Welcome to this update of what's happening in Ely CAMRA's branch area.

Open Branch Meeting Our January Open Branch Meeting will be held on Tuesday 7 January from 7:45pm at 3At3 Real Ale and Craft Beer Cafe. Come along and hear what your branch is doing.

Beer Festival Volunteer Recruitment Event We have a dedicated team of volunteers who have planned and will run our beer festival but we always need more help. Some people volunteer for a few hours, some for several days. Many hands make light work. Can you help too? Maybe you've thought about helping but weren't sure what was involved. Would you like to have a drink and chat about how you can help? On Wednesday 8 January from 5pm until 8 or 9 some of our Beer Festival Volunteers will be in the Cutter Inn and would love to explain what we do and how you could help. This year we will start setting up for the festival on Monday 3rd February and will take things down on Sunday 9th February. We need volunteers for both those days and on the days in between. Did you know that our volunteers are fed and, while we are open, most also can drink sensible amounts? Did you know that our volunteers get festival T-shirts? On Saturday 1st March we will also be holding a social get together with a buffet at the Prince Albert to thank our volunteers. If you can't make it to the recruitment event but still want to know more or are already willing to help, check out our webpage.

15th Elysian Winter Beer Festival Our 15th Elysian Winter Beer Festival will be open to the public on Friday 7th (11:00-22:00) and Saturday 8th (11:00-20:00) February at the Maltings. We'll have over 100 beers and ciders for you and other drinkers to enjoy. We also have wine. There's food too. Come along and enjoy this great event in a wonderful venue.

2026 Good Beer Guide We currently need your help to decide which five of our pubs will appear in the 2026 edition of CAMRA's Good Beer Guide. We have drawn up a shortlist of 15 pubs and we need the opinions of CAMRA members from Ely and adjoining branches to decide which go in. We have a website where you can tell us what you think of the shortlisted pubs that you have visited in the last six months. Login using your usual CAMRA login details. You can revise your marks as often as you like until the deadline on Sunday 9 February. If you wish, you can also give us your views in person at one of our branch meetings provided you have your valid CAMRA membership card with you.

Beer Scoring What do you think of the beers you drink in our pubs? You can tell us by Beer Scoring. If you're in a pub you can go to CAMRA's website, search for pubs nearby and you'll find it. Then log in and score your beers. You can also do it from home later. We review beer scores on a monthly so basis so your scores can highlight the rising stars and hidden gems in our branch area. They also contribute to our Good Beer Guide shortlist selection process.

Upcoming Events Tuesday 7 January from 7:45pm. Open Branch Meeting at 3at3 Real Ale & Craft Beer Café. Wednesday 8 January from 5pm. Beer Festival Volunteer Recruitment Event at the Cutter Inn. Friday 7 & Saturday 8 February. 15th Elysian Winter Beer Festival at the Maltings. Sunday 9 February. Marking the Good Beer Guide shortlisted pubs closes. Wednesday 12 February from 7:45pm. Open Branch Meeting at the Cutter Inn (to be confirmed).