CAMRA North Herts

Hitchin Beer & Cider Festival Advance Tickets Now Live

admin — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 07:09:28 +0000

Advanced ticket sales for the 2026 Hitchin Beer and Festival, which is at Hitchin Rugby Club from 4th to 6th June are now available.

Go to HitchinBeerCiderFestival.org.uk for ticket sales and more information.

Tickets will also be available on the door (subject to availability).

Entry is FREE this year for card carrying CAMRA and Hitchin Rugby Club members

If you are interested in volunteering at the festival we are holding an open evening at the Rugby club on Friday 17th April from 8 – 10pm, or see the volunteering page on the main festival site (link above)

Pub of the Year 2026

admin — Sat, 14 Mar 2026 16:41:16 +0000

We are delighted to announce that The Orange Tree, Baldock is once again our Branch Pub of the Year, retaining the title from 2024, & 2025 where for both years it was also judged Hertfordshire pub of the year!

We don’t judge on range of beers, for which the Orange Tree is renowned, but our judges placed Rob Scahill and his team top for Quality, Condition of Beer, Promotion & Knowledge and Community Focus. Regulars know that very well!

Congratulations! Orange Tree Team! We’ll award the certificate during our AGM and Branch Meeting on April 24th.

We’d like to commend our other finalists, also some of the best places to enjoy your ale in North Herts: The Half Moon, Victoria (both in Hitchin), the Lordship Arms, Benington, The Red Lion Preston, and the Crown Buntingford.

Pints of View Winter 2025

admin — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 20:34:52 +0000

Champion Beer of Britain – vote now!

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 14:11:42 +0000

The Champion Beer of Britain 2027 closes on 31 October for nominations.

The Champion Beer of Britain is one of the most prestigious beer competitions in the world. It is the ultimate honour for UK brewers and has helped put many into the media spotlight.

Have your say at cbob.camra.org.uk

Good Beer Guide 2026 launched

admin — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 11:01:29 +0000

We’re delighted to announce that 17 North Herts branch pubs feature in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide 2026, on sale now.

The Good Beer Guide, the UK’s best-selling beer and pub guide, is celebrating its 53rd edition and features the best pubs across the UK. Nationally the guide’s entries are decided by CAMRA members, for people seeking out the best possible pints.

Every pub that has made the 2026 edition is a testament to the remarkable resilience of the UK’s pubs.

Find our 17 and all 4,500 across the UK by ordering from the Camra shop

Look out for the ‘We’re in it’ logo at the featured pubs!

Save our Pubs – The Bell, Bennington

admin — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:05:00 +0000

The Friends of the Bell pub in Benington are asking for our support to object to a planning application to convert the pub into a residence.

17th Century Grade II Listed Pub

A thriving and much enjoyed pub at the heart of the village, the Bell closed for COVID, has never reopened and the villagers are desperate to save it and reopen it as their local via the Friends of the Bell campaign.

Your support is kindly requested.

The campaigners are asking you to comment on the applications, and give your honest views on potentially losing an incredibly vital asset to the community, before the 9th October deadline.

In order to comment, please use these links to go to East Herts Council’s planning portal:

Full Application

Listed building application

If you would like to know more, please go to the campaign’s Facebook page or, to discuss the application in anyway please contact friendsofthebell@gmail.com or call/text Paul on 07584 308046

To further promote the campaign, there will be a ‘Pop-up Pub’ Halloween Party in the village hall on Saturday 25th October from 3 PM. Save the date and see the Facebook event, where more details will be added later.

Many thanks in advance if you can support this cause.

Dean Barrett

Chair, CAMRA North Hertfordshire

East Central Regional POTY

admin — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 07:31:27 +0000

We are delighted to announce that The Orange Tree, Baldock has been voted CAMRA East Central Regional Pub of the Year 2025.

Having already been elected ‘POTY’ for CAMRA North Hertfordshire branch and then Hertfordshire county, the Orange Tree won against the Beds, Bucks and Northants champs to be deemed one of the top 16 pubs in Britain. The ‘Super-Regional’ round is next to choose the four national finalists.

Posting on Facebook as soon as it was public Rob Scahill, the publican, recognised his “amazing staff (this is for you guys) and awesome beer from Buntingford Brewery, Brewsters Brewery, Tring Brewery, Titanic Brewery” and also applauded “all the other Indie brewers and Greene King Brewery not only for allowing me to sell Indie beers, but also for brewing the cracking Abbot Ale and the always reliable IPA.”

Watch out for announcement of the presentation date.

Pints of View Summer 2025

admin — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 22:11:51 +0000

Pints of View edition 314 is online now. It will be available as a paper magazine around Herts after 16th July as soon our volunteers have got around the pubs!

You can download an electronic copy by clicking on the image below:

Celebrate Cider and Perry in July!

admin — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 22:57:40 +0000

Whilst better known for it’s work supporting and campaigning for Real Ale, CAMRA also supports real cider and perry, and whilst it campaigns on this all year, there is an annual celebration in July. To find out why please visit https://camra.org.uk/promotional-campaigns/cider-and-perry-months

For more information on cider producers please go to https://camra.org.uk/producers

To understand more about what makes cider “Real” then please go to our cider & perry page.

New beer from Buntingford Brewery wins at Cambridge Beer Festival!

admin — Mon, 26 May 2025 21:38:52 +0000

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 deceptively drinkable beer for it’s abv. Congratulations to all the team on this award!