scotb.camra.org.uk

scotb.camra.org.uk is the portal site for CAMRA Scotland Branches (SCOTB), one of CAMRA's regional areas. It exists to link together the ten CAMRA branches covering Scotland and to report branch-level and national news, such as beer competition results. It is run within CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, a non-profit consumer organisation of about 140,000 members, of which SCOTB represents over 4,000.

What CAMRA is and what it campaigns for

CAMRA describes its aims on the site as:

• Protecting and improving consumer rights
• Promoting quality, choice and value for money
• Supporting the pub as a focus of community life
• Campaigning for greater appreciation of traditional beers, ciders and perries as part of national heritage and culture
• Seeking improvements in all licensed premises and throughout the brewing industry

These aims explain why the site mixes practical branch information with campaigning and awards content rather than acting as a pub-finding or booking service.

How the site fits into CAMRA's structure

CAMRA has over 200 local branches across the UK, grouped into 16 regional areas. SCOTB is one of those areas and acts as the umbrella for the ten Scottish branches. The site is therefore a signposting layer: it points visitors towards the individual branches rather than duplicating their local listings.

One naming detail worth knowing: the site notes references to "Scotland & Northern Ireland (SNIB)", which reflects Northern Ireland formerly being part of the region. That arrangement ended in April 2024, when Northern Ireland became its own region.

What you will find on the site

The homepage currently leads with two competition results:

The Champion Beer of Scotland trophy was presented by Regional Director Stuart McMahon to Five Kingdoms head brewer Brendon Dennett, alongside fellow brewer Nathan Walls.

Who the site is useful for

• CAMRA members in Scotland who want to find their local branch or follow regional news.
• Beer, cider and perry enthusiasts checking award results and festival outcomes.
• Anyone researching CAMRA's structure who needs to understand how branches, regions and national campaigns relate.

If you are looking for a specific pub, opening hours or event tickets, go to the relevant local branch rather than this portal — the site positions itself as a gateway to those ten branches, not as a directory in its own right.

CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale) states five core aims on its Scottish Branches site: to protect and improve consumer rights; to promote quality, choice and value for money; to support the public house as a focus of community life; to campaign for greater appreciation of traditional beers, ciders and perries as part of national heritage and culture; and to seek improvements in all licensed premises and throughout the brewing industry. These aims describe the organisation's purpose as a consumer body rather than a trade group — CAMRA describes itself as a non-profit consumer organisation with about 140,000 members.

How the aims translate into activity

The aims are broad statements, but the site shows what they look like in practice through its awards and branch structure.

Consumer rights and value

CAMRA frames its work around consumer interests: protecting rights, and pushing for quality, choice and value for money in what pubs and brewers offer. This is the lens the organisation applies to licensed premises and the brewing industry generally.

Pubs as community hubs

Supporting the pub as a focus of community life is listed as a distinct aim, not a side effect of beer campaigning. It sits alongside the goal of seeking improvements in all licensed premises — so the scope covers pubs as social spaces, not just the beer they serve.

Traditional drinks and heritage

The fourth aim covers traditional beers, ciders and perries, framed as part of national heritage and culture. The site's award coverage reflects this: the Champion Beer of Scotland 2025 was decided by blind tasting at the 24th Ayrshire Real Ale Festival on Friday, 3 October 2025, with Gold going to Five Kingdoms Dark Storm, Silver to Five Kingdoms McGregor's Mild, and Bronze to Cairngorm Wildcat. Separately, Cairngorm Black Gold was judged Champion Winter Beer of Britain 2025 at CAMRA's National Winter Ales Festival in Burton on Trent in February 2025.

Who the site speaks for

The Scottish Branches site (SCOTB) acts as a portal for all ten CAMRA branches in Scotland and represents a membership of over 4,000. It is one of 16 regional areas within CAMRA's UK-wide network of more than 200 local branches. References to Scotland & Northern Ireland (SNIB) appear because Northern Ireland was formerly part of the region; that arrangement ceased in April 2024 when Northern Ireland became its own region.

Where to check the aims and related detail

The aims above are as stated on the SCOTB welcome page. For branch-level activity, the site positions itself as the entry point to Scotland's ten branches; for national campaigns and membership information, CAMRA's main organisation is the relevant source. If you are researching a specific claim about consumer rights or licensing, treat the aims as CAMRA's stated position rather than an independent assessment.

Cairngorm Black Gold was judged Champion Winter Beer of Britain 2025 at CAMRA's National Winter Ales Festival, held in Burton on Trent in February 2025. The result is reported on the CAMRA Scottish Branches (SCOTB) website, which serves as a portal for CAMRA's ten branches in Scotland.

The Winning Beer and Where It Was Judged

Cairngorm Black Gold is brewed by Cairngorm Brewery, the same Scottish brewery behind Wildcat, which took Bronze at the separate Champion Beer of Scotland 2025 judging. A winter title and a Scotland-wide title are different competitions, so the two results should not be conflated.

