ENTERING a well-appointed pub and seeing a row of ornate hand pumps lined up behind the bar was something Trevor Burton took for granted in his native Kent.
The proliferation of cask ales didn’t require any particular drive or campaigning from this beer enthusiast, until he upped sticks and moved to Ireland. Here, the sight of the same old taps in admittedly equally well-kept pubs was the spur for Trevor to join Camra – the campaign group, almost half-a-century old, which took on the mantle of promoting traditional ales in the face of mass-produced beer.
Although the Northern Ireland branch of Camra lagged some 20 or so years behind the British version in terms of its formation, it has rapidly got up to speed and next month, will host its17th Belfast Beer and Cider Festival in the Ulster Hall.
More pubs in Northern Ireland are now offering drinkers hand-pulled cask ales but, as Trevor reveals, it was the lack of such choice that prompted Camra to start its own festivals.
"That's why we started running festivals, to show people there was choice," he said.
For the record, Camra promotes beers which are either cask conditioned or bottle conditioned, what it terms 'live beers' because the yeast continues to work away long after the ale has left the brewers.
One of the north's pioneers of micro-brewing, Hilden in Lisburn, were the only local beer makers at Camra's first festival, closely followed by Mourne-based Whitewater. Most of the other beers were imported from England, Scotland and Wales.
"About 90 per cent of our beers were imported in the early days but I'd say this year, about 57 per cent are coming from England, Scotland and Wales and about 43 per cent from Ireland, north and south. We've actually got a lot more red ales than we used, as you would expect in Ireland," said Trevor.
A wide variety of beers, from pales ales, IPA, red and dark ales, right up to sumptuous stouts will be on offer at the festival which runs from 12pm to 11pm from November 17 to 19.
:: For more information see www.camrani.org.uk
