Pubs which offer CAMRA discount

[geoffk]

I'm a CAMRA member but don't seem to be able to find out from them which pubs give a discount to card holders, maybe because their information may be out of date. Today I went into a pub in Exeter which I use occasionally and asked for the discount as I knew I'd been offered it before but the person serving said, after seeing my card, no we don't offer it (I think that must be the default response). When I persisted she asked her colleague who went into the till and found that they did in fact give a discount. I got a "cheap" pint for £3.88, 20% off!

I've got the Wetherspoon vouchers but rarely use them. One pub told me they used to offer the discount but stopped when Covid restrictions were lifted. No idea if they get any reimbursement from CAMRA.

 

[LowLevel]

I have a CAMRA card, the only thing it gets used for is entry to CAMRA only or trade sessions at beer festivals.

I refuse to take any discount in principle. Any discount comes off the publican's bottom line and is offered purely as good will and things are hard enough at the moment. It isn't like most pubs at present are attracting hoards of CAMRA members and I've been particularly put out by some of the shocking beer guide decisions this year to the point I'm considering cancelling my renewal.

Leaving out genuinely superb pubs with a brilliant ale range in top condition in favour of the branch committee's favourite local Spoons seems to be standard nowadays. One such establishment marked down by CAMRA itself as being of national importance for it's historic interior was booted out of the guide after decades this year with feedback given that waiting times were too long at it's small, traditionally sized bar.

The branch in question should be disbanded and another well regarded local boozer has barred the local CAMRA chairman following their selections this year.

 

[Red Onion]

I found a list in the member’s benefit section.

 

[JonnyB]

Good question! I reply as an active CAMRA member. CAMRA members have two separate means of getting discounts on beer in a number of pubs. CAMRA does not reimburse the pubs concerned on either arrangement, it's purely a commercial decision on the part of those pubs who choose to participate.

1) You can use the 50p vouchers which you receive with your membership card in certain managed pub chains, specifically Amber Taverns, Brains, Stonegate and J D Wetherspoon. See the CAMRA website for details.

2) In addition, some other pubs and pub chains choose, as part of their marketing strategy, to offer a discount to CAMRA members on production of a current membership card. These are often identified in pub listings at whatpub.com or in local CAMRA newsletters/websites, but there is not a comprehensive central listing.

Personally, I tend not to request a discount at independent pubs, even when advertised. I do occasionally use the chain discount vouchers when I remember to take them out with me.

 

[Magdalia]

In some local circumstances, discount for CAMRA members can be a sound pricing strategy. CAMRA discounts can encourage footfall from the sort of clientele that the pub wishes to attract, but without the lower prices also attracting the sort of clientele that the pub does not wish to attract (these people are not likely to be CAMRA members). I have seen it work particularly well in areas that are at the early stages of gentrification.

That doesn't apply to the big chains though: their motives are different.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Friends of Mine seem to get discounts in Wetherspoons too.

 

[Trackman]

How does the CAMRA discount work with licensees?
Do they have to pay anything?
My pub did it but stopped due to costs.

 

[52290]

All Greene King managed houses ( not tenanted houses) offer 10% discount on cask beers on production of a valid CAMRA membership card.

 

[High Dyke]

If you search on Whatpub, you can search for those pubs that give a discount in that location.

Picture shows information on CAMRA real ale discounts.

 

[Runningaround]

May pubs including one I know that is a CAMRA meeting point are ditching the discount. The members there admitted they'd rather drink in a Wetherspoons selling six national ales of dodgy quality rather than the traditional character pub selling two well kept local ales, guess who offers the discount and voucher scheme?
I don't think they should be offering vouchers for chain pubs like Wetherspoons as they have done more than anyone to destroy the good old fashioned local.

You often find as good a pub that's not in the guide, but by not being in it, it doesn't attract the ''tickers'' some who like to ''demand a discount'' or it will get a negative review .
A Sam Smiths pub with the best beer in town wasn't in the guide probably due to not allowing the reviewers to use a device to mark there visit.

 

[Ian Cunningham]

It's worth looking at the local branches website -ours (Edinburgh and South East Scotland) maintains a list of pubs that offer a discount.
It's also quite common with the bigger chains for staff not to know about any CAMRA discounts until someone shows them the button on the till, that's just symptomatic of the poor training given by a lot of pubs.

 

[Runningaround]

It's worth looking at the local branches website -ours (Edinburgh and South East Scotland) maintains a list of pubs that offer a discount.
It's also quite common with the bigger chains for staff not to know about any CAMRA discounts until someone shows them the button on the till, that's just symptomatic of the poor training given by a lot of pubs.

How does CAMRAs links with pub chains and large brewery owned pubs conflate with this aim?

Sourced from Wikipedia;
CAMRA's campaigns include promoting small brewing and pub businesses, reforming licensing laws, reducing tax on beer, and stopping continued consolidation among local British brewers.[7] It also makes an effort to promote less common varieties of beer, including stout, porter, and mild,[8] as well as traditional cider and perry.[9]

CAMRA's states that real ale should be served without the use of additional carbonation. This means that "any beer brand which is produced in both cask and keg versions" is not admitted to CAMRA festivals if the brewery's marketing is deemed to imply an equivalence of quality or character between the two versions.[10]

 

[Rockhopper]

The landlord of my local pub actually encouraged me to join CAMRA, and he even used to give me the discount based on just telling him I'd joined without seeing the card! (I did join though).

 

[davetheguard]

I'm a CAMRA member but don't seem to be able to find out from them which pubs give a discount to card holders, maybe because their information may be out of date.

There's a list in the local Exeter & East Devon CAMRA free monthly magazine "Exe Ale" if you come across a copy in local pubs.

Or, as others have suggested, look on your local branch's website and follow the Members' Discount link.

 

[01d-and]

On quite a few occasions when visiting a pub for the first time ,I have purchased a beer and when moving back from the bar , noticed a small "CAMRA discount" noticed tucked away at the end of the bar - not hidden as such but certainly not displayed in a prominent position. Managements discretion I guess.