How This Result Relates to the Champion Beer of Scotland 2025

The SCOTB site lists both honours, and they were decided at different events:

• Champion Winter Beer of Britain 2025 — Cairngorm Black Gold, judged at the National Winter Ales Festival in Burton on Trent in February 2025.
• Champion Beer of Scotland 2025 — decided by blind tasting at the 24th Ayrshire Real Ale Festival on Friday, 3 October 2025:
  • Gold: Five Kingdoms Dark Storm
  • Silver: Five Kingdoms McGregor's Mild
  • Bronze: Cairngorm Wildcat

If you are looking for the Scottish champion rather than the British winter champion, the October result is the one to cite.

What the SCOTB Website Covers

SCOTB (CAMRA Scotland Branches) is one of CAMRA's 16 regional areas and represents a membership of over 4,000, within a national organisation of roughly 140,000 members. The site acts as a portal for all ten CAMRA branches in Scotland and also carries national competition news such as the winter beer result.

One naming note: references to "Scotland & Northern Ireland" (SNIB) appear because Northern Ireland was formerly part of the region. That arrangement ceased in April 2024, when Northern Ireland became its own region.

Checking the Result Yourself

To verify or follow future announcements, start at the SCOTB welcome page and look for the competition news sections, which is where the Champion Winter Beer of Britain and Champion Beer of Scotland results are posted. For branch-level events and local festival dates, use the links to the individual Scottish branches from the same portal.

Five Kingdoms Dark Storm won Gold at the Champion Beer of Scotland 2025, with Five Kingdoms McGregor's Mild taking Silver and Cairngorm Wildcat taking Bronze. The final was a blind tasting by a panel of judges at the 24th Ayrshire Real Ale Festival on Friday, 3 October 2025, according to the CAMRA Scottish Branches (SCOTB) website.

The 2025 results at a glance

The trophy was presented to Five Kingdoms head brewer Brendon Dennett by RD Stuart McMahon, alongside fellow brewer Nathan Walls.

What the result tells you

• One brewery took the top two places. Five Kingdoms earned both Gold and Silver, so its range performed strongly with the judging panel in a single session.
• The judging method was blind tasting. Judges assessed the beers without seeing which brewery produced them, which is the format CAMRA uses for this final.
• The venue was a CAMRA festival. The result was decided at the Ayrshire Real Ale Festival rather than at a separate standalone competition.

A related result worth knowing

The same page also records a national win: Cairngorm Black Gold was judged Champion Winter Beer of Britain 2025 at CAMRA's National Winter Ales Festival, held in Burton on Trent in February 2025. That gives Cairngorm a British-level title in the same year its Wildcat took Bronze in Scotland.

Where this fits

SCOTB is the portal for all ten CAMRA branches in Scotland and represents a membership of over 4,000 within CAMRA's UK-wide branch network. Competition results like these are the kind of branch and regional news the site carries alongside its branch information.

The CAMRA Scotland Branches (SCOTB) website at scotb.camra.org.uk is a portal for all ten CAMRA branches in Scotland. It does not list each branch by name on the page, so treat it as a single entry point for Scottish branch activity rather than a directory you can browse branch by branch. SCOTB is one of CAMRA's 16 regional areas and represents a membership of over 4,000 within a national organisation of about 140,000 members.

What the site is for

CAMRA describes itself as a non-profit consumer organisation. The stated aims carried on the SCOTB welcome page are:

• Protect and improve consumer rights
• Promote quality, choice and value for money
• Support the public house as a focus of community life
• Campaign for greater appreciation of traditional beers, ciders and perries as part of national heritage and culture
• Seek improvements in all licensed premises and throughout the brewing industry

The Scottish site applies those aims at regional level and acts as the shared front door for the ten branches.

The SNIB note, and why it matters

You may see references to Scotland & Northern Ireland (SNIB) on the site. This is a legacy label: Northern Ireland was formerly part of the CAMRA region, and that arrangement ceased in April 2024 when Northern Ireland became its own region. If you are looking for Northern Ireland branch information, the Scottish portal is no longer the right route.

What the page currently features

The welcome page highlights recent award results rather than branch listings:

The trophy presentation to Five Kingdoms head brewer Brendon Dennett, alongside brewer Nathan Walls and RD Stuart McMahon, is also noted.

How to use it

1. Start at scotb.camra.org.uk when you want Scottish-level CAMRA news, award results or a route into branch activity.
2. Expect to reach individual branches through the site rather than from a published list on the welcome page — the ten branches are not enumerated there.
3. Ignore SNIB references for current coverage; Northern Ireland sits outside this region as of April 2024.
4. If your interest is a specific branch's pub guide or events, go via the portal rather than assuming the SCOTB page itself holds that detail.

The main limitation to know up front: the page confirms the ten-branch scope but does not name them, so it answers "what is this site" more fully than "which branch covers my area."