Chelmsford and Mid-Essex

Campaign for Real Ale

Campaign for Real Ale

Welcome to the Web Site of the Chelmsford and Mid-Essex Branch of CAMRA - The Campaign for Real Ale

It's that time of year again when many people in the UK, for some reason, set New Years Resolutions around health, fitness and saving money.

For the beer industry, that makes January quite a challenging month. So, the Tryanuary campaign is targeting the continued support for the industry. Like a dog, beer, breweries, pubs, clubs and bottle shops aren’t just for Christmas!

Our Branch on Facebook

The Red Lion has made the final four!

Our Regional Pub of the Year 2019, The Red Lion, Preston near Hitchin has been recognised by CAMRA as one of the top four pubs in the country.

Many congratulations to the community owned Red Lion in being recognised as one of the top four pubs in the country.

Good luck in the final!

The Cross Keys, Hatfield Peverel is our Most Improved Pub of the Year 2019.

Congratulations to Dan and the team!

The award was presented during their Christmas Beer Festival in December.

CAMRA is joining the United in Kind movement to tackle loneliness through kindness, creating connections in our community to overcome one of the biggest issue we face.

United In Kind and CAMRA Release

Thirsty Times Autumn 2019

  • East Anglia POTY 2019
  • Alcohol Free Beers
  • Epping and Ongar Railway
  • October Is Cider Month
  • Plus much, much more!

Bishop Nick Wins Gold Again!!

The category competitions for CAMRA’s Champion Beer of East Anglia 2020 awards are being run at CAMRA beer festivals in East Anglia throughout this year. Here are the results for the standard Bitters category, held at the Chappel festival:

GOLD – Bishop Nick Ridley's Rite

SILVER – Mighty Oak Captain Bob

BRONZE - Earl Soham Victoria Bitter

Mill Green - Viper

The Viper - Petition

The Viper in Mill Green has started a petition to secure a positive future. Click here to view.

Since 1760 there has been a pub here and the local community want to keep it as a traditional, country pub. The Viper has recently been Grade II Listed but there is still a fear that the land could be developed by the pubs' new owner. So many pubs are closing and it would be a shame to see this one go. It's the only pub in the country to be named The Viper, said (tenant) landlady Donna Smith (formerly Torris). Roland from Brentwood Brewery has said: Beer drinkers want The Viper to stay as it is. The message is use it or lose it. The best way to support The Viper is to drink beer there.

CAMRA's Good Beer Guide 2020

The Good Beer Guide is a "must-have" for beer lovers. Fully updated, with listings for 4,500 pubs across the UK, all entries have been selected by CAMRA members. The only book with detailed information on the UK’s 1,800 breweries, the guide features a foreword by Brian Cox and contributions by Emma Inch, Jodie Kidd and Roger Protz.

Available to members and non-members from the CAMRA Book Shop.

Also available: The Good Beer Guide App.

Branch Award Winners 2019

The Woolpack. Pub of The Year 2019 for the Chelmsford & Mid-Essex Branch of CAMRA.

Hop Beer Shop

The Hop Beer Shop Cider Pub of The Year 2019 for the Chelmsford & Mid-Essex Branch of CAMRA.

Cross Keys, Hatfield Peverel Most Improved Pub of The Year 2019 for the Chelmsford & Mid-Essex Branch of CAMRA.

Regional Award Winners 2019

The Red Lion, Preston near Hitchin East Anglia Pub of The Year 2019.

Runner up - Frothblowers micro pub in Peterborough.

The Woodbine Inn, Waltham Abbey East Anglia Cider & Perry Pub of The Year 2019.

If you are a CAMRA member, we want you to tell us about the quality of beer in the pubs you visit.

The National Beer Scoring System (NBSS) is a 0-5 point scale for judging beer quality in pubs. It is an easy to use system that has been designed to assist CAMRA branches in selecting pubs for the Good Beer Guide and also monitor beer quality by encouraging CAMRA members from any part of the world to report beer quality on any pub in the UK.

You can now score your beers using the Good Beer Guide App making it easier than ever to help promote pubs serving great beer.

Our guide shows you all the best pubs in Chelmsford and Mid-Essex, highlighting fantastic pubs in our branch area which have been selected for the quality of their real ale, features and attractiveness.

All are surveyed and updated by local CAMRA members on whatpub.com throughout the year.

Next Branch Social Event: