Ale be off! Beer campaign chief quits after lager row

THE head of Britain’s biggest beer campaign quit last night – just weeks after members rejected controversial plans to promote lager as well as ale and cider.

Tim Page stepped down as chief executive of the Campaign for Real Ale following a row over whether the group should seek to attract younger members by supporting lager.

The ‘revitalisation project’ aimed to end the image of Camra – which has championed traditional cask beer for almost 50 years – as an organisation for ‘old men with beards and beer bellies’. It also proposed to widen the definition of a ‘pub’ to include café-style establishments and microbreweries that don’t have a bar.

Mr Page spent the past two years championing the project, which he hoped would modernise an organisation founded in 1971 by four ale aficionados.

But members rejected the plans at the group’s annual meeting at Warwick University last month. The project risked causing a major chasm in Camra, with many older members threatening to set up a rival organisation rather than support lager drinkers.

Mr Page, formerly national director of homelessness charity Emmaus UK and chief executive of the East Anglian Air Ambulance, is said to favour a return to the charitable sector. He said last night: ‘I am very grateful for having had the opportunity to be part of Camra, which is a truly remarkable organisation. I am grateful for the friendship and support that I have enjoyed from people across the sector.’

Camra’s national chairman, Jackie Parker, said Mr Page had made a ‘considerable impact’ in his role and thanked him for his contribution to the campaign.

Last week it was announced that Camra would offer alcohol-free ales at Britain’s biggest beer festival for the first time. The Dutch beers will be on sale at the Great British Beer Festival in London in August.