Wrong kind of beer

Real ale began in 1972, between the ending of £sd and Quadrophenia by The Who. That was with the first AGM of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra for short). There was already real ale, of course, but it was as endangered as red telephone boxes and little blue packets of salt in crisps. Pasteurisation of beer and added carbon dioxide provided a dependable bitter that never went off, and could be drunk on demand, if the can opener could be found.

Real ale, by contrast, was made simply with malted barley, hops and yeast and underwent secondary fermentation in a barrel, from which it was served without the aid of extra CO2. To Camra we owe gratitude for a new attitude that despised Watneys Red Barrel and cultivated a taste in ales with names like champion dogs: Saltaire’s Triple Chocoholic or Rudgate’s Ruby Mild. But now Camra is changing its remit to include “all types of beers”. All types? Isn’t that the work of Naff – the Nasty and Fizzy Foundation? We don’t insist on the daft haircuts and sweater-swaddled bellies of the Seventies, but there’s more need than ever for well-brewed local ales.