tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8285162121291357473.post8995535090541780716..comments2024-03-03T19:52:17.901+00:00Comments on ReARM ~ RedNev's Blog: CAMRA ... there for the well-heeled?Neville Grundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10923209266005338452noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8285162121291357473.post-15483957288137567482011-10-05T14:13:41.504+01:002011-10-05T14:13:41.504+01:00I'm not sure I remember a time before real ale...I'm not sure I remember a time before real ale was drunk in pubs by 'aspirational' working class / middle class people.<br /><br />The local boozers on the council housing estates of my early years (late '80's) were not somewhere I dared to go often, I needed to head to a leafier end of town just for a nice pint without hassle.<br /><br />The clientèle even in liverpool city centre has always seemed (certainly IMO the last 10 years) to have a little more money in their pockets, The Phil, Everyman, Rigby's, Lion, Ship 'n' Mitre, plenty of men in nice suits.<br /><br />I've always thought CAMRA was slightly exclusive - paid membership, paid entry to beer festivals, paid 'silk tie' merch...bornagainsthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06776517414202117663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8285162121291357473.post-91621236822307205222011-10-04T15:11:19.935+01:002011-10-04T15:11:19.935+01:00Yes, but if it mattered to you, it was generally p...Yes, but if it mattered to you, it was generally possible to tell from the design of the font and knowledge of brewery policies whether the beer would be real or not. I can only recall one occasion - in a Border Breweries pub south of Oswestry - when I was genuinely surprised to receive keg/tank beer from a diaphragm dispenser.<br /><br />While the handpump is undoubtedly a powerful visual symbol of real ale, for many drinkers it has become a symbol of what to avoid.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8285162121291357473.post-16375103824897666052011-10-04T14:58:25.189+01:002011-10-04T14:58:25.189+01:00The problem with electric pump was that you often ...The problem with electric pump was that you often couldn't tell if the beer was real until you started drinkingAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8285162121291357473.post-233236388215597002011-10-04T12:47:28.107+01:002011-10-04T12:47:28.107+01:00What they said Rednev. Like the Labour Party, CAMR...What they said Rednev. Like the Labour Party, CAMRA has gone upmarket. Very few horny handed sons of toil in either nowadays.<br /><br />The reasons are probably more complex than a quick response here, but the wipeout of the big brewers from cask took away many cask drinkers, most of whom probably had no idea it was cask they were drinking.<br /><br />Back to the old electric pumps. I regret it too, but life moves on.Tandlemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06804499573827044693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8285162121291357473.post-41307777203829697222011-10-03T17:41:57.824+01:002011-10-03T17:41:57.824+01:00Think about it. Who but a load of misguided but we...Think about it. Who but a load of misguided but well meaning middle class wet liberals would bother to think "campaigning" for pongy beer was worthwhile?<br /><br />Regular working class folk have better things to do, and more pressing concerns.Cooking Lagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02830924433230427226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8285162121291357473.post-92011093666220259122011-10-03T14:57:15.071+01:002011-10-03T14:57:15.071+01:00Umm, real ale sales are not booming, they are just...Umm, real ale sales are not booming, they are just dropping more slowly than overall beer sales in pubs. That's a piece of spin worthy of Alastair Campbell at his best.<br /><br />And, like it or not, <a href="http://pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2011/07/touch-of-class.html" rel="nofollow">it seems to have become a fact of life nowadays that the working classes drink keg beer</a>.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.com