Special task force will build positive evidence
A new task group is to be formed to trumpet the community pub.
Pubs will be shown as the solution to "the adverse effects of excessive drinking" by the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra)-led group.
The decision was taken at Camra's annual meeting in Cardiff at the weekend.
Camra's national executive charged the task force with researching and building evidence about the key role community pubs and cask beer play in promoting sensible drinking with "the underlying principle of reinforcing the rights of adults to enjoy alcohol responsibly".
The group will also investigate current definitions of harmful drinking, the impact on town centres of "circuit drinking", the role of the off-trade in selling heavily-discounted alcohol, and health benefits of the moderate consumption of alcohol.
The conference condemned the beer duty increase in the 2008 Budget — describing Chancellor Alistair Darling's excise hike as "a charter for smugglers, cheap supermarket booze and irresponsible drinking". It said the duty hikes will result in the closure of thousands of valued community pubs and threaten the future of many British brewers.
The conference unanimously supported an emergency motion from MA columnist Roger Protz calling on Coors to halt the closure of its visitor centre and museum in Burton-on-Trent.
Protz said it was vital to keep the museum open while a steering group set up by Burton MP Janet Dean looked at alternative methods of ownership, including charitable trust status.
Protz said Coors had invested millions of
dollars in a brewing museum in its home town of Golden, Colorado. Protz added: "Let Coors know that what's good enough for Golden should be good enough for Burton-
upon-Trent."
Last week Coors said the site will close in June, but it will curate until January 2009. Coors also offered to lease the building for free and pay up to £100,000 annually for upkeep.