Camra to debate opposition to fracking

The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) is to debate a motion opposing “fracking”, the controversial gas extraction technique, at its annual conference this week.

Camra is holding its national conference in Nottingham this week (Photo: Wiki)

Real ale fans will move away from the traditional topics of cask-over-keg and the rising price of a pint when they discuss the possible impact of “fracking” on their beloved beer this week.

Fracking, the technique that sees a high-pressure mixture of chemicals and substances pumped into the earth to release stores of natural gas, has divided opinion up and down the UK.

Fears that it causes ground instability and contaminates water have been opposed by those arguing for fracking’s safety and the economic benefits of cheap and plentiful gas supplies.

Bringing this debate home to the country’s legions of beer fans, a motion is to be introduced at Camra’s national conference in Nottingham calling for opposition to fracking on the grounds that it could threaten “the production and quality of real ale” produced in the UK, The Independent reports.

Roger Steele, who is proposing the motion, explained to the newspaper: “The reasons behind me raising the issue of fracking are the significant and real risk to breweries and beer quality – the threat of pollution of its key ingredient, water, caused by fracking for shale gas.”

It mirrors similar moves taken by German brewers recently. This month, the German Brewers Association successfully lobbied for a law prohibiting fracking in certain beer-producing regions of the country.

Greenpeace is backing the Camra motion, and the British Beer and Pub Association, which represents large breweries in the UK, has welcomed the increased awareness of water quality by government and the beer industry.