Minutes 2019 - CAMRA Northern Ireland

CAMRA NI Committee Meeting Minutes – 14 December 2019 – American Bar, Dock St, Belfast

HQ and SNIB Memos

Recent memo concerned the 12 pubs of Christmas campaign and CAMRA’s comments on the outcome of the election.

Treasurer

Branch finances are fine. After remitting monies to HQ there is £ in the account.

Pub Officers Report

The organisers of the ABV festival announced that they were not holding any more festivals. This is a great loss to the local beer scene and shows that we are not alone in finding it difficult to put on beer festivals.
One of the planned Hilden taprooms was cancelled, but the one scheduled for the 20/21 December is still on.
The first Bullhouse taproom went well.
The Chester Bar on the Antrim Road has been bought by the people behind the Spaniard and Muriel’s. [ACTION: Pubs Officer to write to ask if they would stock real ale and locally brewed products].

Membership

Branch membership is down to 337 possibly due to annual festival memberships running out. Overall CAMRA national membership is down around 600.
The gift membership scheme is live in time for Christmas.

Festival

Planning for a festival next May is ongoing. A decision by the City Council was deferred until this month but we haven’t heard the outcome.
HMS Caroline asked if we would run a festival on their ship. We may prefer to help them with their festival. A meeting is to be arranged.
A meeting is also required with the staff at Botanic Gardens concerning the layout of the festival.
We will need the services of a fork lift truck driver for the festival.
Boundary Brewery is holding a fifth birthday party festival one week after our festival. Tickets are £55 a head for a four hour session. (A great Christmas gift idea). They need to sell 1200 to make it viable.

Social Calendar

Knockout Taproom – 13/14 December.
Boundary Taproom – 20/22 and 27/29 December.
Hilden/Farmageddon 20/21 Dec
There may be a return of the Burns Night event.
Next meeting January 25^th 2020 in Fairley’s in Coleraine.

AOB

The responses to the Department of Communities consultation of licensing laws have been submitted.
A meeting with MLAs attended by CAMRA members proved to be very useful.
The proposal to host the National Executive and Regional Directors meeting (NERD) was too expensive at £7,500. Paul Edgeworth will help us when we submit another proposal.

CAMRA NI Committee Meeting Minutes – 16 November 2019 – Boundary Co-op Brewery Taproom, Newtownards Rd, Belfast

HQ and SNIB Memos

National Executive and Regional Directors (NERD) meeting will not be held in Belfast next year as it is too expensive.
Other memos received concerned the election, BLOs, and campaigner of the year.

Treasurer

£ was remitted to HQ, leaving £ in the branch account.
An email from Allen Logistics said that haulage costs are rising. This may not affect storage costs. We are considering storing equipment in Belfast. Our bar modules are available for sale.

Pub Officers Report

The Fountain Bar has reopened after a refurbish. It’s owned by the Clover Group who also own Pug Uglys and The Jailhouse.
There is a Taproom at Hilden in association with Farmageddon. There were will be three more before Christmas: 29/30 Nov, 6/7 Dec, and 20/21 Dec.

Membership

Branch membership is 341 down 1. Overall CAMRA national membership is 192,947.

Festival

We’ve applied to hold a festival next May in Botanic Gardens. The application is with the City Council’s Communities Committee and will be considered by the full council in December.
Costs should be similar to the last Ulster Hall bill. The main issue will be if the council charge us for use of the Botanic Gardens.
CAMRA’s Campaign Committee will consider our festival for funding.
A business plan will be submitted in a few weeks.
The date is scheduled to be the week commencing the 11^th May 2020.

Social Calendar

15-17^th Boundary Taprooms
29/30 Nov, 6/7 Dec, and 20/21 Dec – Hilden/Farmageddon Taprooms
Wildfowler 22^nd Nov – Ards beer event.
Knockout taproom 22/23^rd
Beer Hut taproom 30^th
14^th December – CAMRA pub crawl. Start at the Sunflower.

AOB

SJ from Farmageddon, SC from the Northern Lights, AB from Kilmegan Cider, and IJ joined the meeting for the discussion of the Department of the Communities Consultation document on Liquor Licensing Laws in Northern Ireland.

