Normally, the Summer edition of our branch magazine, Pints of View, would have been published this month. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and consequent suspension of the normal activities of the pub trade, we have decided to cancel the Summer 2020 issue. We hope to resume publication with the Winter 2020 issue, at least in on-line form.

All Champion Beer of Britain activity has been suspended until further notice. The intention is that, hopefully, the finals that should have taken place at Olympia this year will now happen next year and the same applies to heats, i.e. those heats scheduled for our various venues in 2020 will now take place in 2021. For the same reasons, Champion Beer of Scotland will not happen this year and those beers that qualified for it will now be judged in 2021.

To support the beer and pubs industry during this difficult time, CAMRA has decided to partner with the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) and Crowdfunder to try and help pubs, clubs, breweries, tap rooms and cider during the COVID-19 crisis.

The Pulling Together campaign encourages pubs, brewers and cider makers to come up with innovative ways to keep their business afloat during this crisis – whether that be launching a new online shop, offering beer or cider takeaways or providing redeemable gift vouchers for locals.

The campaign aims to amplify the voices of those pubs, brewers and cider producers while connecting the public with their favourite local businesses. With the help of Crowdfunder, we will also encourage pubs and breweries to tap into their community to help weather the crisis.

Find out more about Pulling Together here.

The CAMRA National Executive today made the following announcements regarding measures to control the COVID-19 pandemic.

• All CAMRA beer festivals, including the Great Welsh Beer Festival, planned between now and the end of June will be cancelled.
• CAMRA’s Members Weekend, AGM and Conference weekend in York will be cancelled​.
• The likelihood of the Great British Beer Festival going ahead is under review.
• Planning for the 2021 Great British Beer Festival Winter will proceed.
• Physical meetings, at a national, regional & branch level, should stop immediately.

The branch has therefore cancelled all future branch events until further notice. This includes the cancellation of upcoming branch social meetings, two-pub socials, and committee meetings. This decision was not taken easily, but we are currently living in difficult times.

We are very aware of the negative impact that these decisions will have on pubs, and the decisions reflect the seriousness of the health concerns related to the COVID-19 coronavirus. CAMRA is actively pursuing the government to support pubs during these difficult times. We encourage all beer-lovers and pub-goers to investigate ways to continue supporting the industry, whether that be ordering their brews online from independent retailers or supporting pub crowdfunding campaigns to keep afloat.

As the situation changes, we will try to keep you up-to-date as best we can. We will provide relevant updates on our Events Calendar. If you use Twitter, you can also follow us at CAMRA_Edinburgh.

The scores for the three area winners, averaged over the five judges were:

Dreadnought, Leith: 59.5

Craw Inn, Auchencrow: 62.1

Staggs (Volunteer Arms), Musselburgh: 64.6

So Staggs is the Edinburgh & South East Scotland Pub of the Year for 2020. Congratulation to all three in a very close result!