Harrogate and Ripon Campaign for Real Ale
Join us
We hold monthly branch meetings and social events in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Ripon and beyond.
BRANCH DIARY
Beer festivals and events
Find out about upcoming beer festivals and beer related events in our area.
EVENTS
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Latest branch news
Harrogate
Congratulations to The Office Ale House, Bilton on being awarded our 'Best Newcomer 2026'. Great to see new places opening in these difficult times for hospitality.
Photo shows Manager Anne Marshall receiving the certificate on behalf of the team at The Office from branch Secretary Allan Gauld.
The Little Ale House now opens at 4pm Monday through Thursday (2pm Friday to Sunday).
Knaresborough
The Castle Inn (Stonegate) which was up for sale by the pubco since it closed (again) last September is now thought to have been sold, buyer unknown.
Mother Shipton Inn (Admiral Taverns) is temporarily closed for roof maintenance and refurbishment inside and out, including the riverside beer garden. Expected to re-open by September under new management.
Ripon
The Golden Lion (Greene King) remains up for sale, with the asking price now reduced to £225k.
The Portly Pig now opens from 12pm Wednesday through Sunday for the remainder of the summer. This is our current Pub of the Year, serving three cask ales, mostly from local breweries.
Other towns and villages
The Tap on the Tutt in Boroughbridge (Punch) is to hold a food and beer festival on Saturday 29th August from 11am. Few details so far, but see social media for updates.
The Black Swan at Burn Bridge (Heineken) which recently reopened under a new tenant following a 12-month closure is now opening just Thursday to Sunday with food served Thursday to Saturday. TT Landlord plus changing beers from Black Sheep, Ossett and Theakston.
The Black Lion in Skelton on Ure (Skelton-on-Ure Pub and Hub Limited) has reopened (Thursdays to Sundays) under a new tenant, Mike Ramshaw, who was one of the lead campaigners to save the pub. The café has also reopened 12-2pm Friday to Sunday.
New banners advertising pub manager jobs have been observed adorning various Sam Smiths houses in recent weeks following the passing last month of Humphrey Smith, owner and chairman of the brewery. Only two of the nine Sam Smiths houses in our area are currently open.
Club news
The Knaresborough Club is the new name for the former Knaresborough Conservative Club, recently reopened after a two-year closure, however still no real ale.
Brewery news
Harrogate Brewing Co hold their third 'Hookstone Hooley' beer festival 7-9 August. Ticket only.
Note that the taproom will be closed to customers without tickets for this event.
Rooster’s Brewing Co are to hold ‘An Almost Authentic Oktoberfest’ on Saturday 26th September. Tickets are £14.95, more details at https://www.roosters.co.uk/pages/oktoberfest
Rooster’s and Daleside breweries, sponsors of our Ale Trail for the last three years, have collaborated to brew a beer, ‘Trail-Blazer’, a 3.8% West Coast pale ale, especially for the Ale Trail. Please see our Ale Trail page at
http://www.harrogateandriponcamra.org.uk/ale-trail.html for more details.
Plan a local pub crawl...
KNARESBOROUGH
This small market town boasts a diverse selection of great real ale pubs.
HARROGATE
RIPON
The spa town with victorian inns, modern bars and micropubs.
From one-eyed rats to pigs and unicorns, this cathedral city has a variety of real ale watering holes.
Branch boundary map
You may be surprised by how large an area Harrogate and Ripon Camra covers, from Thornton Watlass, near Bedale in the north, to Pool in Wharfedale on the edge of Otley in the south. The map below shows the branch boundary.
Branch diary
MEETINGS
SOCIAL EVENTS
PRESENTATIONS
Tuesday 18 August 2026
Branch meeting
Concert Room, Oatlands Club, Harrogate.
19:30
September 2026
Branch meeting
Knaresborough or Portly Pig Ripon.
TBC
October 2026
Branch meeting
HBCo Royal Parade.
TBC
Thursday 13 August
Ale Trail social with Sunderland & South Tyneside. Meeting at The Mitre, Knaresborough from 13:15.
Saturday 15 August
Ale Trail social
Harrogate Tap from noon.
Bank Holiday Monday 31 August
Ale Trail social
Portly Pig, Ripon from noon.
Saturday 22nd August
Pateley Bridge
Visit to pubs and beer festival at Pateley club. No 24 bus from Harrogate at 11:55, or Killinghall at 12:07.
Beer festivals and events
Beer scoring and the Good Beer Guide
You are probably aware of the ‘Good Beer Guide’, National CAMRA’s flagship publication which lists the best real ale pubs in the UK. But what you may not know is how those pubs are selected to appear in the Guide. The answer is that it is largely via beer scores submitted by CAMRA members from all over the country. If you are a CAMRA member you can send in beer scores. If you’ve ever wondered why your favourite pub isn’t in the Guide, this may well be because you, and others, haven’t entered scores rating the quality of beer there. By beer scoring, you can contribute to the process of selection of pubs that go in the Good Beer Guide. Here's how...
So how do I score the quality of the beer?
It's really simple. Go to any pub on https://camra.org.uk/pubs then click or tap on ‘Beer Score’. You just pick a rating that best describes the quality of your beer. We've also given some potential reactions (see below) to help you pick the best rating for your beer. You'll enter the date and rate the quality of the beer served, and add the price if you want. It's a great way to share your experiences and guide fellow beer lovers.
An added bonus is that a record of your scores is kept so you can look back to see the beers you’ve had and how and when you rated them. Find out more about beer scoring at https://camra.org.uk/nbss
How do I edit my scores?
If you submit an incorrect score by mistake or decide you want to change a score, you can edit them here
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For more information about CAMRA, or to become a member visit camra.org.uk