Branch News
- Members' Weekend, AGM & Conference 2025
Thursday 19 September 2024
About the Weekend
CAMRA’s Members’ Weekend, AGM & Conference is held annually in April and is open to all CAMRA members. Not only is it a chance to discuss motions at Conference, it also gives members the opportunity to socialise in the onsite bar, attend information sessions and explore the beer scene of different cities around the UK.
You can find more information and register to attend here. Once registered, you will be sent information about activities and organised trips nearer the time.
Members can also register in person over the weekend.
Riviera International Centre, Chestnut Ave, Torquay TQ2 5LZ
- Pendle Beer Festival 2025
Thursday 19 September 2024
Pendle Beer Festival 2025
We are pleased to announce that Pendle Beer Festival will return to the Muni next February!
Following substantial delays and a huge amount of work, the newly refurbished Muni looks resplendent and is now fully open, so we will be back at our home venue for the 18th Pendle Beer Festival.
Planning for this is about to get underway as we hold our 1rst meeting in the Wallace Hartley, Colne, at 7.30pm this Sunday 22nd September.
Since the last festival a few members of the organising committee have stepped down, so we are looking to the wider East Lancs Branch for some additional support.
If you would like to get involved, please let me know via email to ku.oc.lavitsefreebeldnep@ofni
We are in particular seeking a new Secretary to plan and attend meetings, take minutes, and ensure we remain on track with everything, so if you like the sound of this we would welcome your help!
Here's to another successful event in 2025!
Cheers,
Paul Brown
Festival Organiser - Blackburn & Darwen Area Social trip
Tuesday 17 September 2024
The ever popular trip around the outskirts of the Blackburn and Darwen area visiting hard to get to pubs.
Price for the coach is £15pp. Guests more than welcome.
Please contact Peter Clegg on 07964-258360 or email ku.gro.armac.scnaltsae@laicos to register your interest.
- Great British Beer Festival Winter 2025
Saturday 31 August 2024
Get fired up for the Great British Beer Festival Winter 2025 at the iconic Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham! This former steelworks provides a perfect backdrop for an incredible selection of cask ales, craft beers, traditional ciders, and perries. Don’t miss out on what promises to be the hottest beer festival this Winter - tickets on sale now!
The Great British Beer Festival Winter is organised by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and staffed by beer loving volunteers. This annual festival brings hundreds of UK beers, international beers and real ciders and perries to different venues every few years.
This years festival will also be home to the prestigious Champion Winter Beer of Britain award, with the winners announced during the trade and press session. As well as a dedicated Champion Winter Beer of Britain Bar where you can sample all the competition entries.
Magna Science Adventure Centre
Magna Way
Templeborough
Rotherham
S60 1FDVisit winter.gbbf.org.uk for more information and to buy tickets
- Clitheroe Real Ale Trail
Thursday 8 August 2024
Clitheroe Real Ale Trail
The branch are launching their Clitheroe Real Ale Trail as part of this weekends Clitheroe Food Festival. The handy pocket sized fold out map is available from all the pubs listed in the guide.
The launch will happen at 11:30am on Saturday 10th August at the New Inn on Parson Lane. Please feel free to come along , have a few beers and join in as we kick start the trail by trying a few of the pubs listed. Some of them may even be new to you (one or two certainly are to me).
After the guide is launched, the trail will be loaded onto the branch web site.
- East Lancs CAMRA Branch turns 50 this year!
Sunday 28 July 2024
Long standing chairman John Sandiford has brought it to the committees attention the inaugural meeting of East Lancs CAMRA was held on December 10th 1974 at the George Hotel in Blackburn.
Sadly the pub no longer exists but we will celebrate it.
A venue and date will be announced in due course.
In the meantime Alan leach has collated some information about the pub from the internet. Enjoy reading it!
George Inn, Blackburn - Birthplace of East Lancs CAMRA branch
- Spaces available on the Clitheroe Beer Festival volunteers’ trip
Wednesday 26 June 2024
We have a few spare seats on the Clitheroe Beer Festival volunteers’ trip
Saturday 20th July going to Kendal, via Hawkshead brewery
There just happens to be a beer festival on at the brewery!
Pick-up points: Burnley Bus station 9.30, Clitheroe Interchange 10.00. Return from Kendal 6.30pm.
£10 per head, guests more than welcome.
Anyone interested please contact Martin Snelling 07791-070784 or email moc.tenretnitb@gnillens.nitram
First come, first served.
Cheers!
- Lancashire AND West Pennines Club of the Year 2024 winners announced
Wednesday 19 June 2024
The Whitworth & Healy Band Club are the Lancashire Area Club of the Year 2024 award.
They are also the West Pennines Regional Club of the Year award winners beating competition from Cumbria and the Isle of Man.
This will be the LAST ever West Pennines Regional award as from next year we will become part of the newly created North West Region.
The presentations will take place on Saturday 3rd August 2024 at 4 pm.
We hope to see as many of you there as possible.
Cheers!
- Upcoming events
Friday 17 May 2024
There are several Branch Award Presentations, beer festivals, a meet the brewer night and charity pub walks coming up over the next few months.
See the branch diary for all details
Hope to see as many of you there as possible
Cheers!
- Clitheroe Beer Festival 2024 - Thank you!
Sunday 12 May 2024
And that’s a wrap for 2024. Thanks to everyone who volunteered to work there anytime during the week. Thanks to everyone who came and tried the beers, we hope you found something you really liked or something you found interesting.
