The 1st CAMRGB AGM Minutes

Last night saw the inaugural CAMRGB AGM.
Or, to describe it another way, a nice evening in a good pub having a natter and a few beers.

We met in my favourite pub, The Wrekin Tap (mentioned previously in this blog and probably to be mentioned again in the future) sits on the Holyhead Road in the heart of Shropshire.
The evening opened with an extraordinary pint of 3 Tuns Clerics Cure (5%). The high ABV really works with this well malted, crisp hoppy golden ale.
And it certainly got our heads in the right place to begin CAMRGB business.

Firstly we talked in general about what CAMRGB is all about and drew up a shortlist of important points:

1. Good beer is something to be enjoyed.
2. CAMRGB must maintain a lightheartedness and not become overly serious about itself.
3. Everyone is welcome as long as they a) enjoy a good pint and, b) are willing to have a bit of fun.
4. Brewers are like modern day magicians who should be celebrated and supported.
5. Mmmm....beer (we may have moved a few pints in by this point).

Paolo (pictured right) is CAMRGB Member Number 2 and as such has taken it upon himself to create a CAMRGB Twitter Group. We'll direct you to it once it's up and running.
Then he went to the bar.
He came back with a pint of Sadlers Thin Ice (4.5%) for himself and a pint of Cotleigh Owlzatt (4.4%) for me.
The Cotleigh was well kept (as all the beer is in this pub), had a lovely citrus aroma and a sharp crisp bite. Needless to say it didn't last long.
The Thin Ice I'm told was equally good.

Talk moved from CAMRGB business to music, family, and various amusing anecdotes before it was time to return to the bar.
While having our drinks poured I got talking to the landlord who, as the patron of CAMRA's Shropshire pub of the year for about the last million years, loved the idea of CAMRGB and agreed wholeheartedly with many of the now slightly slurred points we touched on.


Then he took my money and handed me two pints of Hobson's Town Crier (4.5%).
Hobson's are a local brewer who are the only constant in The Wrekin Tap's ever changing range.
Town Crier was long and deep, with a decent malt and a hop that reminded both myself and Paolo of a good cup of tea.
Yum.
Towards the end of the evening while waiting for Paolo's taxi I wanted to end with a stout.
I'd noticed on the board that Gertie Sweet Dusky Maiden was on.
Now, I love a dusky maiden and went to the bar to order one.
Sadly it had just come to the end and the Wrekin Tap's beery boffins were busy cleaning pipes so there would be no stout for me.
Instead I returned to our opening beer. Another pint of Cleric's Cure was a powerful way to end the night and a wonderful bookend to a very constructive and fun evening.
Our final decision for CAMRGB?
No more AGM's.
Instead we will be holding Bi Monthly General Meetings (CAMRGB Bi-MGM).
We'll let you know where and when the next one will be.
You're all welcome.
Cheers.

Beer Hunter on The Wrekin Tap.
The Wrekin Tap at The Cock Hotel.

Brouwerij De Molen Sladek Hopburst (6.2%)

Another extraordinary beer from this wonderful Dutch brewery.
Boiled sweets, black pepper & ultra intense hop.
The malting is sublime - caramel & hazelnuts, rich and viscous.

The beers from this brewery are very special indeed - they do very small bottled runs with hand-numbered labels.
Like drinking heaven.

We have an interview with these guys coming soon.

Magic.

Visit them here.

Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA (7.1%)

Today is IPA day so last night to celebrate the eve of this momentous day I had a few bottles.
Best by far was this one.
Flying Dog isn't the easiest beer to find here in the UK. For a while Tesco stocked a little but since then it's just specialist ships at specialist prices.
It's definitely worth the extra pennies though.

Snake Dog is a quite brilliant American IPA.
It has an orange rind zing, sweet sherbet notes and a thoroughly mouth watering resinous woody malt backbone.
Then there's the hops.
This beer appears to have been hopped forever.
The finish is loooooooong and dry and bitter and...and...well, the best.

Wrapped in a label drawn by the immaculately mental Ralph Steadman, this is a beer I wish I could have in my fridge every day.

We have an interview coming soon with Flying Dog's Brewmaster Matt Brophy - I can't wait to talk to him.

For more info go here.

Our position - An open letter to CAMRA-ites

Dear beer lovers.
We love beer as much as you do.
We don't want a war - of words or otherwise.
We want more people to think about the beer they drink and become more adventurous in this world of watery bland lager.
We have enormous respect for much of the work that CAMRA does and many of the battles CAMRA has fought.
However, we believe that many of those battles were won some time ago and that imposing such stringent rules on what is a Real British Ale alienates not only many of the small artisan brewers in the UK but also many of the people who enjoy the beer made by them.

This country of ours makes an extraordinary range of craft beers and we should celebrate them by supporting them.
That means buying their beers and telling everyone else about them too.

We are uncomfortable with the stranglehold that CAMRA and its rules has over British brewing.
The imposing of rules about kegs and casks, yeast quotients etc. are holding back the world of modern brewing in the UK and is definitely alienating many many people in the UK who would otherwise start drinking the products of our small brewers and enjoying them.
There's a whole generation of younger people who look at the archetypal CAMRA member as a beard wearing, sandal sporting beer geek.
That is a great shame.

Drinking and enjoying beer, sitting in pubs and talking / discussing / arguing.
Meeting new people.
Getting slightly tipsy and giggling.
These are all wonderful and fun and important things to do.
Let's not hold people back anymore by imposing draconian measures on what is and is not the "real" pursuit of good beer.
Let's enjoy good beer for good beer's sake.
Let's thank all our amazing brewers for the astonishing range of drinks they provide.


Let's sit down and discuss the parameters of getting people involved.

Thanks and cheers.
CAMRGB