Campaign for Real Ale celebrates 50 years of brewing with golden award for Bateman's

Campaign for Real Ale. (CAMRA) made the award to Bateman's brewery in Wainfleet as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations throughout 2021

CAMRA is recognising people, groups of people or businesses that have made a significant contribution to its aims, helping the organisation get to where it is today.

Bateman's brewery has been selected due to it being a long-standing and prolific CAMRA national award-winning brewer, and going above and beyond in delivering excellence over the years.

Stuart Bateman commented: “Batemans Brewery will soon be celebrating its 150th anniversary and is still 100% in the hands of the Bateman family, now run by the fourth generation, since it was established by George Bateman in 1874.

“However, all the history, tradition and employment would have disappeared in the late 1980s, when there was a dispute between the then family shareholders. This became known as Batemans’ ‘Battle for Independence’ which took nearly 3 years to resolve. If it hadn’t been for the support of CAMRA and its members, then there is no doubt that the brewery would have gone under, its picturesque windmill brewery converted into flats and its pubs exploited by an asset stripper.

“Batemans will always be indebted to CAMRA for the moral support and encouragement to continue a fight, which on many occasions looked lost.”

CAMRA’s Awards Director Gary Timmins said: “I am delighted to be honouring these businesses today with a CAMRA Golden Award. 2021 is our anniversary year, and we want to take this opportunity to celebrate the successes and long history of British brewing and cider production – we wouldn’t have got far without their support, or their pints!

“This anniversary comes on the heels of an incredibly difficult time for the industry after a year of lockdowns and restrictions. I hope the teams behind the winning breweries and cider makers will take this award as appreciation for all the hard work involved in producing great drinks over the decades. Nominations were submitted by our members and consumers, which says a lot about the support and impact they have had over the last 50 years.

“Winners have been chosen for their successes in standing the test of time; they are breweries or cider and perry producers that have gone above and beyond in delivering excellence or innovation over the years. I applaud them for their dedication and for being industry stalwarts.”

The full successful cohort contains 18 breweries and cider makers. Nominations for the Golden Awards were made by CAMRA members and locals. Over 80 nominations submitted were whittled down to the list of 18 awardees.

The Golden Awards will be celebrating recipients in three different categories: ‘Pubs’, ‘Pints’, and ‘People’. The ‘Pub’ winners were announced in July, and those in the ‘People’ categories will be announced later in the year. Local presentation events are in the process of being arranged, with each brewery or cider maker receiving a certificate of achievement.

CAMRA will be celebrating their 50th anniversary throughout 2021, with a host of activity including a new biography 50 Years of CAMRA, awards for campaigners, pubs and breweries, virtual festivals, and commemorative merchandise. Learn more on our 50th Anniversary page: https://camra.org.uk/50-years/

* Bateman's Brewery will be presenting 'Stories of Inns on The Edge' from September 15 as part of the Lincolnshire Heritage Days festival.. The project celebrates the memories and relics of pubs on the Lincolnshire coast. For more details visit here.