"A visit to Llanerchaeron (National Trust) Beer and Cider event recently provided just the motivation for local CAMRA members to agree to establish a formally constituted branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).

CAMRA members in Ceredigion have been meeting collectively over the years as an informal branch supported by CAMRA's local branch contact Rhys Jones.

Rhys has gathered local members together for various times over the years at both social events and more formal meetings to assess and select the Ceredigion pubs that meet the strict criteria for inclusion in CAMRA's annual publication of 'The Good Beer Guide'.

In addition, the members have also decided on which pub and landlord out of those entered in 'The Good Beer Guide' should be the recipient of the Ceredigion CAMRA 'Pub of the Year' award.

As the use of IT develops further and more and more people turn to the internet for information, the establishment of a website for CAMRA in the locality is becoming a necessity.

In responding to an offer by a local member to set up a website, it became apparent that in order to take that step, there had to be a formally constituted branch that included an elected committee to ensure local accountability for a website.

So a number of members gathered together for the event at Llanerchaeron and in a meeting room kindly provided by the event organisers, a formal branch of CAMRA was established.

The branch will be known as Ceredigion CAMRA, but it will only cover the mid and north of the county as those members in and close to the Teifi valley in Ceredigion are affiliated to Carmarthen CAMRA.

Once the website is established, more details will be published and any and all CAMRA members - or anybody with an interest in beer, cider, or pubs - will be welcome at meetings.

Article by Kathy Giles