hardman, Graham Lees, Jim Makin, and Bill Mellor, who were opposed to the growing mass production of beer and the homogenisation of the British brewing industry. The original name was the Campaign for the Revitalisation of Ale. Following the formation of the Campaign, the first annual general meeting took place in 1972, at the Rose Inn in Coton Road, Nuneaton.
Early membership consisted of the four founders and their friends. Interest in CAMRA and its objectives spread rapidly, with 5,000 members signed up by 1973. Other early influential members included Christopher Hutt, author of Death of the English Pub, who succeeded Hardman as chairman, Frank Baillie, author of The Beer Drinker's Companion, and later the many times Good Beer Guide editor, Roger Protz.
In 1991, CAMRA had 30,000 members across the UK and abroad and, a year later, helped to launch the European Beer Consumers Union. In December 2022, CAMRA issued guidelines advising volunteers to avoid terms like "pub crawl" or "few beers with the lads" in order to promote a more inclusive drinking culture. The guidelines also discouraged "lad culture" and emphasized the need for "inclusive banter." This move generated public debate, including criticism from Conservative MP Bob Blackman, who questioned the necessity of such changes.
In 2023, the White Hart Inn in Grays, Essex, — winner of South West Essex CAMRA Pub of the Year in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020 — was banned from being considered for awards and excluded from the Good Beer Guide after displaying golliwog dolls. CAMRA stated that pubs should not display material considered offensive under its inclusivity guidelines. At the 2025 AGM, CAMRA reported that it was facing significant financial strain. Membership had fallen to a six-year low, recruitment had stalled, and the organisation failed to return to pre-COVID levels.
CAMRA's campaigns include promoting small brewing and pub businesses, reforming licensing laws, reducing tax on beer, and stopping continued consolidation among local British brewers. It also makes an effort to promote less common varieties of beer, including stout, porter, and mild, as well as traditional cider and perry.
CAMRA's states that real ale should be served without the use of additional carbonation. This means that "any beer brand which is produced in both cask and keg versions" is not admitted to CAMRA festivals if the brewery's marketing is deemed to imply an equivalence of quality or character between the two versions.
CAMRA is organised on a federal basis, over 200 local branches, each covering a particular geographical area of the UK, that contribute to the central body of the organisation based in St Albans. It is governed by a National Executive, made up of 12 voluntary unpaid directors elected by the membership. The local branches are grouped into 16 regions across the UK, such as the West Midlands or Wessex.
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Campaign for Real Ale
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs.
The organisation was founded on 16 March 1971 in Kruger's Bar, Dunquin, County Kerry, Ireland, by Michael Hardman, Graham Lees, Jim Makin, and Bill Mellor, who were opposed to the growing mass production of beer and the homogenisation of the British brewing industry. The original name was the Campaign for the Revitalisation of Ale. Following the formation of the Campaign, the first annual general meeting took place in 1972, at the Rose Inn in Coton Road, Nuneaton.
Early membership consisted of the four founders and their friends. Interest in CAMRA and its objectives spread rapidly, with 5,000 members signed up by 1973. Other early influential members included Christopher Hutt, author of Death of the English Pub, who succeeded Hardman as chairman, Frank Baillie, author of The Beer Drinker's Companion, and later the many times Good Beer Guide editor, Roger Protz.
In 1991, CAMRA had 30,000 members across the UK and abroad and, a year later, helped to launch the European Beer Consumers Union. In December 2022, CAMRA issued guidelines advising volunteers to avoid terms like "pub crawl" or "few beers with the lads" in order to promote a more inclusive drinking culture. The guidelines also discouraged "lad culture" and emphasized the need for "inclusive banter." This move generated public debate, including criticism from Conservative MP Bob Blackman, who questioned the necessity of such changes.
In 2023, the White Hart Inn in Grays, Essex, — winner of South West Essex CAMRA Pub of the Year in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020 — was banned from being considered for awards and excluded from the Good Beer Guide after displaying golliwog dolls. CAMRA stated that pubs should not display material considered offensive under its inclusivity guidelines. At the 2025 AGM, CAMRA reported that it was facing significant financial strain. Membership had fallen to a six-year low, recruitment had stalled, and the organisation failed to return to pre-COVID levels.
CAMRA's campaigns include promoting small brewing and pub businesses, reforming licensing laws, reducing tax on beer, and stopping continued consolidation among local British brewers. It also makes an effort to promote less common varieties of beer, including stout, porter, and mild, as well as traditional cider and perry.
CAMRA's states that real ale should be served without the use of additional carbonation. This means that "any beer brand which is produced in both cask and keg versions" is not admitted to CAMRA festivals if the brewery's marketing is deemed to imply an equivalence of quality or character between the two versions.
CAMRA is organised on a federal basis, over 200 local branches, each covering a particular geographical area of the UK, that contribute to the central body of the organisation based in St Albans. It is governed by a National Executive, made up of 12 voluntary unpaid directors elected by the membership. The local branches are grouped into 16 regions across the UK, such as the West Midlands or Wessex.
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