Strong Boddies seduces Camra

by Tony Halstead Camra, the Campaign for Real Ale pressure group, has "kissed and made up" with Boddingtons, the brewer it loved to hate over a cold war period that lasted a full decade through the 1990s.

Camra, which has been openly critical of the quality of the Manchester brew, has now welcomed the newly-launched revamped version of Boddies with open arms.

It says the new recipe, which is a stronger 4.1% abv cask beer, represents a major opportunity for Boddingtons to put its recent troubles in the past.

The Manchester branch of Camra is openly exhorting local licensees to stock new-look Boddingtons Cask which is now getting a major marketing and advertising overhaul from brand owner Interbrew.

The relaunch came on the back of a disastrous sales slump that saw Boddingtons' share of the cask-ale market drop a full 32% in the 12 months up to July 2002 when barrelage slumped from 9.1% to 6.9% of the 3.2m-barrel UK cask-ale market.

Interbrew responded with the new-look cask brand and a £500,000 quality initiative involving 2,000 north-west stockists.

Camra said the new beer was a class above its predecessor and was now a "tasty session beer" and deserves support.

The re-launch followed a last-minute reprieve for the Bodd-ingtons' Strangeways Brewery in Manchester under initial plans by Interbrew to transfer the bulk of production off the site.

Camra Manchester spokesman John Clarke said: "Boddingtons is not a beer we have raved about over the years, but that was then and this is now.

"We have had many favourable reports about the new beer, but in stark terms we believe this relaunch simply has to succeed.

"If it flops, it could colour the opinion of what is one of the UK's major brewers against real ale, which would be a disaster for cask in general and Boddingtons in particular."

Clarke added: "By supporting new Bodding-tons we are supporting cask beer, local jobs and an historic part if Manchester's brewing heritage.