CAMRA NI Committee Meeting Minutes – 19 October 2019 – Northern Lights, Ormeau Rd, Belfast

HQ and SNIB Memos

There’s another call for the best pubs for certain categories, deadline is November 3^rd.

Department of the Communities – Consultation

A consultation on the law relating to the retail sale and supply of alcoholic drinks in Northern Ireland has been launched.
At the Northern Lights’ 2^nd birthday event we intend to hand out copies of the document to interested parties. We also plan to hold a meeting at Boundary’s taproom and aim to get a meeting at Stormont to do the same.
BBC2 are looking for participants for a new series about pubs. The branch plans to send in information, especially that the situation in NI is different from the rest of the UK. We want to get input from pub owners and brewers.
Michael from Lecale Brewery contacted us asking for a list of beer festivals, this had been supplied.
A discussion started concerning how to pay the Friends of Cancer the money raised at the recent BBQ. Credit card was agreed upon.
Debate returned to the consultation. It was agreed that a response should be made as a branch, but that individuals can respond if they wish.
The consultation document was discussed. Questions on remote sales and opening hours are the most important to us. It was pointed out that change cannot happen here because there is no assembly, but matters concerning NI are being brought up at Westminster.
The meeting were asked to read and think about what should go into our response to the consultation.

Treasurer

There is £ in the branch account much of this has to be remitted to HQ. The Treasurer is using COBAS (Camra Online Branch Accounting System) to see if money can be requested from HQ this way. It was suggested that we test it with a small amount first.

Pub Officers Report

Two pubs have new owners: McGlones in Dunmurry and Whites Tavern in Belfast are now owned by the Clover Group. They may be worth approaching about real ale even if they only do Sharps.
Two other pubs; the Sunflower and John Hewitt’s have upgraded their toilets.
It is half way through the year in the for voting for the Pub Of The Year (POTY). The top 16 pubs were read out, but there is still time for pubs to be given votes. A document detailing how to use the National Beer Scoring System (NBSS) was distributed. This document will be put on the branch website. It was emphasised that the beer scores only form part of the deliberations over the POTY selection process.
It was noted that the Northern lights is called “Jude’s Bar” on What Pub. The Pubs Officer will investigate.

Membership

Membership is 342 down 1. Overall CAMRA national membership is down 69.
CAMRA has delayed the Gift Membership package. 1,110 have not been activated.
Membership increases in October which is the month with the most beer festivals.
There is an IPAD available for membership.

Festival

Quotes are being sought for marquees. They are expensive. We may have to go for standing inside and tables outside.
The Great Lawn at Botanic Gardens should be flat enough for a large marquee.
The application has been referred to the council; it can take up to three months for a decision.
The VE Day celebrations may occur at the same time as the festival, we need to be sensitive about this. The Resilience Commissioner may be able to help.
It was pointed out that the lawn had to be roped off due to a leak at the Mela Festival. But the ground has been refurbished and this should not be a problem.
Power can come from the mains and/or a generator. If there is a power cut the fridge can stay cold for hours.

Social Calendar

Boundary Brewery continues to hold to taprooms a month.
Currently there is a taproom at Knockout Brewery.
Saturday 26^th October – the Northern Lights‘second birthday party.
29/30 November the Sippy fest returns to the Guildhall.
14^th December – CAMRA pub crawl. Start at the Sunflower, subject to confirmation.
We may hold a meeting at the Lansdowne Court Hotel. They sell Boundary beers in cans.

AOB

A request for a list of good pubs to visit has been sent to an English member
The new CAMRA T-shirts were handed out to members.

CAMRA NI Committee Meeting Minutes – 28 September 2019 – Errigle Inn, Ormeau Rd, Belfast

Meeting at Stormont 23^rd September 2019

RS, BMF, and, SOK from the branch, and Mr. Paul Edgeworth from CAMRA HQ met with MLAs, councillors and brewers about licensing reform.
All the parties were in support with John Stewart, Paula Bradshaw, and Claire Hanna being very supportive. They are going to take it to the Permanent Secretary in Westminster to get it on to the parliamentary business schedule. An MP may even pick it up for a private members’ bill. SH suggested alerting Sylvia Hermon MP about this.
Two councillors from Ards, Stephen Ross, and Stephen Dunlop were keen too.
TMV asked what breweries turned up. Bullhouse, Farmageddon, Whitewater, and Kilmegan Cider were all present.
It was suggested that we arrange an event at Whitewater brewery and invite MLAs along.

