Beer Day Britain is an annual event celebrating beer in the United Kingdom. The date has been celebrated annually on 15 June since 2015. [1] It is supported by the British Beer and Pub Association, the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA), and the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). [2]
The date was chosen because 15 June is also the date that Magna Carta was sealed in 1215 [3] and ale is mentioned in clause 35 of Magna Carta, which states:
Beer Day Britain was instigated by beer sommelier, writer and drinks educator Jane Peyton, [5] alongside brewers Sara Barton and Sophie de Ronde. [6] It took place for the first time in 2015. The main focus of the day is the National Cheers To Beer that takes place at 7 pm when people also sing the Cheers To Beer anthem co-written by Peyton. [7]
There had been an earlier attempt to set up a National Beer Day in 2009, when 43 Members of Parliament supported an Early day motion, as follows:
That this House welcomes the forthcoming National Cask Ale Week, the world's largest ale festival, from 6 to 13 April 2009, a week of campaigning across the United Kingdom to promote the importance and pleasures of drinking real ale in pubs; supports the aim of National Cask Ale Week to denote 6 April as National Beer Day; notes the economic strength of the cask ale industry as demonstrated by sales figures from the Small Independent Brewers' Association in November 2008; expresses hope that National Cask Ale Week will succeed in entering the Guinness Book of Records for the world's biggest toast, a record breaking attempt which will take place on 11 April 2009; and encourages hon. Members to support their local pub's participation in National Cask Ale Week. [8]
However, this did not result in the repeated celebration of National Beer Day.
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs.
Draught beer, also spelt draft, is beer served from a cask or keg rather than from a bottle or can. Draught beer served from a pressurised keg is also known as keg beer.
A pub is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private houses from those open to the public as alehouses, taverns and inns. Today, there is no strict definition, but the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) states a pub has four characteristics:
Real ale is the name coined by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) for beer that is "brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide".
John Smith's Brewery in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England, produces beers including John Smith's, the highest selling bitter in the United Kingdom since the mid-1990s.
Brains is a regional brewery based in Cardiff, Wales. It was founded in 1882 by Samuel Arthur Brain. At its peak, the company controlled more than 250 pubs in South Wales, Mid Wales and the West Country but the brewer sold most of its pub estate in 2022. The company took over Crown Buckley Brewery in Llanelli in 1997 and Hancock's Brewery in 1999. In 2000, Brains moved to the former Hancock's Brewery just south of Cardiff Central railway station. The Old Brewery, in Cardiff city centre, has been developed into a modern bar and restaurant complex.
Bitter is an English style of pale ale that varies in colour from gold to dark amber, and in strength typically from 3% to 5.5% alcohol by volume.
Bass Brewery was founded in 1777 by William Bass in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The main brand was Bass Pale Ale, once the highest-selling beer in the UK. By 1877, Bass had become the largest brewery in the world, with an annual output of one million barrels. Its pale ale was exported throughout the British Empire, and the company's red triangle became the UK's first registered trade mark.
Greene King is a British pub and brewing company founded in 1799, currently based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. The company also owns brands including Hungry Horse and Farmhouse Inns, as well as other pubs, restaurants and hotels. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), until it was acquired by CK Assets in October 2019.
Fuller's Brewery in Chiswick, west London, England, is the former brewing division of Fuller, Smith & Turner PLC. It was a family-run business from its foundation in 1845 until 2019, when it was sold to the Japanese international beverage giant Asahi.
Beer has been brewed in England for thousands of years. As a beer brewing country, it is known for top fermented cask beer which finishes maturing in the cellar of the pub rather than at the brewery and is served with only natural carbonation.
Hall and Woodhouse is a British regional brewery founded in 1777 by Charles Hall in Blandford Forum, Dorset, England. The company operates over 180 public houses in the south of England, and brews under the name Badger Beers.
Timothy Taylor's is a family-owned regional brewery, founded in 1858 by Timothy Taylor, in Keighley, West Yorkshire, England. Timothy Taylor's moved to larger premises in 1863 at Knowle Spring in Keighley, where they remain.
A beer festival is an event at which a variety of beers are available for purchase. There may be a theme, for instance beers from a particular area, or a particular brewing style such as winter ales.
Worthington Brewery, also known as Worthington & Co. and Worthington's, is a British brewer founded by William Worthington in Burton upon Trent in 1761. It is the second oldest continuously-brewed British beer brand, after Whitbread. The principal product is Worthington Creamflow, a nitrokeg bitter.
Beer in the United Kingdom has a long history, and has quite distinct traditions. Historically the main styles were top-fermented Bitters, Porters, Stouts and Milds, but after World War II lagers took over half the market by volume. The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) was founded in 1971 and has encouraged the preservation and revival of traditional styles of ale. In particular CAMRA has promoted cask conditioned beer, which completes its maturation in casks in the cellar of the pub rather than at the brewery. As of 2014 the UK drank 634 million imperial pints of cask ale, representing 60% of ale in pubs and restaurants and 17% of all beer in pubs. In total 42.42 million hectolitres of beer were produced in 2013 of which 48% was sold in the off-trade.
Stones Brewery was a brewery founded in 1868 by William Stones in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, and purchased by Bass Brewery in 1968. After its closure in 1999, Stones Bitter has continued to be produced by Molson Coors.
The XT Brewing Company is a microbrewery based in Long Crendon, Buckinghamshire, England.
Sophie de Ronde is a British brewer. She has been head brewer of Suffolk-based Burnt Mill Brewery since 2017, and previously brewed at Brentwood Brewing Company between 2007 and 2014. In 2019, she was named "Brewer of the Year" by the British Guild of Beer Writers. De Ronde is the founder of the International Women's Collaboration Brew Day as well as being a co-founder of Beer Day Britain. Unusually for a brewer, she is unable to drink most beer as she is allergic to wheat and barley.
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