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
Discover more and browse Wolverhampton branch LocAle accredited pubs.
Welcome to Wolverhampton CAMRA
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.
March 2025
21 March
- 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
-
WLV - Bewdley Brewery Tap Takeover (non-CAMRA event)
Brewer will be there between 7pm-9pm for a chat.
There will be a raffled held with the proceeds going to Midlands Air Ambulance
29 March
- 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
-
WLV - Interbranch Quiz
Interbranch quiz between Wolverhampton, Bridgnorth and Telford CAMRA.
Meeting at The Kings Yard, Shifnal at 12:30pm for a 1pm start.
A social around Shifnal will follow the quiz.Please keep an eye on social media as the venue for the quiz may change to Jaspers
April 2025
3 April
- 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm
- WLV - Branch Meeting
May 2025
1 May – 4 May
- WLV - Springfest Beer Festival (non-CAMRA event)
10 May
- 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
- WLV - Branch Meeting
22 May
- All Day
- WLV - Cider Festival (non-CAMRA event)
24 May
- 12:00 pm – 7:00 pm
-
WLV - Mild In May Crawl
Starting in Codsall, meeting at Codsall Station
July 2025
24 July 12:00 pm – 26 July 10:30 pm
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WLV - Summer Festival of Beer & Cider
Wolverhampton’s annual Summer Festival of Beer & Cider at the Newhampton Arts Centre, Dunkley Street, WV1 4AN.
Festival subject to CAMRA HQ approval.
Note – sometimes events do not pull through, always check the Branch Diary to be certain.