The relationship between CAMRA and publicans

[Paris_Hilton]

Hence SIBA organising one this week featuring 50 kegged beers from the UK.

Correct me if I'm wrong but SIBA is a trade organisation for brewers, and I quote from their website 'formed in 1980 as the Small Independent Brewers’ Association, to represent the interests of the emerging new wave of microbrewers'.

As such they will push their product and encourage all to drink it in the same way as the big brewers did in the past. They may well have a kegged beer festival this weekend, presumably to try to convert us all to keg beer as, as has been mentioned before, kegged is easier to keep that cask ales etc etc.

CAMRA is an independent organisation, not funded, nor therefore influenced, by the brewers. CAMRA's mission is to protect the interests of cask ale drinkers.

Like someone (OB?) said of CAMRA, their competition, their rules.

[oldboots]

Correct me if I'm wrong but SIBA is a trade organisation for brewers, and I quote from their website 'formed in 1980 as the Small Independent Brewers’ Association, to represent the interests of the emerging new wave of microbrewers'.

Quite, so wouldn't it be their job to promote "craft beer" from the likes of Summer Wine, rather than an organisation set up to promote cask conditioned beers and the places it is sold?

What ever happened to the Licensed Victuallers Association? They were supposed to look after landlord's interests.

[Eddie86]

Correct me if I'm wrong but SIBA is a trade organisation for brewers, and I quote from their website 'formed in 1980 as the Small Independent Brewers’ Association, to represent the interests of the emerging new wave of microbrewers'.

As such they will push their product and encourage all to drink it in the same way as the big brewers did in the past. They may well have a kegged beer festival this weekend, presumably to try to convert us all to keg beer as, as has been mentioned before, kegged is easier to keep that cask ales etc etc.

CAMRA is an independent organisation, not funded, nor therefore influenced, by the brewers. CAMRA's mission is to protect the interests of cask ale drinkers.

Like someone (OB?) said of CAMRA, their competition, their rules.

Sorry - I should have made myself clearer. What I meant was it's not CAMRAs job, hence SIBA doing it. I quite agree CAMRA should be about real ale. Not quite sure about RAIB though...

[gillhalfpint]

Just got back in from Fleetwood fest so catching up on all todays posts.

On pub allocation to GBG I heard that if you had an allocation of 15 say and only had 2 good enough to put in, you should put in the 2 and pool the other 13 centrally rather than put poor pubs in.

A branch then with an allocation of 15 and a lot more decent pubs worthy of entry could draw from the central pool.

Sounds a good idea, but no branch wants to put so few entries in, as the next year they would likely get a reduced allocation.

[Crossste]

Just got back in from Fleetwood fest so catching up on all todays posts.

On pub allocation to GBG I heard that if you had an allocation of 15 say and only had 2 good enough to put in, you should put in the 2 and pool the other 13 centrally rather than put poor pubs in.

A branch then with an allocation of 15 and a lot more decent pubs worthy of entry could draw from the central pool.

Sounds a good idea, but no branch wants to put so few entries in, as the next year they would likely get a reduced allocation.

I didn,t know that each area had an allocation, having never been a member of CAMRA. That system has to be flawed. Comparing say Rochdale or Oldham to Halifax or Huddersfield the former have very few good real ale pubs whereas the other two areas have a plethora of good quality real ale pubs. Why should a good quality pub be omitted as it is over quota when a sub standard pub be included as it falls in a different area.

[Wittenden]

Good thread. I'm not a current CAMRAmember, though joined back in the early days-1974 I think. With the growth in sites like this, and beer blogging generally, i found I got all the beer/pub info I needed, and living so far out, I never got to a meeting.
They do a good job, promoting real ale, as indeed they should, but do seem to get bound up in minutiae, as most democratic/voluntary bodies do. I felt, when I was an active member, that there was a busy body element-goes with the territory I suppose. I never enjoyed that elemnt of the campaign, and I'm sure landlords hate it as well. A prime example is the Rhyspence Inn business.
I found Conrad's link to the chippy Yorkshire brewer hilariuos on many counts, especially as he griped about lack of "support" for "progressive " beers:keg is keg, and real ale, real ale.Most beer drinkers, I'm sure would not condemn any beer without trying ,but one can't expect CAMRA to campaign for beer that isn't "real".I must admit I've not tried one of these new wave kegs,a) because I've vivid memories of how goddamn awful keg was, and b )because I've rarely come across them.Of course "Kevin" is a prat, but its equally wrong to condemn UK (and Kentish!) hops as dull. My neighbour has recently planted a garden of Goldings to meet demand-much of his production is exported to the US craft brewers!
To say CAMRA has stifled development of English beer is pretty good rubbish-when I started drinking Porter was a thing of the past,mild was on its uppers,Old ales and Barley wines were not particularily common, and goldes/blondes unknown, as were seasonals.
I feel better for that!

[Conrad]

Just to do a drive by posting as I am only at the computer for 5 minutes.

It would just be lunacy to suggest that CAMRA has stifled development of English beer, a healthy question is always what more can it do though. I do wonder if promoting pubs to serve a craft beer that they know they can store for a long time where they will never sell enough RA is a good attempt at providing a gateway drug. No axe to grind either way, without a doubt a line has to be drawn somewhere and it more than makes sense that they stick to their definition of RA, but I just found that one an interesting proposition.

I do also feel there is that sniffy element, but I hesitate to bring that up because it runs the danger of taking "Kevin" seriously and I really wouldn't want to tar CAMRA with him.

Edit: Before I get pulled up on it, I very deliberately used past tense in this post, and it was intended that I was using present/future tense in my earlier post.

[Wittenden]

This post:http://edsbeer.blogspot.com/2011/02/....html#comments
throws some light on the vexed question of "craft beer". Ed seems to have views about beer that chime with my own;he's also brewer at Old Dairy,just up the road, so he must be a good egg.