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.”

We are pleased to announce the Pub and Club of the Year 2024 winners!

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

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.

Welcome to a revised and online version of the old and much missed Witch Ale Magazine!

Witch Ale will be emailed out to all East Lancs CAMRA members regularly with pub and brewery news, together with details of local meetings and events for the following month.

We need your input so that everyone will know what’s going on pub-wise within East Lancs. Please email any news or views from your local pub, club or brewery to :- ku.gro.armac.scnaltsae@swenelahctiw

WITCH ALE Issue 96 – August 2023

The Good Beer Guide is the UK’s best-selling beer and pub guide and it continues to represent the best of the best in the brewing and hospitality industry.

With 4500 pubs, bars, and clubs selected by unpaid volunteers up and down the country, this is the best guide for pubgoers interested in being served a good pint of real ale as well as those who wish to find a local near them that is welcoming and has many other benefits that may appeal.

Each entry contains a short description as well as details of regular beers that can be linked to the brewery section to discover local beers, as well as some treasured national favourites.

This guide is compiled by consumers for consumers and is the most independent and complete guide to find good beer.

Exclusive hardback edition £25.00

With such an iconic image on the cover we felt it was necessary to offer people an opportunity to collect something that will be remembered for many years to come.

In stark contrast to the 50th anniversary edition, this copy is printed black with the unmistakeable lettering from Iron Maiden and the iconic figure of Eddie pulling a pint of real ale.

With the addition of a red bookmark and silver foiling on the lettering to emphasise the ‘metal’ influence this copy will appeal to collectors and beer enthusiasts.

Only available as a pre-order until 24 July 2023, this one-off hardback will be extra special.

Standard Edition £15.99

The standard edition of The Good Beer Guide 2024 will feature the iconic image of Eddie pulling a pint and the lettering from the world renowned band Iron Maiden.

‘Every beer has a story to tell, and every Pub ……well…if the walls could speak- what dramas have unfolded under the oak beamed roofs?

It is easy to forget that the roots of our Pub culture go back for centuries, and perhaps we have been guilty of taking them for granted.

This guide is a clarion call to get involved, to go local, to preserve humanity and courtesy in our Pubs, not have them turned into mere alcohol cash machines.’

Bruce Dickinson

Alternative Edition edition £15.99

To account for those of you who may find the image of Eddie bursting through the cover a bit too heavy, we have decided to offer an alternative cover that features the recognisable lettering and imagery of previous editions.

This cover will only be available to pre-order and is exclusively sold by CAMRA.

With a striking black cover and red detailing this limited run edition will still feature all of the 4500 pubs as well as an up-to-date listing of active breweries from across the UK.

It will also feature the foreword by Bruce Dickinson.

This exclusive paperback edition of The Good Beer Guide will not be available from retailers and is only available to pre-order before 25 July 2023.

Getting your copy

Click here to order your copy of the Good Beer Guide 2024

Privilege Club

Save £’s with the Privilege Club subscription

Subscribe to the Privilege Club and order the ‘Standard’ Edition or the ‘Alternative Edition’ for only £12 with free postage

As a Privilege Club subscriber, you also get delivery up to 2 weeks before release date!

As a Privilege Club member, you can also order multiple copies for friends and family.

Please note: The hardback edition is only available directly from the CAMRA shop for £25, and is not available as a Privilege club subscription – this edition will be delivered on or around 28th September 2023.

Click here to find out more about the Privilege Club

The branch has made some changes to its meetings to make them more welcoming and sociable.

These OPEN meetings replace branch meetings and are a chance for CAMRA members (or anyone) to meet and chat about the things we are all interested in whilst supporting some of the great venues around the branch.

First up is Saturday 3 June 2023 in Pendle starting from 1:30pm at the Bankers Draft in Barrowford, with a social around the local area afterwards and ending up at Nelson Cricket Club. The day will include presentations for the Pendle Pub and Club of the Year 2023 awards respectively. All with a promise of some good beers.

Transport: Bus no 2 Burnley to Nelson then No 2 or 66 to Barrowford or Number 2 from Colne.