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Welcome to Cheltenham CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale. We are a voluntary organisation campaigning for real ale, community pubs and consumer rights.The Cheltenham Branch has around 1,000 members in the GL50, GL51, GL52 and GL53 postcode areas.

Next 5 Diary Events
16th February, 2019 - Smiths Brew Club Beer Tasting
19th February, 2019 - Branch AGM
20th February to 23rd February, 2019 - 15th Derby CAMRA Winter Ale Festival & Young Members Event
21st February to 22nd February, 2019 - Visit to CAMRA Winter Ale Festival
27th February to 28th February, 2019 - Ale Amble - February
Full Branch Diary

Notice of Branch AGM

12 Dec 2018 Rob Coldwell

The Annual General Meeting of the Cheltenham Branch of CAMRA will be held at 7:30pm on Tuesday 19th February 2019 at The Beehive in Montpellier.

All committee posts are open for re-election and a nomination form is available HERE. If you would like to stand for a position please contact the branch secretary.

All members are welcome.  Please ensure you have your membership card with you, as you’ll need this for any votes that are taken and if you wish to raise a subject for discussion, please email the details to the secretary, so it can be included on the agenda.

Brewery Liaison Officer vacancies

16 Jan 2019 Ian Scott

We currently have two vacancies for Brewery Liaison Officers (BLOs) within the branch.

It’s not an onerous task, you just have to maintain regular contact with the brewery and provide the regional coordinator with updated GBG information and quarterly updates on the breweries status, new brews, relocation or expansion plans etc. You’ll need to have your email address registered with CAMRA HQ.

So, if you’re interested in being the local CAMRA contact for either the Brewhouse & Kitchen or Battledown breweries, then please contact the secretary ( secretary[at]cheltenhamcamra.org.uk ) in the first instance.

The BLO network is independent of the branch network, (you don’t need to attend the branch committee meetings), but you can find out more information at the Branch AGM which takes place on Tuesday 19th February, at the Beehive, from 7:30pm. Alternatively, why not come along to February’s social, which starts in the Brewhouse & Kitchen, on Wednesday 13th February at 8:00pm?

Charity singalong

19 Dec 2018 Rob Coldwell

Great news everyone. We raised £185 for the Midlands Air Ambulance at our sing-along on Tuesday 18th December at Whittle Taps.

Thank you all who generously donated to this worthy cause. Cheltenham CAMRA would also like to thank Joel and his team for hosting the event and Gren for leading us in some seasonal (and not so seasonal) tunes on the piano.

Back Issues of The Tippler Magazine

18 Dec 2018 Rob Coldwell

The Tippler, the magazine of the four Gloucestershire branches of CAMRA, is published quarterly.  Copies of the latest issue can be picked up from many pubs and clubs in the Cheltenham branch area.

We are are aware of a letter in the latest Tippler that some people are interested in reading previous issues of the magazine and we have therefore set up stands in the Sandford Park Alehouse and Cheltenham Motor Club with copies of at least the last four issues. Hopefully these will prove popular with visitors to the town and any new residents.

Electronic copies in PDF format of previous editions of The Tippler can also be found on the Gloucestershire CAMRA website HERE

Selecting Cheltenham’s Good Beer Guide Entries – Phase 2

8 Dec 2018 Ian Scott

Following the December Branch Committee meeting, the long list of pubs for selection for the 2020 Good Beer Guide has now been finalised. These venues were decided upon based on the published criteria (see this document) of previous GBG entry and beer scores taken from What Pub.

There are 15 pubs and clubs on the long list which has been emailed to all branch members on our mailing list.  If any branch member has not received the email and would like to see the list please contact us.

Phase 2 of the selection has now begun and runs until early February. If you visit any of these pubs, please enter beer scores on What Pub and be part of the process to help decide our 8 GBG entries (and 2 reserves) and also our POTY / COTY. These will be chosen in March based primarily on these beer scores so the more data we have, the better. If you think there is an outstanding beer venue missing from this list then please let us know.

CRAF 2019 – Organisation Committee – Help Required

6 Dec 2018 Ian Scott

Planning has now begun for the 2019 Cheltenham Real Ale Festival. Although the core committee have had initial discussions, we realise that at times last year, we were overstretched in the preparation. To that end, we are now actively seeking volunteers to join the 2019 Organising Committee.

So, if you can assist us in the planning and preparation of our primary event of the year, please drop us an email with your contact details and we’ll get back to you. Please contact us at: crafstaff@gmail.com

There will be an initial meeting early in the new year, so please keep an eye on the website for further information.

Please note, this is not a call (at this stage) for volunteers to help at the actual event.

Selecting Cheltenham’s Good Beer Guide Entries – Phase 1

25 Oct 2018 Rob Coldwell

Following the launch of the 2019 Good Beer Guide the process has now begun to select the entries for the 2020 Good Beer Guide and we need your help.

With around one hundred venues in Cheltenham eligible for just eight places, it is important that a robust and transparent selection process is put in place to ensure that only the best make it into the Good Beer Guide. The venues which are recommended for inclusion in the guide should be ones that we are proud to recommend, and are included primarily due to the high quality of the real ale served. It is vital that all Cheltenham CAMRA members are given the opportunity to help in the selection process.

We have now defined the process and it can be found in THIS DOCUMENT. It details how Cheltenham Branch members can be involved at every stage of the selection process, from beginning to end. For Phase One, which last’s until the end of November, you can get involved in two ways:

1. By recommending a venue that you believe is a strong candidate for inclusion in the Good Beer Guide. In order to qualify the venue must meet the ‘Candidate Venues’ criteria as listed in the linked document.

2. Fill in beer scores on WhatPub website each time you drink real ale at a Cheltenham pub/club.

At the end of Phase One, a short list will be compiled and distributed to members for Phase 2 to commence. Details will be available in early December.

Cheltenham Motor Club retains its trophy

15 Oct 2018 Rob Coldwell

Congratulations to the Cheltenham Motor Club which is once again the winner of the South West region Club of the Year.

Well done to Neil and his team. The CMC now goes forward to the super regional stage of the competition as it tries to regain the national award it last won in 2016.

Gareth Macdonald, CAMRA’s South West Regional Director, presented the award to the CMC on Monday 22nd October.