One of CAMRA’s main objectives these days is to improve the knowledge of its members, evidenced by the continued development of its Learn & Discover Zone, available on the main CAMRA website at https://camra.org.uk/learn-discover/
The Learn & Discover zone has three levels: The Basics (For Beginners). Learn More (For Enthusiasts) and Discover (For Connoisseurs).
It also includes a video by Jane Peyton, author and beer writer, on how to taste beer, https://camra.org.uk/learn-discover/the-basics/introduction-to-tasting-beer/
The Learn More area on the main CAMRA website provides information on Beer Styles and on Real Ale https://camra.org.uk/beer-and-cider/learn-more/
| CAMRA'S Beer Styles |
| 1. Milds up to and including 4% ABV |
| 2. Session Bitters up to and including 4.3% ABV |
| 3. Premium Bitters 4.4% - 6.4% ABV |
| 4. Session Pales, Blond, Golden Ales up to and including 4.3% ABV |
| 5. Premium Pales, Blond, Golden Ales 4.4 – 6.4% ABV |
| 6. British and New World IPA’s 5.5% and above |
| 7. Brown and Red Ales, Old Ales and Strong Milds 4.1%-6.4% |
| 8. Session Stouts and Porters up to and including 4.9% ABV |
| 9. Strong Stouts and Porters including Imperial Stouts and Baltic Porters 5% and above |
| 10. Barley Wines and Strong Ales 6.5% and above |
| 11. Speciality Beers (differently produced) Wheat, Wild/Sours, Saison, Lager |
| 12. Speciality Beers (Flavoured) Fruit, Honey, Chocolate, Coffee, Fortified |
What is a Tasting Panel
In addition, CAMRA, through its local Tasting Panels, can provide training to members depending on the level of volunteer involvement you want:
- Intro to Beer – Basic ingredients of beer
- Beer Appreciation - general introduction to beer tasting.
- Tasting Panel Training - for those wishing to join a tasting panel.
- Beer Judging - for those wanting to be involved in Champion Beer of Britain judging
The Merseyside Tasting Panel is one of many CAMRA Tasting Panels across the UK. They are responsible for tasting all the beers that are regularly brewed within the Merseyside Region and for submitting the descriptions to CAMRA's Good Beer Guide. They also put forward beers to CAMRA's Champion Beer of Britain Competition
All of the panel members are volunteers, who have been trained. From time to time, training sessions take place to bring in new tasters and no experience is necessary just a willingness to fill in tasting cards throughout the year and seek out local breweries' beers. The Panel get together a couple of times a year to visit pubs and breweries to help standardise the scoring on the cards.
Beer Tasting can be a solitary activity carried out in pubs on a regular basis throughout the year by trained tasters. The idea is to collect data on the beer using a tasting card (these days generally an electronic version, although paper versions are available to complete, see below). This enables us to create a collective piece of data called the “profile” of a beer, which is used for three purposes:
- Writing a description for the Good Beer Guide for a specific beer. (The "beer glass" symbol by a beer in the brewery section of the GBG denotes that a tasting panel has written the description).
- Confirming the ‘beer style category’ in line with the beer styles defined by CAMRA https://camra.org.uk/learn-discover/learn-more/learn-more-about-beer/beer-styles/
- Selection of beers for the Champion Beer of Britain competition (CBOB)
You may well be familiar with the basics of beer scoring is you use the National Beer Scoring Scheme, WhatPub, (http://www.beerscoring.org.uk).
If you would like some training or are interested in getting involved in a Tasting Panel then please contact Chris Sandison, Regional Tasting Panel Co-ordinator at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