- Please share the flyer for Clitheroe Beers Festival 2024
Tuesday 9 April 2024
Please share the flyer to get the noise out about the festival in just over a month's time!
- CAMRA reports global brewer to National Trading Standards Bodies for ‘Handpump Hijack’
Thursday 4 April 2024
The leading UK consumer group has reported the Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC) ‘Fresh Ale’ concept for potentially breaching consumer protection legislation.
Reacting to the launch of the ‘Fresh Ale’ concept by CMBC, the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has asked for investigations into whether the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations have been breached.
The Campaign has written to National Trading Standards and Trading Standards Scotland asking for an investigation into the products, which use a cask handpump to serve the beer, which is kegged rather than cask conditioned.
This is the start of the ‘Handpump Hijack’ campaign to raise awareness of misleading beer dispense, and make sure that the handpump remains a signifier of cask-conditioned beer.
In the letters, Gillian Hough, National Director and Chair of CAMRA’s Real Ale, Cider and Perry Campaigns Committee, said:
“CAMRA believes that these practices come under the scope of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, as the average consumer may choose to buy the product on the basis that they believe it to be cask conditioned beer, which in this case it is not.
“We believe that this falls foul of the Order’s provisions in Section 2 to protect consumers from presentation which is likely to deceive the average consumer or cause the average consumers to take a transactional decision he would not have taken otherwise.”
Nik Antona, CAMRA National Chairman said:
“Misleading dispense is particularly detrimental to beer drinkers, as hijacking a handpump to serve a keg beer removes a genuine cask product from the bar, reducing choice of different formats for consumers.
“Unfortunately, Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company have a track record on potentially misleading marketing, having already badged Wainwright as ‘A Lake District Original’, despite it being brewed over 100 miles away in Wolverhampton.
“We hope that Trading Standards bodies across Great Britain will take swiftly coordinated national action to address misleading beer dispense and safeguard the handpump as an indicator of cask beer.”
- Branch AGM 2024 minutes & reports now online
Thursday 7 March 2024
The Branch AGM 2024 minutes & reports are now available in the members area.
Log in using your CAMRA membership number along with you password you use for the main CAMRA website. If you do not know your password you will need to reset it by the link on https://sso2.camra.org.uk/login
- Pub and Club of the Year 2024 winners announced!
Sunday 3 March 2024
We are pleased to announce the Pub and Club of the Year 2024 winners!
Branch Pub of the Year 2024
Old England Forever
Clayton-le-MoorsBranch Club of the Year 2024
Whitworth Vale and Healey Band Club
WhitworthSub Area Winners 2024
Blackburn with Darwen
Pub of the Year
Drummers Arms
Blackburn
Club of the Year
Cherry Tree Cricket Club
BlackburnBurnley
Pub of the Year
New Brew'm
Burnley
Club of the Year
Molly Rigby’s
PadihamHyndburn
Pub of the Year
Old England Forever
Clayton-le-Moors
Club of the Year
Canine Club
AccringtonPendle
Pub of the Year
Trawden Arms
Trawden
Club of the Year
Dressers Club
ColneRibble Valley
Pub of the Year
Swan with Two Necks
Pendleton
Club of the Year
Waddington Village Club
WaddingtonRossendale
Pub of the Year
Buffer Stops Rawtenstall
Club of the Year
Whitworth Vale and Healey Band Club
WhitworthDates and times of presentations will be announced in due course. - New date for AGM now confirmed
Sunday 4 February 2024
Dear branch member
The branch committee would like to extend an invitation for you to attend this year’s AGM being held in the upstairs function room at the wonderful Canine Club in Accrington on 7.30pm Thursday 29th February 2024
Note this is a new meeting date. Please ensure you have this date in your diary.
The club is an award winner and usually has 3 or 4 real ales on offer which are always on cracking form and at club prices for our members during the AGM.
Whilst the content of the meeting may look quite formal, it’s a good opportunity to hear directly from the committee about how your branch is being run on your behalf.
Click for the Branch AGM 2023 minutes and an AGM 23024 agenda.
If you are able, please bring a printed copy for your own records.
There will be a few spare copies will be available on the day.We look forward to welcoming members new and old
Many Thanks
Martyn Pashley (Membership)
- Date for AGM changed (again)
Tuesday 9 January 2024
Please note the date has changed (again) as it turned out it clashed with Mothering Sunday!
It is now a week earlier on Sunday 3rd March at 2pm in the Canine Club, Accrington
- Pendle Beer Festival "On Tour" 2024
Friday 5 January 2024
We're excited to announce Pendle Beer Festival "On Tour" 2024
This year we have an event with a difference as we team up with 10 real ale venues around Colne to offer you some amazing places to drink over what would have been the beer festival weekend.
Working with Colne BID and once again supporting Pendleside Hospice, we hope you'll visit all of these excellent establishments between 1st and 4th February: The Dressers Colne (festival hub), Crown Hotel Colne, Tubbs of Colne, Boyce's Barrel, Colne, Cask'n'Keg - micropub, Mojo's of Colne, The Wallace Hartley JD Wetherspoon Colne Lancashire, The Red Lion Colne, The Admiral Lord Rodney and Unbound Brew Co.
Check out the festival flyer and map below and keep an eye on their social media for more details throughout the rest of January
- Update on Pendle Beer Festival 2024
Monday 13 November 2023
Due to ongoing renovation works being carried out at the Muni Theatre in Colne the Pendle Beer Festival for 2024 has had to be cancelled!
We understand that additional problems have been found in the roof area and this has caused the delay.
It is not really possible for us to move to any other date and so we have decided to make a return in 2025.