CAMRA - Campaign for Real Ale. Published on 20th March 2013 by Claire Cain After a year-long fightback against the beer duty escalator, the Chancellor has announced today the tax will be axed. This decision is a triumph for all the fantastic CAMRA members who have worked hard to spread the message of the campaign- by gathering support, signing the petition, attending the mass lobby and meeting with their MP. Beer duty will no longer rise automatically every year 2% above inflation, in turn keeping down the cost of your pint down the pub. Since the escalator was introduced in 2008, beer tax has increased by 42%, driving up the cost of a pint and driving consumers away from their local pubs. In that time, 5,800 pubs have closed for good. On the back of last year's Budget, CAMRA launched its support for the e-petition calling an end to the tax and dedicated volunteers threw their wholehearted support behind it.
CAMRA's beer festivals were invaluable to this effort. We will now scrap the beer duty escalator altogether. About CAMRA. CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale is an independent, voluntary organisation campaigning for real ale, community pubs and consumer rights. CAMRA was formed in March 1971 by four men from the north-west who were disillusioned by the domination of the UK beer market by a handful of companies pushing products of low flavour and overall quality onto the consumer.
Many brewers during the late 1960s and early 1970s had made the decision to move away from producing traditional, flavoursome beers which continued to ferment in the cask from which they were served, and such a move was opposed by Michael Hardman, Graham Lees, Jim Makin and Bill Mellor, all of whom thought it was about time British beer drinkers were given better variety and choice at the bar.
With this in mind, it was inside the westernmost pub in Europe – along the Kerry coast - where the first foundations of the Campaign were laid. Why not join us today if you care about great quality real ale and pubs? Real ale isn't just for old men. Ever since moving to the North West six years ago and discovering the beautiful ale Cheshire Cat, my ale flirtation has blown into a full-sized marriage with 2.4 kids and a dog.
That is not to say I'm an alcoholic, I just appreciate that there is so much more to beer and real ale than "bubbles or no bubbles". Firstly, there is the history of each ale to consider. Even the mainstream tipples available in supermarkets have an incredible story behind them. The popular, Abbot Ale, was first brewed almost 1,000 years ago in Abbot, Bury St Edmunds. That's before the signing of the Magna Carta and the Battle of Hastings! So it's possible King Ethelred II was kicking back in his castle sipping an Abbot Ale or two. As I mentioned earlier, ale and beer go hand-in-hand with fine vintage wines. Forget wines that have "a hint of oak, a twist of berry and a signature note of making the drinker sound like a bit of a pretentious fool.
" Campaign for Real Ale. Sun’s message to George Osborne: Steer clear of our beer | The Sun |News|Politics. Real Ales and Beers from Liverpool One Brewery. Brewing.