A member for years.

Delighted that we can now buy local, quality beer at reasonable prices.

Like many, I was devastated when our local big breweries closed and production moved elsewhere, Boddingtons being a prime example.

I never would have imagined that microbreweries would have emerged to take up the slack, but am absolutely delighted that they have managed to thrive.

People seem to have embraced local breweries wholeheartedly, our local pubs sing their praises and hopefully these relationships will last.

We’ve recently discovered Worsthorne Brewery in Burnley.
9 pints of wonderful beer for £15, delivered to the door.
Guess what everyone got for Christmas?

I have no idea how they manage this, but compared to the 80’s, we’re living in a beer wonderland.

Its a bit double edged. There’s now a huge variety of beer but a lot of it is undrinkable. You can usually work out the over hopped ones from the description but not always. There is some much better beer out there now though. Interestingly cider and lager has also seen a bit of an improvement too.

The amount of choice nowadays is excellent.

Never been a fan of traditional Brit beers really.
Enjoyed the US craft beers that came out over the last 10-15 years, but now find myself enjoying traditional European styles, German or Belgian generally

Traditional bitter is hard to find in a pub these days. Apparently it is not what people want.

Apparently it is not what people want.

Are you saying that folks don’t know? Or, you’re saying tastes change? Personally I’ve never really been a fan of “ale” it all just tastes like soap to me.

Wasn’t Camra tearing itself apart recently over Cask ale?

Yes

I go back to the 70s drinking.  In Glasgow when I first started drinking there where 2 places in Glasgow that sold real ale – the Bon Accord ( where I had my 18th birthday party) and a pub on Maryhill road I didn’t dare go into.  There was also the Quarry Inn in Twechar ( which use McGlashan water engines to serve beer!)

CAMRA has disappeared up its own arse a bit nowadays – my local was removed from their listing despite having 8 ales and them being well cared for for the crime of having cider on a fake handpull

I suspect that was inevitable as their main reason for existing no longer exists.

Yes, the variety of beer is awesome, but it’s mainly drunk from bottles at home. People need to get out of the house and use the boozer more.

CAMRA need to become Campain for Real, Ale, Pub Pints, ER can’t think of the third tranche. Or CRAPPER for short.

There’s a helluva lot of piss water on tins with snazzy labels and heavy marketing now though too.

I think the OP is talking about small scale local breweries rather than some of the more commercial “look at us, aren’t we edgy” available in supermarkets type, though even they are generally pretty good.

We have some great smaller breweries here round Derby. Until recently Nutbrook Brewery produced their stuff in their garage round the corner from us, including the magnificently named “Responsibly” (because everyone should drink….)

I’d also agree that “craft” lagers are way better than the big corporations gassy piss as well.

I just wish we could go back to having plenty of sub 4% ales on tap to help lightweights like me! Seems like even non- new world style ales are getting unnecessarily alcoholic

I bought all of my Christmas beer this year from 4 local breweries within a 5 mile radius of my house. Ranging from a guy who makes it and sells it as a bit of a hobby through to a brewery that owns and supplies 3 local pubs. Wide range of beers from pilsners, American style IPAs, traditional IPAs, golden beer, traditional bitters, porters, stouts and finally strong imperial porters and Belgian style beers.

So far all have been good. My favourite to date is https://www.mitchellswine.co.uk/shop/beer/english_beers/?item=drone_valley_green_man_ipa&ref=5829 which is made with local hops.

If I’d have gone a but further afield I could have gone to some of the bigger boys like Thornbridge and the various Sheffield breweries.

Very happy with the quality of good beers available locally.

Round my way (Chilterns) we always had Fullers and Brakspear in barrel. Both fine. Then Rebellion opened up in Marlow in 1991 so more choice. There was also the Chiltern Brewery and Malt in Prestwood which I like a bit less.

My current favourite is Mad Squirrel Brewery in Hemel. They do a wide variety of beers from milk stouts through hoppy APAs to traditional lager. I drink the ones I like and don’t drink the ones I don’t. CAMRA wouldn’t like them as they’re served in keg or can but it’s real beer brewed locally by people who are passionate about beer. They have also opened 6 taprooms locally, taking over empty retail units on high streets. They close earlier than traditional pubs and seem to have less of a session drinking culture than many pubs.

There was also the Quarry Inn in Twechar ( which use McGlashan water engines to serve beer!)

The landlord didn’t have an eye patch did he?

I’m pretty sure in Scotland the water pump was the standard pump used in pubs until gas came along. Even now you don’t see many handpumps in Scotland the water head has be replaced by gas pressure to drive the pump. then you get the camera bellends trying to be moany bastards.

