Camra cancels Britain’s biggest beer festival next year amid ‘budget shortfalls’

Glass half-empty? The Great British Beer Festival has been running since 1977 but Camra has cancelled next year’s event. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

Camra, the real ale enthusiasts’ group, has cancelled Britain’s biggest beer festival amid an existential crisis as it launched a cost-cutting drive to address “budget shortfalls”.

In an email to members of the Campaign for Real Ale, seen by the Guardian, the embattled organisation said it was responding to a “stark picture” of its finances, caused by rising costs and stagnant membership numbers.