Campaign for Real Ale Campaign for Real Ale The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, England, which promotes real ale, real cider and the traditional British pub. With over 191,000 members, it is now the largest single-issue consumer group in the UK, and is a founding member of the European Beer Consumers Union (EBCU). The organisation was founded in 1971 in Kruger's bar in Dunquin, Kerry, Ireland by Michael Hardman, Graham Lees, Jim Makin, and Bill Mellor, who were opposed to the growing mass production of beer and the homogenisation of the British brewing industry.
Campaign for Real Ale held in the Great, National & West Halls at the Olympia Exhibition Centre, in Kensington, London, having been held for a few years at Earl's Court as well as regionally in the past at venues such as Brighton and Leeds. CAMRA presents awards for beers and pubs, such as the National Pub of the Year, in which approximately 4,000 active CAMRA members from 200 local branches vote for their favourite pub of the year. The branch winners are entered into 16 regional competitions which are then visited by several individuals who select the ones they like best. There are also