HQ and SNIB Memos and Actions

The memos were not relevant to Northern Ireland.
BH stated that we should be a separate region. SH replied that we don’t have the resources to run a separate region. RS added that Regional Director Sarah Crawford and HQ’s Paul Edgeworth are very supportive of the branch.

Champion Beer of Britain (CBOB)

Voting is open until 15^TH November 2019. We need to get members to vote in order to get the CBOB beer selectors to take notice of beers from NI. They were not selected last year because only two people voted. We need to email members to encourage voting.

Treasurer

We have had some bills to pay for the new branch t-shirts. There is £4,300 in the branch account. Some of this will be remitted to HQ.

Pub Officers Report

The Pubs Officer has received the Good Beer Guide (GBG) envelops. These will be distributed as he tours the pubs.

Membership

Membership 343 down 3. Overall CAMRA membership is up.
CAMRA is pushing a new upgraded Gift Membership package.
TMV asked what our main concern is at present. RS said it is campaigning for producer licences. This will involve getting the existing Assembly legislation amended to include these licences.
A discussion ensued, led by AA, about the problems inherent in liberalising licensing laws here. The main issue is that existing licence holders will object to the extra competition that the wider availability of licences will bring. Ms. Sloan added that this is a matter for negotiating with all the interested parties.

Festival

The first Beer Festival Committee meeting last week in the Northern Lights.
It was decided to apply to hold a festival in Botanic Gardens next summer. Quotes are being sought for the cost of marquees, security, toilets, fences etc.
BH asked what licence we will use. SH responded that we’ll get an occasional licence as we have in the past. Ideally we can get a licence that will be family friendly; we also need to lobby the council to get as low a site fee as possible in order to keep entrance fees down. The council’s Commissioner for Resilience may be able to help.
BH asked if Customs House Square would be an option. SH said that we might get confused with the existing craft festival, and it is hard to create an atmosphere on a stone floor.
TMV asked what happened with the Ulster Hall. SH responded that the people in charge of the Hall have been tasked to make as much money as possible. They required of us extra money for the days we are not open and the wanted us to buy out the bar. In addition we had issues with the Hall over the past number of years concerning catering, seating, and the lack of water. TMV responded that it sounds like greed or maybe they people there are hostile to alcohol. He further suggested the Whitla Hall. SH said that we had asked but the university were against the idea. We tried the Masonic Hall in Rosemary Street but it had several issues and CAMRA rejected our budget. SP suggested the Spires, but this is owned by the Presbyterian Church who may be opposed to alcohol related events, and, SH added that protecting the floor is always a problem. We did look at the Belfast Telegraph building but it was as expensive as the Ulster Hall.

Social Calendar

4 – 5th October – Portrush Beer Festival. We will attend on the Saturday.
19^th October Branch meeting in the Northern Lights at 1pm.
26^th October the Northern Lights 2^nd This will be a NI Brewers festival.
9^th November branch meeting in Grouchos in Richill – to be confirmed.

AOB

TMV raised the matter that the province is inundated with pale ales. He added that in Dumfries branch of Morrison’s there is a great selection of beers. RS suggested that he should come along to the Northern Lights’ Brewers Festival and tell our local brewers what beers he would like to see.
The meeting finished with a brief debate on whether keg beer is terrible or not.

Presentations

After the meeting we presented the of the Pub Of The Year (POTY) and Pub of the Region runner up certificates to the Errigle.
The Chair and The Pubs Officer then went to the Northern Lights to present them with the LocAle certificate.

CAMRA NI Committee Meeting Minutes – 24 AUGUST 2019 – Tuesday Bell, Lisburn

HQ and SNIB Memos and Actions

New branch magazine guidelines.
Good Beer Guide (GBG) envelopes have been issued to branch distributers.
2 pubs from NI (Northern Ireland) are in national lists: Sunflower for city centre pub, Daft Eddy’s for remote pub.
Champion beer of Britain (CBOB) is now open with a new voting website. Closing date is September 2019 and we need to encourage members to vote or NI beers will not have enough votes to be considered.
Help is available from HQ for volunteer activation.

