We asked recently if there is a Hay-on-Wye of beer or a British Bamberg. In particular, we were interested to know if any British towns or cities were promoting themselves as destinations for beer tourism.
Various people reminded us about Norwich, City of Ale — an annual celebration accompanied by year-round promotion of Norwich’s breweries and pubs.
And, only last week, CAMRA launched London, City of Beer. The idea behind this campaign is mostly to act as an antidote to sponsorship of the Olympics by Carlsberg, Heineken, Duff or whichever one it is, but it’s interesting for various reasons. First, it wouldn’t have been warranted five years ago.
Secondly, it’s a rare example of CAMRA giving away quality content to non-members, which we applaud: this will win more members.
Lastly, and arguably most importantly, it represents CAMRA doing the right thing re: ‘craft beer’ — keg-only Camden Brewery is listed, making this a true catalogue of London’s beer, not just its real ale — even though they have yet to find a way to represent this sensible approach in official policy.