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CAMRA's Locale scheme in practice

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Locale is the Campaign for Real Ale”s accreditation scheme for pubs which sell local beer. We think it’s a great idea.

It’s really made a difference in our local, the Nags Head, Walthamstow. A few weeks ago, two of the ale pumps on the bar (those for Mighty Oak Oscar Wilde Mild, from Essex, and Fuller’s London Pride) sprouted eye-catching Locale tags. People seemed to like the idea of drinking local beer  and so sales of those beers apparently increased.

As a result, one of the other pumps has now been given over to an even more local beer: Brodie’s Red, brewed a 10 minute walk away, in the back room of another local pub.

It tasted great — better than in the William IV, I’m afraid to say — and we think signals the start of a beautiful friendship between Walthamstow’s best pub and its only brewery.

4 replies on “CAMRA's Locale scheme in practice”

It always strikes me as somewhat inconsistent to be championing the reduction of “beer miles” resulting from stocking locally-brewed ales, yet at the same time praising the presence of Cooper’s Sparkling Ale in the bottle cabinet. Or maybe the plebs have to drink the local stuff while the cognoscenti drink the exotic imports.

Curmudgeon — you’re right, of course.

We’ve got a pretty strong instinct towards consuming local, but when American, German and Belgian beers are so exciting, it’s hard to just cut them out completely. Breweries like Brewdog, Thornbridge, Meantime and even Brodie’s might show the way to go: locally produced beers which are as varied in style and well-crafted as anything from overseas.

Really good to see it IS making a difference. I do think, personally, that the well-rounded beer drinker is just that – fads may come and go but most people who are serious about beer will mix it up – local, and ‘exotic’. I’ll often blog more about local, simply because it’s those guys who can’t spend money on publicity. I would feel more obliged to help them if they brew a beer I like rather than , say, Brewdog, Sierra Nevada, Goose Island etc. like most things in life, it’s all about balance!!

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