CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale is an independent, voluntary organisation campaigning for real ale, community pubs and consu ... mer rights. CAMRA was formed in March 1971 by four men from the north-west who were disillusioned by the domination of the UK beer market by a handful of companies pushing products of low flavour and overall quality onto the consumer. Many brewers during the late 1960s and early 1970s had made the decision to move away from producing traditional, flavoursome beers which continued to ferment in the cask from which they were served, and such a move was opposed by Michael Hardman, Graham Lees, Jim Makin and Bill Mellor, all of whom thought it was about time British beer drinkers were given better variety and choice at the bar. While the newly formed Campaign's name was altered at AGM in 1973 to the now universally recognised 'Campaign for Real Ale', CAMRA's core aims to promote real ale and pubs, as well as acting as the consumer’s champion in relation to the UK and European beer and drinks industry, remain to this day. Following the formation of the Campaign and the first AGM – at the Rose Inn, Nuneaton in 1972 - where early membership records consisted of the four founders and their friends, interest in CAMRA and its objectives spread rapidly, with 5,000 members signed up by the following year. In the present day, CAMRA has 149,424 members across the world, and has been described as the most successful consumer campaign in Europe. read more