The campaign for real ale seems to have shrugged off its original, narrowly defined, brief and gone all political on us.
From championing a ‘people’s pint’ of 2.8% abv that could be sold at a lower price to registering a ’super complaint’ demanding a review of the beer tie, CAMRA has found a voice; and an audience.
I’m not sure that CAMRA is the right voice, but they seem to be taking themselves very seriously and time will tell whether they will make a difference. Personally, I’m a guy that remembers the beer orders and have seen the consequences that the last piece of government intervention brought to our industry.
All those wishing for the government to step in and start making decisions should realise that Punch and Enterprise were the ultimate result of the beer orders. History has shown us that we ought to fear the unintended consequences of clueless politicians poking around in our business.