Overview: The Campaign for Real Ale faces significant financial and membership challenges as the organization reports an £800,000 loss last year. Tom Stainer notes the industry stranglehold held by multinationals like Diageo.
The Full Story
Tom Stainer, Camra’s chief executive, states that independent breweries are facing unfair competition from multinationals with deep pockets and huge influence. He describes the current market conditions as an illusion of choice, noting that many people walk into bars without realizing everything in front of them is owned by the same big company. The Campaign for Real Ale has seen its membership sink to an eight-year low while accounts show it is firmly in the red.
The financial pressure extends beyond the organization itself; last September it announced it had been forced to cancel its pivotal Great British Beer festival, formerly the largest of its kind in the UK. Tom Stainer explains that cost of living has hit the campaign group, making membership something members might economise on to offset huge energy bills or the rise in food prices. Meanwhile, pubs are dropping independent beers because they are too popular, as they conflict with minimum purchase orders for specific products.
Production & Profile
Real ale is a traditional draught cask beer, a living product that is produced and stored in its cask. It differs from a cold, fizzy lager, in which the yeast is killed and carbon dioxide is added. Real ale contains live yeast so it continues fermenting until it is served. Outside the Devonshire pub in Soho, central London, there is an ever-present horde of drinkers downing pints of Guinness, a stout made by the multinational company Diageo.
Customers favor handmade British products produced in exactly the same way they have been for centuries. Landlord is made by the family-owned Timothy Taylor brewery in Keighley, West Yorkshire. Bankside Blonde is brewed by Southwark Brewing Company. At the King Charles I pub in King’s Cross, cask ale makes up around 30% of sales, with a healthy range of cask beers swapped out every five weeks.
Brand & Industry History
For centuries, the wooden real ale pump has been the hallmark of a good British boozer. The industry is currently defined by a contrast between family-owned breweries like Timothy Taylor and large global brewers who have deep pockets and huge influence. This dynamic has led to a restructuring in which a number of roles were sadly made redundant within CAMRA.
What This Means
CAMRA is calling for the Competition and Markets Authority to investigate the big beer companies’ stranglehold on the market. The incentives offered to large pub companies include cheap packages for beers, wine and soft drinks, with a multi-year tie-in. These conditions make it hard for small brewers to get to market, forcing pubs to sell a certain amount of product regardless of consumer preference.
Consumer Takeaway
Community-owned venues like the King Charles I pub offer a different experience where the team can choose what’s on tap. Despite the delicious range of cask ale on offer, including Bankside Blonde by Southwark Brewing Company, Guinness still appears to be the order of the day among customers at many locations. Drinkers seeking variety should look for independent, community-owned venues that do not have a big pub company telling them what to sell.
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