ABOUT CAMRA

CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale is an independent, voluntary organisation once (Dec 2019) with 192,289 members campaigning for real ale, community pubs and consumer rights. Down (Dec 2025) to a eight-year low of 143,038 possibly due to the pandemic without beer festivals for renewals/new members.. But it could be that now members have been deprived of a monthly What’s Brewing paper and can only view information online that they find it no longer value for money? 22% of the over 65’s do not use the internet. CAMRA acts as the champion for beer drinkers and pub-goers on issues ranging from protecting pubs from closing down, keeping the lid on the price of a pint and ensuring there is fair competition in the beer and pubs market. CAMRA supports well-run pubs as the centres of community life and believe their continued existence play a critical social role in UK culture.

NEWS

2026 PIG’S EAR FESTIVAL T-SHIRTS see the festival page. Where are most “foreign” lagers brewed? According to this article it’s the UK. Our branch was 50 years old in 2024. Back in the day (1980-1989) the branch produced a local newsletter named unsurprisingly enough, Pigs Ear. Here is the Nov/Dec 1981 edition. One from Feb 85. But before that Bas Clarke produced the East London Newsletter. Here is the first volume from December 1976, Volume 3 and Volume 6. Volume 7 , Volume 10, Volume 13 , Volume 14 , Volume 15 , Volume 17, Volume 18 , Volume 19 and Volume 20.

Photograph a pub.

What do the following pub/bars have in common?, Ciderhouse E7 0JN, Riverside East E20 2AD, Tommy Flowers Pub E14 0NU. None have a picture on CAMRA Pubs. If you can help please send us your photograph. A map with all the pubs plotted on them is here. Brewery History Society Website. The latest London Drinker is available here. CAMRA London Pubs Guide. London Beer & Pub Guide.

Beer Barrels and Brewhouses Publication on

forgotten East End breweries. See here. PDF

here.

Do you know of any clubs not on this list?

Branch events

Wednesday September 2nd 7:30pm Pigs Ear Planning Meeting, Black Lion, 59-61 High Street, E13 0AD Thursday September 3rd 8pm Branch Meeting. Pembury Tavern, 90 Amhurst Road E8 1JH Tuesday September 15th 7:30pm Pigs Ear Planning Meeting, European, 557- 559 Lea Bridge Road, E10 7EQ ROBERT’S RAMBLE 2026 - SATURDAY 3rd OCTOBER We will meet outside St Albans City Railway Station (town centre exit) by 12.00. We will then take a 15-minute walk to the London Road Station. This old station building is on a disused branch line that is now a cycling and walking trail. From there it is an eight-minute walk to our first pub, The Great Northern, 172 London Road, St Albans AL1 1PQ. This is an independent pub with up to five cask ales on, normally including a Porter or Stout. From here we will pass The Odyssey, a cinema with art-deco features. After an 11-minute walk we come to the Clock Tower, a medieval belfry completed in 1405. We will then visit The Boot, 4 Market Place, St Albans AL3 5DG. This Grade II listed dating back to 1422 has up to five cask ales. We will then do a ten-minute walk through the centre of St Albans, past the Museum, to St Peter’s Church, parts of which date back to 948 although the tower is from the 19th century. From here we will walk back through the centre and onto St Albans Cathedral (ten-minute walk). The cathedral dates back to the 8th century with the nave dating from the 11th century. From the cathedral it is a short 5-minute downhill walk to Ye Olde Fighting Cocks, 16 Abbey Mill Lane, St Albans AL3 4HE. This is reputed to be the oldest pub in Britain. It has up to 8 cask ales. From here we will do a 20-minute walk through Verulamium Park, where there are various Roman remains and then on through the picturesque St Michael’s Village to The Lower Red Lion, 34-36 Fishpool Street, St Albans AL3 4RX. This pub has up to five cask ales. We will then walk back to the centre of the town and visit The White Hart Tap, 4 Keyfield Terrace, AL1 1QJ (13-minute walk). This pub has four changing cask ales. From here it is a 15-minute walk back to the railway station. For those that want to stay longer, there are two GBG pubs very close to our last stop, these are The Garibaldi and The Beehive. There are two uphill stages of the walk, to the centre from the Old London Road station and from St Michael’s village to the centre. The walk will be around five miles in length. St Albans City Station is on the Thameslink line from central London stations such as Farringdon and London St Pancras International. Pete Roberts, I believe, can be seen on the front of June 1979 London Drinker mourning the demise of Watney’s Red Barrel. Anyone wishing to make social pub visits or any suggestions or give feedback is welcome to email James Skinner our Social Secretary. BEER SCORING If you tend to score the beers you drink then you need to read this article and this PDF as the system is changing.

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