Welcome to your latest CAMRA Branch Update. It looks like summer is well and truly over so I hope you managed to get a few al fresco pints in the sunshine before the rains came.
Branch Meeting
The next branch meeting will be held on Thursday 4 September 2025 at the Ukrainian Social Club 99 Castle Street, Bolton, BL2 1JP. The meeting will start at 8.00 p.m. and, as always, everyone is welcome.
Unesco Petition
You may be aware of this petition which has been launched to ask the Government to seek Unesco approval to British Cask Ale being given Intangible Cultural Heritage status. This will put it on the same footing as Belgian Beer Culture and other traditional drinks cultures in Europe. The hope is that by being granted such status, cask ale will be recognised as part of the British traditional way of life and will receive a boost through international recognition. CAMRA fully supports this petition so if you haven’t already signed it, you can find it here. If it gets to 100,000 signatures, the petition will be considered for debate in Parliament.
Cask Ale Week
This year’s Cask Ale Week will take place between Thursday 18 and Sunday 28 September – slightly longer than a week but then a couple of extra days to enjoy cask beers is always welcome. This annual event, organised by Cask Marque, is supported by CAMRA and is intend to be a celebration of Britain’s national drink. It’s an opportunity for pubs and breweries to get involved and encourage their customers to try and promote real ale by organising events and activities throughout the week. For more information, go to the Cask Ale Week website here.
Awards
The Stork Tavern, 548 Halliwell Road, Bolton, BL1 8BP has been voted Pub of the Season for Summer 2025. The Stork, a Grade II listed building and reputed to have the largest beer garden in Bolton, was recognised for being somewhere where all the family could enjoy a Summer’s day with a good selection of cask ales.
Bolton branch’s Pub of the Year, B33R@33 in Horwich, came third in the Greater Manchester Area round of the National Pub of the Year competition.
Congratulations to the teams at both of these pubs. Keep an eye on our social media for details of the presentations of the awards.
Taste Match
CAMRA is continuing to make improvements to its website and one of the new initiatives, known as Taste Match and free for CAMRA members, allows you to build a taste profile for yourself from the characteristics of the beers you enjoy. Once you have a profile, Taste Match will recommend beers from breweries across the country that should appeal to your palate. As it builds its database, Taste Match will also be able to tell you where you can get these beers. If you’re a regular beer scorer, you may find that Taste Match has already built your profile for you. Give it a try here.
Socials and Beer Festivals
Our next social will be a trip to Oldham on Thursday 4 September. Meet at Bolton railway station to catch the 11.18 train to Manchester Victoria and then on to Oldham. Following that there will be an outing to Dunham Massey Apple Farm on Friday 12 September to sample their excellent ciders. Details of all our socials can be found on the branch website here.
Astley Bridge Cricket Club will be holding its annual beer festival on 5, 6 & 7 September. The festival will be open Friday 18:00-23:00, Saturday 18:00- 23:00, and Sunday 12:00- 16:00. Entrance is £5 inclusive of a glass and a programme. Food will be available at all 3 sessions. There will be a selection of 8 ales and 4 ciders.
As Autumn sneaks up on us, we might start to see a different range of beers appearing on the bars of our favourite pubs. At this time of year the golden ales we’ve been enjoying through the summer months give way to the darker delights of stouts, porters and other warming brews. This highlights the fantastic variety of cask ales produced by our skilled brewers, small and large. This is why we, as members of CAMRA, must continue to campaign for, champion and drink cask ale to ensure that it, and the pubs that sell it, thrive.
Cheers!
John Mitchell – Chair