I think the worst customers I ever served were drunk camra folk.

As a keen real ale drinker since the early 1990s, I’d also couldn’t have imagined we’d end up with such an amazing and prolific choice beer now.

I think a lot of the carping in this thread maybe just proves the point, that there’s soooo much beer out there now – and not all of it is to everyone’s taste.

I just wish we could go back to having plenty of sub 4% ales on tap to help lightweights like me!

I appreciate this comment but generally find beer pubs do have a couple of sub-4% choices, it’s in the supermarket that everything seems to be 5% and up.

If I may have a little whinge myself though: Does anyone else get cognitive dissonance at trendy bars charging £7 for a tin of craft beer?

Good beer is prevalent in spite of CAMRA, not because of them.

@chakaping – not in my local, all over 4%, and they’ve replaced the ‘guest ale,’ that only changes very rarely, from 4 up to 4.9 (admittedly to the very tasty Ringwood 49er so not all bad)

I appreciate this comment but generally find beer pubs do have a couple of sub-4% choices, it’s in the supermarket that everything seems to be 5% and up.

I was having this very conversation with MrsIHN yesterday afternoon as we were having a cheeky afternoon pint, and, to be honest, I disagree. It’s now reeeally rare to get anything under 4%, and still pretty rare to get anything under 4.5%

The choice of beer now is incredible but, for my taste, much of it is in the ‘craft beer’-esque styles; light, astringently hoppy, often quite sweet, and strong (maybe there’s an argument as to this being why it’s ‘converted’ previous lager drinkers). There’s not so much of the ‘english ale/best bitter’ style any more, which, again, personal preference only, is a bit of a shame. I’ll often pick whatever craft stout is on instead, as I like something with a bit of body.

Saying that, I had a pint of Wibbly Wallaby from the Wincle brewery on Monday and it was beautiful, one of the nicest pints I’ve had in a long time. Proper, traditional, bitter, in fact it wouldn’t surprise me if they’d basically used the old Boddies recipe.

I’m willing to accept I may be wrong, I mainly visit country pubs post-ride – and I’m asking for something under 4% as I’m driving home. If they have five pumps there are usually a couple at 3.9% or so.

Interesting to hear what others have found.

Yeah I find it difficult to find the 4% stuff sometimes too.

But… I’ve started to see “small beer” and “table beer”, all 2-3%, cropping up in the fancy offies. It’s hidden amongst all the Smoked Chocolate Coffee Marshmallow Stout Porter (8.4%) which seems to have taken over as the fashionable beer du jour, but it is usually there! And very welcome, as my long COVID addled liver struggles a bit these days.

But yeah anyway – 20 years ago it was a often a choice of Boddingtons or John Smith’s. To go into a city centre pub and see half a dozen (or more) genuinely good beers still blows me away!

Too many cr@p IPA’s around that are no better than ghastly alcopops. Overly sweet & taste like p1ss. But yes, there are some good genuine craft ales around. We’ve lost a few too, Brakspears which I grew up on still exists but the brewery has moved & its never tasted the same since.

@chakaping Now that causes cognitive dissonance.

we are spoilt for choice near me especially with https://www.thebrewerybible.com/posts/the-stirchley-beer-mile but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

and this in january if any locals are about https://stayhappening.com/e/bikes-at-the-brewery-%E2%80%93-free-pop-up-cycling-event-E2ISU5Q0GWL

There was also the Chiltern Brewery and Malt in Prestwood which I like a bit less.

I’d completely forgotten I’d bought a couple of pints from chiltern brewery on Xmas eve, now just have to remember where I put them 🤔

There is a scene in Midsomer Murders which sums up CAMRA quite well. Mrs Barnaby says to Mr, “I thought craft beer was real ale”, cue the deathly stares from the the beardy CAMRA types.
I will generally drink anything that can be broadly described as beer and don’t worry what others prefer. It is hard to buy from some bottle shops though when the nearly-next-door supermarket has exactly the same thing at two quid less per bottle.

Brakspears which I grew up on still exists but the brewery has moved & its never tasted the same since

Interesting, as I had an Oxford Gold about 10 years ago that I still think is the single best pint I’ve ever tasted. That was probably after the brewery move you mentioned?

My first pint was in the rugby club, I was 15 and playing for the 3xv. One of the attractions was that you would get served a pint. Only problem was the club was on the 4th floor of an industrial unit and the beer was the truly awful Alloas double diamond. I will never complain about beer again. I was introduced to the Speedwell at 16, one of the best ale pubs in Dundee soon after would would serve me if I was with the rugby buffties ( my Dad and his mates!) The beer now compared to the late 80’s is night and day,I have Burnside, 6N, Braemar and Red Castle within 10 or so miles. One constant in that has been CAMRA being the most self defeating group in the world. For any other Scots on here; anybody remember McEwans no3? Gawd that was good!

