Despite its nerdy image, if it weren't for CAMRA we probably wouldn't have any real ale these days. It was due to CAMRA that the shirts & ties in the brewing industry didn't get their way and nowadays a pub without real ale is the rarity.

I remember in the early 70's if word got round that a pub had been found that still had hand pumps, there was a mad rush to get there before the brewery ripped everything out and 'modernised' it. Don't forget there's more to a pub than real ale. Even if it does serve decent beer, I don't get much pleasure from sitting in an establishment that looks more like an Indian restaurant than an English public house! Pubs that still look like pubs are few and far between these days. I think the older generation of pub landlords didn't die of old age, they died of broken hearts.

Also the problem I find is that the number of landlords/managers (or whatever they're called this week) who know how to look after real ale seems to be disproportionate to the number of pubs serving it. The wonderful thing about British beer is the wide variety of tastes, each brew having its own distinctive flavour. I have been in a number of pubs where the beers, whatever you order, are drinkable (just) but all taste the same. Or, in the hot weather go flat after a couple of mouthfuls.

Sorry to upset the purists, but in defence of lager, when the following criteria apply:
a) in Greece
b) 30+ degrees of heat (or thereabouts)
c) in a taverna with a Greek salad in front of me
….. an ice cold Mythos goes down a treat!