No one can say that 2022 has been uneventful, it’s been a big year for the nation’s pubs and clubs and ultimately CAMRA’s campaigns too.  

We welcomed in the new draught duty rate for beer and cider, which has been expanded to include containers of 20L and over (an important change to make sure small brewers and pubs can benefit), as well as the removal of a cliff edge in tax support for small cider makers with a new progressive duty system confirmed for next year.  

In Scotland, we’ve built on last year’s successful campaign to introduce a Scottish Pubs Code and Adjudicator to secure a commitment that tied tenants will have a right to serve a guest beer, supporting small brewers in Scotland and improving their access to the market in years to come.

CAMRA campaigners in Northern Ireland celebrated the introduction of new licenses allowing local breweries and cider producers to sell online, open a brewery shop and run taproom nights, a small step towards reforming a licensing system that hasn’t seen significant change for more than 100 years.  

In Westminster, we’ve been busy contributing to a review of the Pubs Code for England and Wales, fighting for a fairer deal for those tied tenants that are still being let down by gaps in the code. We also backed a bill to ensure bar staff can keep their tips, which became law in July and will help ensure the people who keep the venues we love running are treated fairly.  

Don’t forget that if you want to find out about CAMRA’s national lobbying, the Campaigns team writes a regular column for What’s Brewing Online. Find the latest edition of the PUBlic Affairs update here.

Working behind the scenes, CAMRA volunteers have continued to produce the most comprehensive pub closure data in the sector, information that is vital to informing our campaigning work. They’ve also played a vital role in reintroducing many our prestigious awards which were on hold during the Covid-19 lockdowns and operating restrictions, which will culminate in the crowning of our National Pub and Club of the Year in January 2023.

We’ve marked some significant milestones as a Campaign this year. It was amazing to be able to welcome people back to Olympia London for the first Great British Beer Festival since 2019 – festivals are well and truly back, with more and more local events coming back too. Find a CAMRA event near you and join in the fun in 2023 here: events.camra.org.uk 

The 50th edition of our prestigious Good Beer Guide hit bookshelves, marking half a century of publishing on all things beer, cider, pub and club related – an amazing achievement that is testament to its status as the must-have beer guidebook in the UK. It joins a range of award-winning titles recent published by the Campaign this year, including United Kingdom of Beer by Adrian Tierney-Jones, Beer Breaks by Tim Webb, World’s Greatest Beers by a collection of top-tier authors and the soon-to-be-released Good Beer Yearbook, available for pre-order now via the CAMRA Shop.

As we look to 2023 many pubs and social clubs are limiting their hours and services out of financial necessity in the face of an unprecedented cost of business crisis and rising energy prices. Supporting your local over the festive period is more important than ever so please, head to the pub this Christmas, make sure to score your beer while you’re there, and cherish everything that these venues give to our communities.  

Whether you’re one of the thousands who wrote to their MP this year, you’ve sent pub or club updates to the team behind WhatPub, supported a pub saving campaign, joined your branch for meetings, helped promote our list of real cider makers, enjoyed a LocAle beer, written to your council, or even shared CAMRA messages from social media, then you helped make everything CAMRA achieved in 2022 possible. Thank you for being part of the Campaign.

After all, it’s the most wonderful time for a beer!