The following is a list of acronyms and terminology used by CAMRA (noted with *) and the pub and brewery industry.

ABV Alcohol by Volume
The term used for measuring the alcohol content in beer.

ACV Asset of Community Value
Under the Localism Act 2011 if an asset is listed (with the local council), and then comes up for sale, the new right will give communities that want it six months to put together a bid to buy it.

*AO Area Organiser
Some regions (See below) have a number of these covering specific counties. They assist the Regional Director.

Barrel
A thirty six gallon container

*BEER
Quarterly magazine for CAMRA members.

*BIS Brewery Information System
A CAMRA database, which is used to store information on breweries and their beers including tasting notes.

*BLC Brewery Liaison Coordinator
A volunteer who coordinates all of the Brewery Liaison Officers within a region or for a named large brewing company.

*BLO Brewery Liaison Officer
A volunteer who acts as the liaison between CAMRA and a named brewery.

*Branches Committee
The Committee of Regional Directors that meets to talk and deal with issues affecting CAMRA's branches.

Bright Beer
Can be used in several ways but usually means a beer that has been racked into another container leaving the yeast and sediment behind.

*BYMC Branch Young Members Contact
Represents young members (18-30 years old) in their area as part of their branch committee.

Cask Breather (or aspirator)
A device that draws in carbon dioxide when beer is drawn out of a cask instead of air.

Cask-Conditioned Beer
See Real Ale

Cask Marque
A scheme that monitors the quality of beer in pubs. If the quality is deemed good enough, they are awarded the 'marque'.

Cask Report
An annual report on the real ale market that CAMRA produces with a number of other organisations.

*CBOB Champion Beer of Britain
CAMRA's annual competition to choose a beer of the year. It is broken down into beer styles.

*COBAS CAMRA Online Branch Accounting System
An online package designed to make branch treasurers jobs easier than traditional spreadsheets.

*COTY Club of the Year
CAMRA run competition to find the best club selling real ale. Currently run in partnership with Club Mirror Magazine.

*CPOTY Cider Pub of the Year
CAMRA run competition to find the best pub selling real cider.

Cuckoo Brewery
A brewery that does not have its own brewery but brews at others. Also known as 'gypsy brewing'.

*CWBOB Champion Winter Beer of Britain
The winter competition of CAMRA's Champion Beer of Britain.

Cyclops
A scheme using simple pictograms to describe the taste and appearance of a beer.

Dry Hopped
Cask beer that has fresh hop leaves or pellets added on racking.

Finings
This is added to beer to get it to drop clear. Isinglass, a substance obtained from the swimbladders of fish, is commonly used.

Firkin
A nine gallon container.

Free of tie
A pub (or other drinking establishment) that can purchase its beer from whoever they choose regardless of ownership.

Freehouse
Premises that are free of tie and may buy beer and all other products from anywhere. Some premises are partially free of tie. See Tied House Most pub chain companies, although they do not have a brewery, will specify a beer list that the tenant or manager has to purchase from if they have not negotiated otherwise. Key Stone A wooden 'bung' through which the tap is hammered to allow the beer to be served.

*GBBF Great British Beer Festival
CAMRA's flagship national annual beer festival, held in August at Olympia, London.

*GBBFW Great British Beer Festival Winter
CAMRA's flagship national annual winter beer festival, currently held in February at The New Bingley Hall, Derby. (previously known as NWAF National Winter Ales Festival)

*GBG Good Beer Guide
CAMRA's flagship publication. The pubs are chosen by CAMRA's branches based on the quality of the beer.

Green Beer
Cask ale that hasn’t matured properly.

*HQ Head Office
CAMRA's Head Office is based in Hatfield Road, St Albans and is where the paid staff, including CAMRA's Chief Executive is based. None of CAMRA's National Executive (the Board) are based there.

Kil or Kilderkin
An eighteen gallon container.

*LocAle
A scheme run by CAMRA to encourage pubs to stock beers produced locally.

Managed House
Premises where staff are directly employed by a controlling brewer or Pub Company, which retains ownership of all products until they are sold.

*Members' weekend
A get-together open to all CAMRA members; comprising the national AGM and debates on motions to add, change or remove CAMRA policy. Elections to the NE take place at the members' weekend.

*NI National Inventory
A register of public houses in the United Kingdom with interiors which have been noted as being of significant historic interest, having remained largely unchanged for at least 30 years, but usually since at least World War II. The NI contains the finest examples from the various regional inventories.

