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Any CAMRA members?

south_to_northsouth_to_north
in General chat
I was at the great british beer festival the other week and was roped into joining CAMRA with a mate. It came with plenty of free beer so seemed like a good idea at the time....

Was wondering if there were any other CAMRA members on here who could let me know if there any real benefits to be reaped by this membership card? I have it for 15 more months so I might as well use it....
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  • HolbornFoxHolbornFox
    I am a member, i like the magazines you get quarterly and i like supporting the pub trade.

    Puzzles me why they are anti-keg but there you go.

    Also you (well me) get to hear / read about some interesting beers and then you see them on your travels when you may not have necessarily noticed them otherwise.
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  • ArkadyArkady
    Yep. they're having a major review at the moment, seems like they might embrace craft beers.
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  • AliAli
    You should have got £20 worth of Weatherspoons vouchers, you get 10% discount at the Nick Nick in Ferme Park Road but I don't ask as the beer is is cheap anyway
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  • HolbornFoxHolbornFox
    As Arkady says, turning the attention to actual pubs as well as beer has been saved... hurrah!
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  • south_to_northsouth_to_north
    @Ali Never actually been to the Nicholas nickleby, wrong side of sgr for me. Worth it?

    Looking forward to getting the magazine as well, when does it come out?
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  • ArkadyArkady
    edited August 2016
    The Nick, which is technically my local, is a rather eccentric place. At its core it is an 'old man's pub', more accurately a proper labourer's pub. All tattered furniture, stained 1970s carpet, and a bouquet that reminds you that it hasn't been refurbished since the smoking ban. But there's something more to it too, an undefinable quality. It reminds me of the something out of one of Ben Aaronovitch's _Rivers of London_ novels - a place caught out of time and space. The regulars are a curious bunch, some keen to chat for hours about anything and nothing, others keep their eyes firmly glued to the table and look like they could probably teach you the right incantations to open a Hellmouth in exchange for a bag of clipped silver coins. It's always very quiet, never more than a handful of people in there. It's persistent survival is mysterious, though I've heard rumours that it's a tax-offsetting exercise for the absentee landlord. Every Stroud Greener should go there at least once - they usually keep a good pint of Bass, and there's a great map of Dickensian London on the wall. That said, I'd be very happy if it was converted into a more appealing establishment capable of enticing more than four customers at a time, and with a broader range of beverages. It would be a nice complement for the [**censored top-secret but massively cool project**] planned for the former Triangle restaurant over the road, and I'm convinced that the neighbourhood could sustain it.
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  • CityOfSinCityOfSin
    @Arkady - Tease!
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  • ArkadyArkady
    ...is my middle name.
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  • south_to_northsouth_to_north
    Sounds like the crown on Holloway Road - that place looks like it's straight from the set of Life on Mars!
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  • slatsslats
    Whilst we're on the subject of real ale, was lucky enough to go to Yorkshire over the weekend and had some glorious ales, served with a proper head etc etc. I know the consistency is just down to the nozzle they have on the end of the pump that they don't use down south but was wondering if anyone knows any pubs in London that serve ale 'properly'?
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  • HolbornFoxHolbornFox
    edited August 2016
    Southampton Arms I would hope? There is a beer vending machine in The Coronet now, all 'craft' beers priced at 80p - £1.20!
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  • HolbornFoxHolbornFox
    Actually the North 19 has some lovely lager on at the minute as well, Freedom Organic, not that CAMRA would like it.
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  • south_to_northsouth_to_north
    Also somewhat related to this - does anyone here brew their own beer?
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  • NorthNineteenNorthNineteen
    I did a beer brewing course with a friend a few months ago at http://www.londonbeerlab.com/ Made a very drinkable IPA which had a strong Pacific/West Coast influence.
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  • HolbornFoxHolbornFox
    I've got a port brewing kit as it happens, I've looked into beer but found it hard to get away from the ready made / just add this versions.

    There's a big brewing equipment shop in Camberley or round that way somewhere.
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  • south_to_northsouth_to_north
    @northnineteen Those courses cost an arm and a leg! Going to use the Internet I think to start off with, the amount of homebrew related forums / free e-books is insane.....
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