GBG 2006 says "avoid like the plague"

[...]

Because until your post, I was barely aware of the existence of the branch beyond the variable-quality Pint Taken telling us how great the beer is everywhere else.

I'm not a CAMRA member, as I was rather put off the idea by the Leeds CAMRA when I was living there. I have seen no good reason to join your branch either as your regular meetings seem to be in the arse end of nowhere, leaving me nothing to show for my money but the occasional copy of What's Brewing.

I'd be better off just spending the subscription on beer, really :)

Brett... wrote: [...]

It's not a bad pub at all, but the five mile round trip down narrow unlit paths is a bit much for an after-work pint.

I know what you mean.

In the town where I live, we are lucky enough to have four pubs in the GBG. One of those keeps only one beer (a "light" bitter - or so says our local member of the L&D committee) and no guests, and another has two regular beers (the same light bitter plus a best) and no guests.

Both are backstreet locals and both are tied houses, which explains the lack of variety, but they get in the GBG year after year because what they sell is consistently of an excellent quality - if you want variety, there are other pubs locally that will give you that, but you can't guarantee that your pint will be drinkable in some of them.

I know which I prefer.

d.

For many people, membership doesn't go any further than paying the subscription fee and maybe attending the occasional beer festival.

But it would be wrong to say that these people get nothing out of CAMRA

- after all, CAMRA is funded by its members and couldn't exist otherwise. And if CAMRA didn't exist, would there even be any real beer to spend your money on? Probably not.

d.

...and another thing: if you're not a member of CAMRA, you can't influence which pubs are included in the GBG - or, more pertinently in this case, which pubs are left out.

d.

We'll we are always open to suggestions to how we can improve our profile

perhaps?) and your ideas for improving the local newsletter would be welcome as well.

I think that is your best option as well.

On Tue, 20 Sep 2005 11:38:14 +0100, davek wrote (in message ):

snip

Is there any evidence to support that claim?

davek wrote: [...]

Of course there would be. Simple supply and demand, unless you are suggesting that without CAMRA's efforts, nobody would want Real Ale. It'd probably be a smaller market, but there would still be a market while there are people who can't stand the thought of a pint of Fosters.

Let's take another fancy of mine: the noble banger. How are we faring without the CAMRB?

From what I can tell, the UK's banger market is mainly satisfied through large manufacturers of inferior product adulterated with bread, water, grease, etc, etc. Premium brands are marginally better but most of the cost seems to go into the marketing and packaging. I avoid this mass-market product that has no flavour. Astonishingly, this bland filth is still popular.

My sausages actually come from a local butcher in the village. They are packed full of meat. There's always a couple of regulars on, plus a few guest sausages that go on rotation. I'm usually in there once a week to sample whatever's new. Sure, you might get a bad banger that's got a bit of gristle in it, but that's half the fun.

And the best bit? The good sausages from the butcher cost about the same, or are cheaper, than supermarket sausages.

What would the existence of CAMRB achieve? A reduction in tax rates for producers of small sausages. Annual sausage festivals in every major town (which sounds like an awfully good idea.) A selection of guest sausages on offer alongside the popular bread-and-sawdust varieties at your local Wetherfork's. A few more people will be introduced to Real Bangers and appreciate the more interesting flavour. All very worthwhile achievements of course, but hardly life or death for the sausage industry.

Heck, if all else fails and sausages are no longer available commercially, I can always make my own sausages at home and invite friends round for a sausage party.

Peter wrote: [...]

For what it's worth, the Little Lark has added a fifth pump to the bar, so it now has *two* guest ales on. This is somewhat encouraging as it means that there's a much reduced chance of not liking anything on offer, so I hope that it keeps the two guest pumps.

Studley-goers might want to note the existence of the Swan Inn that's usually got four Real Ales on as well, plus the rather nice Stowford Press cider. Now if they could do something about the volume of the music...

As various people have (and will) say this could be debated. However people like the Bateman family take the view that at least one brewery they are fond of wouldn't exist. The label is "family brewer" but at times both sides are hard put to determine whether the family is CAMRA or Bateman. Like all families there are arguments.

OK, it's unlikely that real beer would have died out completely without CAMRA, but there would certainly be a lot less of it and you would have to travel far and wide to find a pub that served it.

d.

I think I would be somewhat wary of any man who invited me back to his house for a so called "sausage party".

;-)

Cheers

Blackfire band website :

Bristol & District Campaign for Real Ale :