Treasurer

Finances are OK, some branch funds will be sent back to HQ since there won’t be a festival this year.
T-Shirts/beer mats/flyers have been produced. We need volunteers to distribute them.
The balance in the branch account is £5200.

Pub Officers Report

Attended the latest Knockout taproom, there were 2 cask ales on: Rumble IPA, and a new one Duck and Weave IPA. There are plans for another taproom on 20/21^st September.
Attended Hilden Beer Festival last night. It’s £20 in, no CAMRA discount, and £4.50 a pint. Plenty of good stuff on especially Tempted’s Caribbean Crush.
A rumour has emerged that the Tuesday Bell has been sold to the Merchant Hotel group.

Membership

Membership is stable at 346 down 3.
Nationally numbers are down 174, an improvement on the previous month’s 532, so the trend is heading up.
Volunteers are needed to distribute membership leaflets to pubs and taprooms.

Festival

There won’t be a beer festival this year. The Ulster Hall put up their prices and we had to find a new venue. Our budget for the new venue was rejected, and the time scale was too tight for November. There were a number of issues: footfall at the new venue, nowhere to hang a banner outside, transport to the venue, numbers of toilets, limited capacity with only two fire escapes, the extra work involved with a new venue, and it was still quite costly at £8000 plus VAT.
BH asked how much extra the Ulster Hall was charging. SH answered £8000.
SH we don’t need the bar modules as we can get them from HQ saving a storage cost. We may store them in Belfast in the meantime.
BH asked if a beer festival organising meeting has been arranged. SH answered not yet.
SH added that were may go for an outdoor festival, thought at will have issues with drainage and toilets.
BH stated that we need the festival to keep the branch going, SH agreed but noted that HQ wants festivals to at least break even.
RS suggested that we do smaller event with more of a campaigning element, such as the beer tasting at Mike’s Fancy Cheeses on August 31^st. If this works we’ll do more, especially outside Belfast. BH added that we need to tread carefully if campaigning in places controlled by the large companies.
SH said that we need to pick a date for the next festival that doesn’t clash with other events. He has a form from the council to apply to hold an event.

Social Calendar

31^st August beer tasting at Mike’s Fancy Cheeses.
6 – 7th – September ABV Festival.
28th September – Branch meeting and Pub Of The Year (POTY) presentation in the Errigle Inn at 12pm followed by a social in Dave and Emma’s house.
4 – 5th October – Portrush Beer Festival.
19^th October Branch meeting in the Northern Lights at 1pm.
9^th November branch meeting in Grouchos in Richill.

AOB

RS has booked a room for a meeting at Stormont. It is on Monday 23^rd. MLAs, MPs and brewers will be invited to pursue the campaign on licence reform.
A Freedom Of information (FOI) request will be made to see why local brewers were not invited to sell their wares at the Open golf.
The campaign will continue to argue for lower beer duty to boost pub going.
We aim to get an article into What’s Brewing or Beer about the campaigning at Stormont.
The Campaigns team at HQ are focused on Northern Ireland’s issues, and funding will be available next year.
GJ mentioned that he was at the AGM in Dundee but there was no mention of Northern Ireland there.
BH said he was at a cider manufacturer who was angry that CAMRA turned down cider despite it meeting CAMRA’s criteria for real cider. This matter will be investigated.
The cancelling of the festival has generated a lot of attention on social media. We will capitalise on this.
LS said that the Hillside beer festival will be on the 6^th and 7^th of September.
DMcF said that for the Stormont meeting we need pubs to talk about their experiences with the large brewers. If anyone knows friendly landlords who are prepared to speak about this let us know. BH said he will speak to one of his local pubs.

