Welcome to the website of Wolverhampton CAMRA
Founded in November 1976, the Wolverhampton branch of the Campaign for Real Ale has campaigned against pub and brewery closures, encouraged publicans to stock real ale, rewarded pubs with our annual Pub of the Year, Cider Pub of the Year and Mild Merit awards and maintained an active social community, organising trips and ‘get togethers’ since our inception.
We’re currently building an archive based on the history of Wolverhampton CAMRA – can you help us?
Over the years we’ve had some excellent documentation by the likes of Jim Laws, John Nightingale and other legends of the branch.. but we do have gaps. If you have any information or photographs, whether Pub of the Year awards, pre-2010 festival glasses or promotional material, we want to hear from you! Please email us at webmaster@wolverhampton.camra.org.uk or send us a message on Facebook.
Award Winners
Our 2024 award winners are as follows:
Wolverhampton City Pub of the Year – Hail to the Ale micropub, Claregate
Wolverhampton South Staffordshire Pub of the Year – The Swan Hotel, Brewood
Wolverhampton Branch Club of the Year – The Firs Club, Codsall
LocAle
CAMRA’s LocAle initiative promotes pubs stocking locally brewed real ale in order to reduce the number of ‘beer miles’ from brewery to pub cellar in response to growing consumer demand for quality local produce. For a list of the Wolverhampton branch’s LocAle breweries, click the logo.
CAMRA is one of the most successful consumer organisations across Europe. Founded by four real ale enthusiasts back in March 1971, today we represent beer drinkers and pub-goers across the UK. Our vision is to have quality real ale, cider and perry and thriving pubs in every community.
CAMRA was formed by Michael Hardman, Jim Makin, Bill Mellor and Graham Lees on a trip to Ireland.
At the time, the ‘Big Six’ brewers (Allied, Bass, Courage, Scottish & Newcastle, Watneys and Whitbread) had monopolies on entire regions of the country, owning hundreds of pubs that could only sell their brews. They were pushing tasteless kegged beer onto consumers because it was easier to produce, store and serve, and as a result quality real ale was incredibly hard to find. In fact, there were just five bottle-conditioned beers in existence in the world.
Upcoming Events:
Forthcoming branch events, further details can be found in the Branch Diary.
October 2024
3 October
- 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm
- WLV - Branch Meeting
4 October – 5 October
-
WLV - Codsall Beer Festival (non-CAMRA event)
Fri 4th: 6pm – 11:30pm
Sat 5th: 12pm – 11:30pm
4 October – 6 October
- WLV - Starting Gate Beer Festival (non-CAMRA events)
6 October
- 3:00 pm – 3:30 pm
-
WLV - Presentation of Cider Pub of the Year
Hail to the Ale are holding a cider specials this weekend
26 October
- All Day
-
WLV - Cider trip to Newport
Including a trip to The Snuggery Tap.
Ale drinkers also welcome.
More details to follow…
November 2024
7 November
- 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm
- WLV - Branch AGM
16 November
- 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm
-
WLV - Interbranch Quiz
Interbranch quiz between the branches of Wolverhampton, Telford and Bridgnorth.
Meet at 12:30pm for a 1pm start
December 2024
11 December
- 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
-
WLV - Branch Quiz
Arrive at 7pm for a 7:30pm start
Note – sometimes events do not pull through, always check the Branch Diary to be certain.