CAMRA celebrates 40th birthday
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) celebrates its 40th anniversary today.
The number of breweries has quadrupled since CAMRA's formation in 1971 — there are now over 770 real ale breweries producing over 3,000 different ales.
CAMRA, which now has over 120,000 members, was formed by Michael Hardman, Graham Lees, Jim Makin and Bill Mellor whilst visiting a pub on holiday in Ireland. The quartet had become deeply disillusioned with the domination of the market by a handful of national brewing companies, determined to push a lower quality of keg beer brands into the market, displacing smaller, local breweries from pubs.
CAMRA's greatest moments include:
• Campaigning to save historic breweries such as Wolverhampton & Dudley in 2001 and Batemans brewery from 1985-1987.
• CAMRA was at the forefront in achieving licensing hours reform in the late 1980's,
• CAMRA campaigned tirelessly to break up the Big Six Brewers' monopoly of the UK beer market, with the Monopolies and Mergers Report of 1989 spelling the end of market domination for the global brewers
• Lobbying for the introduction of Progressive Beer Duty in 2002
• CAMRA successfully lobbied for the mandatory rate relief for shops and post offices to be extended to pubs
• CAMRA was a lead member of the Local Works Coalition when the Sustainable Communities Act became law
• In 2009, CAMRA first exercised its status as a super complainant and challenged the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to examine anti-competitive practices in the UK pub market.
"Forty years of campaigning, and the key issues apparent when forming the Campaign in 1971 — striving for quality and choice in the beer market, protecting the voice of the consumer — remain to this day," said Colin Valentine, CAMRA national chairman.
"Whilst there have been wholesale changes in the brewing and pub sectors during this time, pubs still play an invaluable role in the lives of local people, and more consumers than ever have now tried Britain's national drink.
"While hitting 40 is an overwhelming experience, we must focus on preventing irreparable social damage caused by pub closures, and continue to grow our membership to increase our influence in the corridors of power. Without the tireless effort of legendary individuals who have devoted much of their lives to helping grow the organisation, CAMRA would not be anywhere near the position it is in today."
As part of today's celebrations, CAMRA is currently asking its 120,000 members to vote for their top 40 campaigners of all time, and reflect upon which campaigns have had the greatest impact.
Meanwhile, CAMRA's branches across the UK have organised a host of local celebrations. To find out about the festivities in your area, contact the CAMRA press office at wba.ubjneq@pnzen.bet.hx.