CAMRA NI Committee Meeting Minutes – 27 JULY 2019 – Fairley’s Bar, Railway Rd, Coleraine

HQ and SNIB Memos and Actions

The next Scottish and Northern Ireland Branches (SNID) meeting will be on 24^th August in Inverness.
HQ is looking for places to hold Champion Beer Of Britain heats (CBOB). Our beer festival is a possible location.
Recent CAMRA activities are The Summer of Pub and support for National Beer Day.
There’s a warning about the Heineken Star dispense system. We are not aware of it being used here.
CAMRA are continuing with their pilot scheme to accredit pubs for the quality of their beer in line with the strategy on improving beer quality at the point of dispense.
Beer festivals are urged to reconsider the employment of single use plastics.
ME is a contact who can help branches who want to produce a local guide.
SC added that Cask Marque will be sponsoring the Good Beer Guide (GBG).
PE will be continuing the Licence reform campaign with another attempt to meet MLA’s at Stormont. Monday 23^rd September is a possible date. There is a £600 budget for these meetings. Ms. Sloan read out details of the licence reform campaign.

Treasurer

Some bills are being paid.
The balance in the branch account is £.

Pub Officers Report

In the interests of CAMRA research the Pubs Officer visited the Observatory Bar in the Grand Central Hotel on Bedford Street. There was no real ale, but local interests were served by Whitewater, who have a new beer called Sky High, and Kilmegan Cider.

Membership

Membership is stable at 349.
The national trend is up a little.
CAMRA’s Learn and Discover is now on the main website. This is educational material to support members’ learning about beer, cider and perry.

Mike’s Fancy Cheeses

We plan to hold a beer tasting event along with Mike’s Fancy Cheeses and some of our local breweries. We aim to hold this on August 30^th and 31^st in Mike’s shop at 41 Little Donegall St, Belfast BT1 2JD.

Festival

A suitable venue has been found: two rooms in The Masonic Hall on Rosemary Street. There will some logistic issues as equipment will have to be carried up a flight of stairs. A business plan is being prepared will be submitted next week.
The dates will be 7 – 9^th November 2019 and each hall should accommodate 300 people.
We may start the set up on Saturday instead of the usual Sunday as the halls will need some decoration. TB2 asked if we would be ready to open on the Wednesday. SH replied that is a possibility, though it’s more likely that Wednesday could see the return of the volunteer’s beer sampling evening.
A licence will have to be procured from Ryans as before.

Social Calendar

The Farmageddon taproom went well. There were a number of good beers and ciders available.
On August 16^th and 17^th Knockout will be having another taproom.
Saturday 24^th August – Branch meeting in the Tuesday Bell, then visit the Hilden Beer Festival.
Boundary will be holding their usual monthly taproom on 30^th and 31^st August.
6 – 7 – September ABV Festival.
28 September – Pub Of The Year (POTY) presentation in the Errigle Inn followed by a meeting in a house.
4 – 5 October – Portrush Beer Festival.
October 19^th possible trip to Grouchos in Richill Armagh.
There will be no branch meeting in November.

AOB

DR has been working on a new logo for branch beer mats etc. SC said that changes to logos would need to be checked with the campaign’s team at HQ.
The Pub heritage group want to know about pubs of interest that date from the 1960s.
DMcF spoke of our efforts to bring the National Directors and Regional Directors (NERD) meeting to the province. A plan and draft budget has been completed. The event is due to take place in June 2020.

CAMRA NI Committee Meeting Minutes – 15 JUNE 2019 – Hop House, High St, Bangor

HQ and SNIB Memos and Actions

Cider month is coming up.
HQ are looking for nominations for a “post 1970s pub design award”.
The Real Ale In A Bottle (RAIB)/can scheme will be relaunched.
TB2 added that today, June 15^th, is Beer day NI.

Opening address

RS raised the possibility of the branch running a bar at the Culture Night/Day in September. Although it is too close to the deadline, we may try doing a beer tasting along with Mike’s Fancy Cheeses. There will be a meeting to discuss these ideas in the Black Box on 20^th June at 12 midday.
Promotional material, such as T-shirts, stickers, and beer mats can be covered by campaigning funds from HQ.
There are T-Shirts from previous festivals were discussed. They could be used for Stewards at the next festival, or for prizes. Selling them may reduce the sales of T-shirts at the next festival.
PH asked if the sale of glasses worked at the last Belfast Beer Festival. SH responded that there was a 10% return rate, and this helped keep the entrance fee down.

Treasurer

In BMcF’s absence RS noted that the branch had opened a new account with Barclays.

