Reading CAMRA


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Magpie & Parrot Festival: Ale List
The Magpie & Parrot have a Beer Festival at...

Where would you want to join us?
The Reading and Mid Berks Branch are...

What's On

Branch Meeting
8 July. Business Meeting at the Moderation, Caversham Road.

Woodcote Steam Rally and Festival of Ales
Visit the beer tent at the annual rally as a customer or helper from Friday 11th to Sunday 13th.

Latest news from Reading CAMRA

Real Ale and Jazz Festival
Reading Hockey Club organise an annual beer and jazz festival to raise funds for the club, and this year's event is 17-19 July.

Cider Pub of the Year
Regional award goes to the Retreat.

Welcome to Reading CAMRA

The Campaign for Real Ale in Reading & Mid-Berkshire

WELCOME TO THE NEW WEB SITE of Reading CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale in Reading and Mid-Berkshire. CAMRA is the pub-goers champion, we promote fine beers in great pubs and defend the rights of the drinker. If you drink beer or like pubs CAMRA is the place for you!

Presentation to Ascot Ales Pictured right: Ascot Ales did well in the Local Beer of the Festival awards at this year's Reading Beer and Cider Festival. Anastasia's Exile Stout won the Stout and Porter category and came third overall in the competition. We recently paid them a visit to celebrate, and you can see here Suzanne and Chris Gill of Ascot Ales receiving their certificates from Chris Bingham. Their award-winning stout is regularly available at the Nag's Head in Russell Street, Reading.

Do you enjoy Real Ale in Real Pubs? Do you prefer to drink cask-conditioned ale to mass produced, mass market keg beer and lager? Does the continued threat against the unique flavours of real ale worry you? CAMRA is a national organization devoted to promoting real ale in real pubs, and Reading CAMRA, the local branch, is active both in campaigning for real ale, but also socially.

If any of these sound like you then CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, may be a just up your street. If you live in or near Reading, then Reading & Mid-Berkshire CAMRA are busy working to protect your pleasure. This web site will show you who we are, what we do and how to join us. If you don't live in this area please visit CAMRA's national website.

CAMRA exists:

To maintain consumer rights
To promote quality, choice and value for money
To support the public house as a focus of community life
To campaign for greater appreciation of traditional beers, ciders and perries as part of national heritage and culture

CAMRA is a volunteer organization with over 89,000 members. CAMRA exists to promote good quality cask ales in good pubs. CAMRA has been described as the most successful consumer organization in Europe.

More importantly than all of this, though, is that being a member of CAMRA is fun. Enjoying the finest quality cask ales in Britain's best pubs is both a pleasure and a hobby. The fact that we are saving our unique heritage happens almost by accident.

CAMRA turned the tide of bland keg beer in the 1970s, when it looked likely that real ale might cease to exist. We have helped in the fight to stop breweries and pubs closing, and were instrumental in the introduction of all-day opening.

We are by no means complacent though. There are many fights still to be won - getting a full pint, or cutting the excessive UK duty on beer. You can help by joining CAMRA today. Our voice is listened to by government because we have so many members. Joining will further strengthen that voice.

If you want to carry on drinking good beer in great pubs, join CAMRA and protect your pleasure.