*NBSS National Beer Scoring Scheme
A scheme by which any CAMRA member can score the beer in a pub or club. The data is accessible by branches and the information on the beer quality in any pub can be used by CAMRA branches for selecting Good Beer Guide entries and competitions such as Pub of the Year.

*NE National Executive
The Board of Directors responsible for the running of the Campaign. They are unpaid volunteers.

*NERD National Executive and Regional Directors
A collective term for these two group of unpaid volunteers, who meet together several times a year.

*PHG Pub Heritage Group National
Committee that provides advice on the historic nature of pubs and their architecture.

Pin
A 4.5 gallon container. A polypin is a plastic version.

Polypin
A 4.5 imperial gallon disposable beer container with an inbuilt tap, similar to a large wine box.

*POTS Pub of the Season
Local competition run by branches.

*POTY Pub of the Year
An annual competition. Each branch chooses a pub, which then is judged by a regional panel and then nationally.

PubCo Pub Company
A company that owns or operates pubs. Some may also be pub-operating divisions of brewers e.g. Marston's, Greene King.

Pub is the Hub
An organisation set up to help pubs in rural areas.

Pub Manager
This is an employee of the brewery or pub chain. The business risk lies with the owner rather than the person unlike tenancies.

*Pubzilla
A CAMRA database, which is used by branches to store information on pubs.

OG Original Gravity
A measurement taken before fermentation that indicates how much soluble material is present to produce alcohol.

*RAIB Real Ale in a Bottle
Traditionally brewed ale, unpasteurised and bottle conditioned.

Real Ale (Cask-Conditioned Beer)
The term ‘real ale’ and the following definition were coined by CAMRA. ‘Real ale is beer brewed from traditional ingredients (malted barley, hops, water and yeast), matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide’. Real ale is also known as ‘cask-conditioned beer’, ‘real cask ale’, ‘real beer’ and ‘naturally conditioned beer’.

*RD Regional Director
This postholder is responsible for the Branches within their region. They are usually elected by the branches within the region but are appointed by the National Executive. They are unpaid volunteers. They are all members of the Branches Committee (BC), which meets to discuss branch and related issues throughout the year.

*Region
CAMRA comprises a set of regions, 16 in total, covering the UK. Each region is managed by an RD and comprises a set of branches which run their local area. Our region is called West Pennines and covers Cumbria, Isle of Man and Lancashire.

*Regional Inventory
A register of public houses in a particular UK region with interiors which have been noted as being of significant historic interest, having remained largely unchanged for at least 30 years, but usually since at least World War II.

Restrictive Covenants
This is where a pub is sold but cannot remain a pub.

*RM Regional Meeting
A meeting regularly convened and chaired by the RD. All CAMRA members are welcome to attend. Regional Officers are expected to attend. The RM comprises reports and other items of general interest across the region.

Secondary fermentation
The fermentation that takes place in a bottle or cask separate from the first fermentation that takes place in the fermenter in the brewery. It is the secondary fermentation that defines real ale.

Shive
The bung on the top of the cask, which is broached by a spile.

Small Breweries’ Relief
Also known as Progressive Beer Duty and Small Brewers' Relief. Introduced in 2002, small brewers benefit from reduced beer duty on their beer if they produce below 60,000 hectolitres per annum.

Sparkler
A nozzle fitted to a handpump that, when tight, creates a large head.

Spile
A wooden 'peg' that is put in the top of a real ale cask to allow the beer to breath.

SIBA Society of Independent Brewers Association
A trade body representing brewers, mainly small ones.

SPBW Society for the Preservation of Beers from the Wood
A consumer organisation for beer that predates CAMRA.

*Super Regional Conferences
Conferences that are held around the country for members to contribute to CAMRA's strategy and discussion of issues. Open to any member and complements CAMRA's Members' Weekend and AGM.

Sustainable Communities Act
The Act seeks to open up the work of local communities to greater transparency by including ‘local people’ in the proposal process. Used by CAMRA to help protect pubs.

Tenant
This is a person who leases their pub from a brewery or pub company. They operate like a small business.

Tied House
Premises that are contractually obliged to source products from a controlling brewer or pub company. Some ties are only partial. A tie may cover beer, wine, spirits as well as food and services such as gaming machines and television screens. See Freehouse.

Tut
The stopper in the centre of a shive, which is pushed through when the cask is spiled.

Vent
To broach a cask.

*What Pub
CAMRA's online pub database, which is open to all members to put forward updates.

*What's Brewing
Monthly newspaper for CAMRA members.

*YMG Young Members Group
One of CAMRA's groups that support the operations of the organisation for CAMRA members 18-30.