Pub Officers Report

Good Beer Guide (GBG) proofs have been corrected and submitted.
Two deaths relevant to CAMRA have occurred. Alistair Boyd from Glasgow had visited the branch and chaired an AGM for us, and Derek Patterson of the Plough in Hillsborough.
The Dirty Duck beer festival had seven hand pumps, which included two from Bullhouse Brewery.
The Knockout taproom had a similar number of hand pumps, and was featuring a new gluten free version of their Citra beer.
A new local cider, Hard Yard has appeared. It is brewed by Tempted for the Drinksology wholesalers.
The new Norn Iron brewery was holding an open day today (June 15^th) but it clashed with our campaigning trip to the Hop House.

Membership

Membership stands at 349, not the 433 that was reported at the last meeting. This about 20 down on last year.
Overall CAMRA national membership is up a little showing that the decline has stopped.
CAMRA subscription rates are going up.

CAMRA Voucher Scheme

Wetherspoon voucher will be phased out and replaced buy a CAMRA scheme offering £30 worth of discounts. These will be redeemable in Wetherspoons and other pub chains across the UK.
It is a CAMRA ruling that we are not to approach bars and ask for discounts.
We will ask JC at HQ if they can try Galway Brewery’s to see if they would accept these vouchers.
PH enquired if Nicholson’s are part of the scheme. DR replied that they are not; Brains and Stonegate are part of the scheme. DMcF asked if Beoir had a discount scheme.SH said that they do, but it’s in Euros and doesn’t apply here.
DR added that CAMRA’s Real Ale Discount scheme is still going. Pubs can choose to be a part of the scheme, but none in the province have done so. An email will issue from HQ with the details. DMcF asked what customers get under this deal, SH answered that it is up to the pubs. Sometimes it is 50p or 10% discount. There is a contradiction here; since we are not permitted to ask pubs for discounts, how will they learn of the scheme?

Festival

SH outlined that we are still looking for a venue. The Telegraph Building/Carlisle Memorial Church (ABV venue)/St. George’s Market are being considered. The Telegraph Building would be the best, but the price is similar to the Ulster Hall. He has also arranged a meeting with Pat Catney MLA. Other suggestions were put forward: LIFE Church, an unused multi story car park, an empty shop in the city centre. We can’t get the Ulster Hall because they have more lucrative bookings for that time.
SH is also looking at having a fridge to hold the beer instead of a stillage. This may remove the need for a Sunday set up.

Social Calendar

EB noted that branch members had attended the Dirty Duck Beer Festival, Knockout Taproom, and the Belfast Craft Beer Festival. In Custom House Square.
June 28 – 30 Boundary Taproom.
27 July – branch meeting and bottle share at Fairley’s Coleraine.
Saturday 24^th August – Branch meeting in the Tuesday Bell, then visit the Hilden Beer Festival (23 – 25 August).
6 – 7 – September ABV Festival.
20 – 21 – September Culture Night/Day.
28 September- Pub Of The Year (POTY) presentation in the Errigle Inn/ meeting in the Norn Iron Brewery (to be confirmed).
4 – 5 October – Portrush Beer Festival.

AOB

EB has drawn up a list of local cider outlets for the website. We need a list of pubs and off licences.
1^st July we are invited to a meeting with MLAs and brewers at Stormont. PE, CAMRAs Campaigns Manager is organising this. We will invite our local brewers by email.
Tourism Northern Ireland are involved in the “Taste the Island – A Celebration of Our Food and Drink” initiative. It is an eight week showcase of food and drink which will run from Mid- September to Mid- November 2019. We may submit an event for inclusion.
National Executive Regional Directors (NERDS) – DMcF said the branch will submit proposals for hosting the event in Belfast 26 – 27 June 2020. This will be an opportunity for us to showcase the issues we have in the province.
We want to outline a number of campaigning goals: growing membership and getting our presence recognised. These should be quantifiable e.g. number of members added. Mr. Hyde said we should see if we can get a number of existing members activated. AA raised the concern that the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) may hinder communicating with these existing members. LH counter suggested that GDPR matters would be cleared by HQ. SH asked if we had a database of people that we can contact. DR answered that we have the details for 250 members, but we can’t send letters due to the demands of GDPR. RS asked what goals we should set. DMcF responded that as an accountant he would be looking for numbers of people/bars engaged with/e.g. ten visible CAMRA members at an event. We could use T-shirts, posters, beer mats as marketing. E.g. put up a poster at the Portrush Beer Festival and put beer mats in off-licences.
PH mentioned that ND was unhappy that we are holding a meeting in a bar that does not serve real ale. RS responded that this was a campaigning effort; there is little point in campaigning for real ale in a pub that already serves real ale.
PH also asked if an ex – chair of the branch could be censured for telling people that the Northern Ireland branch should be closed down. SH said we should ignore him, but TB1 suggested that undermining that branch like this should not go unopposed. RS said that making the branch succeed would be the best response. TB1 and PH asked for a formal complaint to be made to the Regional Director, who is already aware of the situation. RS said that she would talk to the Regional Director about it.
RS said she wanted the branch to concentrate on campaigning. DR said we should push the RAIB scheme to get local brewers to become accredited. It will cost £15 plus VAT, but the branch can cover this cost.
LS said that enjoyed the meeting, it was better than ones he’s been to before.
PH mentioned that a new share offer in Lacada Brewery will be issued in the near future.
The POTY certificate will be presented sometime in September

