Cask/keg/craft beer

From http://iansaleadventures.blogspot.com/

The discussion/debate about the relative virtues of cask/keg/craft beer that has continued on the Yahoo site for a while - particularly when it comes to Brewdog - was also the subject of debate at CAMRA's national Members' Weekend and AGM in Torquay several months ago. A motion was carried at that meeting and has been circulated to branch contacts, magazine editors, BLO's and various other parties.

As I only occasionally get the chance to attend branch meetings, I am not aware of the discussions that may have taken place there, but I thought the motion deserved more general circulation amongst members anyway and I thought I would take this opportunity to copy it:

"At this year’s Members’ Weekend & AGM in Torquay, Motion 15 was carried to help give CAMRA some direction of the topic of ‘Craft Beer’.

The motion stated:

This Conference believes that CAMRA policy should recognise that Craft Beer is beer with a distinctive flavour brewed by artisans. As a consequence, most real ales are craft beers but not all craft beers are real ale and CAMRA’s communication should reflect this.

Although CAMRA will continue to only promote real ale, it is apparent that the organisation nationally, regionally and locally is being increasingly asked by external parties for our view on ‘Craft Beer’.

The industry does not have a definition for what ‘Craft Beer’ actually is and this make it it a very difficult subject to have a stance on.

We felt it was important to be proactive and offer support to the membership and that is why this motion was put forward by CAMRA Directors Christine Cryne and Keith Spencer.

We know that denigrating craft keg beer is unproductive and can put off people from joining CAMRA. Something we want to avoid, particularly as CAMRA prides itself on standing for choice. It is much better to concentrate on the positive attributes of real ale such as depth of flavour and complexity.

CAMRA editors, webmasters and spokespeople should note that a beer labeled as 'craft' can refer to craft keg or craft real ale. For clarity it is recommended that in the majority of cases, the term 'craft keg' is used when appropriate and simply 'real ale' is used for craft real ale as the Conference agreed that the majority of real ales are craft.

If you have any views or questions on this subject then please email me at tony.jerome@camra.org.uk or jon.howard@camra.org.uk and we will try our best to give you advice or discuss with the appropriate Directors."