Camra, The campaign for real ale
Camra stands for the Campaign for Real ale and was set up in 1973 by a group of men who were fed up with drinking substandard beer. They decided to set up a group which they called The Campaign for the Revitalisation of Ale. After around a year, membership was on a sharp increase and they decided to rename the organisation to the campaign for real ale or Camra, as this was a bit easier to say. Throughout the 1970s, Camra battled with the big brewers who were replacing their real ales with bland nitro keg versions. In the 1980's Camra campaigned for more beer choice in pubs resulting in the government bringing out what were known as 'Beer Orders', forcing the big 6 brewers to either sell or free from the tie, over 11000 pubs. From the 1990s through till now, Campaign for Real ale has successfully campaigned for tax relief for small independent brewers as well as running many other campaigns. One of the big campaigns at the moment is to stop pubs selling pints that are not a full pint measure.
Camra beer festivals
Camra put on well over a hundred beer festivals throughout the year across the country. These are usually held in places like town halls and have a selection of between 40 and 200 beers on offer. Camra members usually gain free entry or a free drink in the beer festivals. Camra beer festivals are fully staffed by member volunteers. The GBBF (Great British Beer Festival) is held once a year at Earls Court in London and is the biggest beer festival in the county with over 450 UK real ales, ciders and perries and 200 Foreign beers from places such as Belgium and Germany.