Once upon a time beer drinkers grew tired of flavorless, watered down, fizzy, yellow beer, and decided to do something about it. They began to pursue and support flavorful, locally made and well-crafted beer. Sound familiar? In the case of this episode, these drinkers were in England, in 1971. Four people sought to push back against the industrial, over-marketed beers that were being force-fed to the nation. This small group formed CAMRA, or Campaign for Real Ale. Since then it has grown to nearly 200,000 people around the globe and has become one of the most successful consumer and political campaigns… ever. Our next guest joined the cause early on and has been an active member for the past four decades.
Real ale isn’t the end all, be all of beers. However, it represents what beer used to be before global corporations began telling us what we should drink. Real Ale and CAMRA still serve as a course correction to remind us that we have options, and ultimately, the choice is still ours.
Show Links
The Inklings at The Eagle & Child Pub – Oxford