“Royal Ales” – the brewing history of Berkshire.

You are invited to a launch event of this new book by the well-respected archivist of the Brewery History Society, Mike Brown, who has previously published books including “Brewed in Northants”; “London Brewed”; and “Brewers of the British Isles”. The research for all these books makes Mike one of the authorities on Brewing History in the country. “Royal Ales” covers the history of brewing throughout this historic county of Berkshire including such notables as Morland’s and Simonds as well as the recent Craft breweries and also pubs that through the ages have brewed their own beers. His talk will cover the development of these brewing businesses and the subsequent consolidation prior to the more recent “Renaissance”. In Windsor alone this has meant the decline from around 5 breweries in Victorian times to nil before the return at present of 3 breweries. The event will start from 7pm on Weds 1st October at the Windsor and Eton brewery tap bar (“Unit 4”) – with Mike’s talk commencing at 7:30pm. Entry is free (though it will help greatly if you can register your intention to attend via ku.oc.werbew@4tinU and there should be plenty of opportunity to learn in general about the subject and also to ask specific questions about the breweries of your past! In addition, If you’ve not seen the brewery here before there will be the chance to have a quick look after the talk. Put the date in your diary now and do join us. You’ll be very welcome.

Paddy Johnson, Windsor and Eton Brewery.

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), one of Europe’s most successful campaigning organisations, has launched its new website, giving its 147,000 members and new users alike the tools to explore pubs, social clubs, brewers and cider makers across the UK.

Led by their campaigning for the best choice and quality for everyone who enjoys beer, cider & perry, and their mission to champion cherished pubs, clubs and festivals, the new CAMRA website has been built in-house with the input of thousands of answers to surveys, specially selected focus groups and extensive user testing. Built using a mix of open-source software and bespoke technologies, CAMRA’s in-house development team joined up CAMRA’s comprehensive data systems to create a truly compelling front-end.

Flexible new access options give website users the option to choose the right route for them.

For casual browsers who want access to a limited selection of new features, registering for a free user account includes access to the extensive database of pubs, clubs and pints; the ability to use the ‘trip planner’ feature and view suggested pub walks up to three times; and the latest on CAMRA news and events.

For those wanting to experience these features to their fullest, the option of becoming a subscriber is available at just 99p per month. This includes extensive tasting notes for beers, as well as unlimited trip planning to make the most of visiting pubs and breweries across the UK. Subscribers can also ‘favourite’ pubs and clubs, adding them to their personalised and easily accessible list for future trips.

CAMRA members are able to use the website at https://camra.org.uk/pubs and all its features, as well as provide their own input via beer scoring, improving the ratings and recommendations available to them, as well as which pubs make it into the Campaign’s flagship Good Beer Guide publication.

The Government will open a public call later this year and would welcome a submission on Cask Ale.