CAMRA NI Committee Meeting Minutes – 14 May, Wetherspoon’s Bridge House, Bedford St, Belfast

Due to the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) we will have to find out if people have given permission for the branch to use their email addresses. This will be done via a social media campaign.
RS, along with BMcF, and PM met with Barclays Bank to open a community account. This is free, and can be used online. The bank has to get back to the branch about night safe facilities.
CAMRA discount vouchers can be used outside Wetherspoons. We will write to all of our current Good Beer Guide pubs asking if they will accept these vouchers. [ACTION Pubs Officer].
DMcF raised the idea of putting a list of pubs that sell real and local cider on our website. [ACTION Pubs Officer and EB].
May 24^th – 26 August sees CAMRA’s Summer of Pub (SoP) campaign. The aim is to get more people socialising in pubs this summer. 7 June – 7 July. Writing to pubs asking them to show the Women’s World Cup. 15 June National Beer Day will be celebrated as part of the SoP.
We aim to submit staff from the Northern Lights to the GBBF bar management course.
CAMRA are looking to hold Champion Beer Of Britain (CBOB) heats. We may host a heat next year.
At the Scottish and Northern Ireland branches meeting (SNIB) on May 11^th, we learned that funds for bus trips are available if they are for campaigning events.
Funds are also available for drawing up a leaflet detailing the real ale pubs in Belfast.
The National Executive (NE) is looking for venues for their meetings next year. Branches can bid to host the event. We will look into putting a business case together for June 2020.

Treasurer

Following the new bank account, review of the financial situation is required to ensure we are within CAMRA guidelines.

Pub Officers Report

Knockout brewery is holding a taproom on 24^th and 25^th May 2019. Cask ale will be available.
The Bridge House has opened a new beer terrace at the back of the pub.
Our AGM in 2018 was attended by an SDLP activist called Seamas De Foite. He claims to be interested in beer and he was recently elected to Belfast City Council.

Membership

Membership is 433 according to the latest figures. BH queried this. The number will be checked.

– NOTE CHAIR: numbers are actually 348 according to newest systems, mistake in reporting.

Festival

Preparations for the beer festival are ongoing. It may take place in December.
NM asked if a summer festival is possible. EB replied that it is harder to get equipment from HQ in the summer due to all the other beer festivals going on.

Social Calendar

17 – 19^th May – Boundary 4^th Birthday bash at the Sunflower.
24/25^th May – Knockout Taproom.
31st May and 1st June – Belfast Craft Beer Festival, Custom House Square.
13^th July Fidelity Beer Festival 2019 – The Round Room Mansion House Dawson Street Dublin.
23 – 25^th August Hilden Beer Festival.
7/8^th September ABV Festival.
4/5^th October Portrush Beer festival.
31^st August the branch meeting may be held in Hillsborough’s hillside. To be confirmed.

AOB

BH said the staff beer festival party was dominated by the people from the SNIB meeting. RS answered that this was due to the small numbers of staff that turned up. Maybe they didn’t get the email about the party. This is something we will look into.

DTVNM – Saturday 15^th June -The Hop House High Street Bangor at 13:00. All members are welcome to attend this meeting and join us for a few drinks around Bangor.