Campaign for Real Ale
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The Campaign for Real Ale, usually known by their acronym CAMRA, is a British consumer rights organization that promotes the serving and drinking of Real Ale, CAMRA's term for top-fermented beers that are cask conditioned and served from hand pumps, or in some cases bottle conditioned.
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[edit] History of CAMRA
CAMRA was founded in 1971 as the Campaign for the Revitalization of Ale by Michael Hardman, Graham Lees, Bill Mellor and Jim Makin. It gained national prominence in England with the help of articles by beer writer Richard Boston in the Guardian. Since then it has grown rapidly, and now has more than 80,000 members.
[edit] CAMRA's Mission
CAMRA has two major focuses: the promotion of real ale and the protection of the rights of beer drinkers. This includes:
- Encouraging the brewing, serving, and drinking of real ale, as well as the consumption of local ales
- Reviving and preserving disappearing British ale styles
- Saving traditional pubs
- Encouraging free houses and guest beers
- Protesting the serving of less than full pints
Over the years, CAMRA has claimed credit for singlehandedly preserving many British beer styles from extinction.
[edit] CAMRA's Activities
CAMRA sponsors a wide range of activities related to its mission, including:
- The Great British Beer Festival, Britain's foremost beer festival
- The Good Beer Guide series of guidebooks
- The Champion Beer of Britain and Pub of the Year awards
- Local festivals and awards throughout Britain
- Government and corporate advocacy activities
[edit] Controversy
CAMRA has also been criticized by many other beer advocates, especially in the United States. Criticisms include:
- CAMRA's narrow focus
- Because it focuses exclusively on traditional real ale, CAMRA is thought by many to promote an unnecessarily narrow view of "proper" beer drinking, leaving out not only many highly regarded lager styles, but also many fine craft brewed ales produced around the world that do not fit CAMRA's definitions of real ale. As a result, craft beers served in kegs may have trouble finding a market in Britain.
- The "CAMRA Man" image
- In Britain, CAMRA has strong associations with a certain type of strident advocate; this image has hindered the organization's attempts to reach a wider audience. The image associated with CAMRA was summed up in the 1997 Half Man Half Biscuit song "C.A.M.R.A. Man": "Weekends, vintage car show/Doctor Who afficianado".
As a result, many American craft beer advocates are reluctant to talk about "real ale", preferring to focus their efforts on all flavorful, interesting beer styles, ale or lager, regardless of the way they are conditioned or served.
[edit] External Links
- CAMRA (main web page)
