Welcome to CAMRA North Herts

This is the website for the North Hertfordshire branch of CAMRA – The Campaign for Real Ale. To find out more about what we do, please visit the about us section. To find out more about what CAMRA does nationally please visit the national website camra.org.uk.

Hitchin Beer & Cider Festival - 5th to 7th June

Hitchin Beer & Cider Festival 2025

Get your advance tickets now! (Tickets will also be available on the door, subject to availability)
More details avaiable on the festival website https://hitchinbeerciderfestival.org.uk

Branch and other local news

New beer from Buntingford Brewery wins at Cambridge Beer Festival!

Buntingford Brewery's beer Tis Only a Scratch has scooped beer of the festival at this years Cambridge Beer Festival with Loch Lomond's West Highland Way 2nd and Hook Norton's Hooky Mild 3rd. This Old Ale was brewed in collaboration with festival volunteers and is a...

Hertfordshire Pub of the Year 2025

Congratulations to our North Herts CAMRA Pub of the year, the Orange Tree in Baldock which has now also been crowned Hertfordshire Pub of the year 2025, making it two years in a row!!! Rob and his team continue to do an amazing job providing consistently great real...

Petition launched! – Cask ale as intangible cultural heritage

A petition has been started by the craft beer channel (YouTube) to ask the government to recognise the production and serving of cask ale as Intangible Cultural Heritage. For more details see: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/716686 This is part of a wider...

Cider Pub of the Year

Congratulations! Garden City Brewery & Bar is our branch Cider Pub of the Year 2025. Not only have Holly, Nick and the team had an ongoing entry in The Good Beer Guide since opening, with their own brews and constantly changing guest ales, but they're recognised...

Pub of the year 2025

We are delighted to announce that The Orange Tree, Baldock is once again our Branch Pub of the Year, retaining the title from 2024, when it was also Hertfordshire County Pub of the Year, and will go forward to the county competition again. We don't judge on range of...

Pints of View Spring 2025 Edition

Pints of View edition 313 is online now. It will be available as a paper magazine around Herts after 19th March as soon our volunteers have got around the pubs. Or download now from the Pints of View website. Features this month are the City of St Al(e)bans and the...

Save our White Horse – New Planning Application

The owner of The White Horse, Kimpton has just submitted another planning application to North Herts Council – for “extension, modification and change of use”. Ref 25/00090/FP. The campaign to save the White Horse and purchase it for use as a community pub has looked...

Cambridge CAMRA needs you!

Our neighbours in Cambridgeshire are  currently in the process of selecting their entries for the 2026 Good Beer Guide. They allow CAMRA members from adjoining branches to take part in their selection processes - That means that North Hertfordshire branch members can...

National News

Campaigning

May is Mild Month

Every year CAMRA promotes May as Mild month with the aim of reviving this lesser known style of beer, and this year is no exception! CAMRA is encouraging pubs to try and have at least one mild on during the month of May. What is Mild? Originating from the late 1700's,...

Petition launched! – Cask ale as intangible cultural heritage

A petition has been started by the craft beer channel (YouTube) to ask the government to recognise the production and serving of cask ale as Intangible Cultural Heritage. For more details see: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/716686 This is part of a wider...

SIBA Indie Beer

CAMRA has thrown its weight behind SIBA’s new Indie Beer campaign, designed to help consumers seek out independent beers and breweries. The campaign includes a brewery checker tool so consumers can find out if a brewer is independently owned, and an “assured” mark for...

Cider and Perry Month’s

CAMRA supports and campaigns for cider and perry throughout the year, and we spotlight it with celebrations in October and May. Why May and October? Unlike real ale production, which can happen at any time of the year, real cider and perry is generally a seasonal...

LocAle

LocAle is an initiative that promotes pubs stocking locally brewed real ale in order to reduce the number of ‘beer miles’ from brewery to pub cellar. It is based on growing consumer demand for quality local produce and increasing awareness of environmental issues....

Save our Pubs!

CAMRA campaigns to save the Great British Pub from extinction as 14 pubs close their doors each week. The value of pubs cannot be overstated. The pub and beer industry supports nearly 900,000 jobs in the UK and contributes £23.6bn to the UK economy annually. CAMRA...

Handpump Hijack

In March 2024, Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC) launched ‘Fresh Ale’. These are brewery-conditioned versions of their cask range, which are then kegged and served through cask handpumps. They positioned this as a way to ‘revive’ cask by giving it a longer...
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