Letter: Well done for report on real ale

The Good Beer Guide is compiled from beer quality scores submitted by CAMRA members. Unlike other pub guides, licensees cannot buy an entry in the Good Beer Guide.

I'd also like to join the Shropshire Star in congratulating and celebrating the pubs included in Good Beer Guide 2013.

These are the pubs who have excelled in this year's surveys. However, the number of entries for Shropshire in the guide is strictly limited. Just because a particular pub is not listed, that doesn't mean that it doesn't serve wonderfully good beer.

CAMRA particularly supports the production and service of real ale, beers which are not filtered or pasteurised and which are live in the barrel (cask) and mature (condition) in the pub cellar. This is why real ales are often referred to as cask conditioned.

However, not every pub can serve beer in this way.

We support all pubs and encourage responsible drinking through the social and wholesome practice of nipping down your local under the watchful eye of a caring licensee, rather than over-indulging at home.

That is why we are campaigning against the tax burden on pubs.

Search for Save Your Pint to sign an e-petition to force a debate in Parliament. We are also going to Parliament in December to lobby MPs to support local pubs. If you want to see a great range of beers from across the country, come to the Shrewsbury Beer Festival in the Morris Hall on November 1-3 or find us on Facebook.

Finally, while I like a Scottish or a Cornish ale as much as the next enthusiast, it is important to drink local beers (a) because Shropshire brewers make a great contribution to the economy and (b) because local ales reduce the burden on the environment by reducing carbon emissions.

Norrie Porter

Vice-Chairman

Shrewsbury and West Shropshire CAMRA