I think the recent resurgence of a wide variety of beers and many small breweries is nothing to do with CAMRA at all. I am lucky in that i have 12 small brewers within a 25 mile radius of me as well as many fields producing hops and malt, everything from trendy nuclear strength IPA’s and stouts, to sold in a milk carton flat real ale, where you get free beer for helping pick the hops.

But you only have to go to a CAMRA run beer festival to see how out of touch they are, went to the Norwich one back in October, about 1000 twiggy brown real ales, with a small section stuck in the corner selling anything remotely interesting or by local craft breweries, yet they were doing 10x the trade the real ale was.

TBH my m8’s all joined CAMRA for the discount card and vouchers for weatherspoons.

They do go to the nice micro pub and drink the casks but as they say it’s nice but when there’s an offer on in the spoons at 1.50 a pint on something not like nats pizz, spoons it is for a round for the price of 1-2 drinks of the nice place.

The real fight now is keeping the British pub alive. There’s three left of about a dozen in my Sis’ town

Lots of good local breweries and generally great service. I ordered a couple of cases for Christmas on Sunday online and had it dropped off on Monday morning!

Also simplified what to get my BIL for birthday/Christmas. Look up different brewery and then arrange for a crate to be delivered! Occasionally get a miss in the mixed cases but he loves to try something new.

Have to admit I haven’t been in many pubs since Covid but again the local ones did a great job of delivery to begin with

For those looking for something lighter, Sam Smiths Alpine Lager is worth a look, only 2.8% and mid-ride friendly.

Either that or just get the pub to make you up a radler, it’s called that for a reason 😉

My first pints of Guiness circa
1976 (16 years old) were 25p I think petrol was 77p a gallon at the time.

In defence of CAMRA. You might might think the boom in small and micro-breweries and craft ales has nothing to do with them but I think you’d be mistaken. CAMRA have campaigned to ensure that the basic conditions are there to support the sector. This includes campaigns in support of publicans, tax and regulations.

Beer strength is an interesting one. As I understand from friends who brew getting a depth of flavour eg hoppy ipa into a lower strength beer is harder then a higher strength. So beers over 4% are low the norm.

The Lake District has plenty of small breweries doing good betters. Tirol is one of my favourites.

CAMRA have campaigned to ensure that the basic conditions are there to support the sector. This includes campaigns in support of publicans, tax and regulations.

Probably a fair point.

As I understand from friends who brew getting a depth of flavour eg hoppy ipa into a lower strength beer is harder then a higher strength.

One could, possibly slightly, but not entirely, unfairly, rephrase that as

“we have to put loads of sugar in to balance the crazy amount of hops we use”,

or indeed

“they have to be strong to taste of anything but bitterness”

The choice in most pubs now is amazing. Those bemoaning that many beers aren’t to their personal liking seem to have forgotten the days of no choice at all.

Too many cr@p IPA’s around that are no better than ghastly alcopops

My neighbour has a microbrewery in the garage supplying some local pubs. He calls those beers Alcho-hops. He doesn’t brew them, he does some nice lower alcohol session ales

The choice in most pubs now is amazing. Those bemoaning that many beers aren’t to their personal liking seem to have forgotten the days of no choice at all.

Yes, that’s what I was trying to say.

I don’t go to pubs as often as some, but it never feels like the hoppy IPAs are compulsory.

I remember I used to count myself lucky if the pub had Old Speckled Hen on tap, but often had to make do with John Smiths out of a keg.

I agree with Sparks, Camra has made a big difference. Having said that, I used to volunteer for an annual beer festival and some of the box-ticking slogan T-shirt punters were murder: ‘can I have a receipt’ when clearly you only had a cash tray; ‘I asked for a third not a half’ when being inadvertently generous and so on. I ended up just volunteering to shift the barrels to avoid becoming rude and offensive.
When I started drinking in the 70s you could knock back 6 pints of Watney’s Special and walk home sober. Guinness was 19p and before that public bar bitter 1/10d, saloon bar 2/2d. I imagine about 3.2 abv. My local now, a converted shop, has about 6 hand pumps of varied but excellent beers that change about every 2 days.

Are you saying that folks don’t know? Or, you’re saying tastes change? Personally I’ve never really been a fan of “ale” it all just tastes like soap to me.

Yes that’s the stuff. Or more accurately, old socks witha hint of soap.