THE owners of a beer cafe selling one of the largest ranges of real ale in the country have hit out at the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) after they voted not to include them in their Good Beer Guide.

The Hemelvaart Bier Cafe in Bedale was set up last year by devotees John Atkinson and Phil Walker who find the real ale group's decision hard to swallow.

Since opening they’ve built up a dedicated clientele and were voted third in Yorkshire’s Favourite Pub competition run by Welcome to Yorkshire.

But when the local CAMRA branch drew up their Good Beer Guide shortlist they voted to drop the cafe as it does not sell cask ale, only bottled beer.

Mr Atkinson said: “While we don’t have cask ale we do have 180 real ales, many Belgian ones which are the historic real ales, going back centuries, so they are the authentic real ales.

“CAMRA was originally set up to preserve real ale from the big national bland beers, and that is what we do, we specialise in small breweries that brew in the traditional way. It is a cop out."

But a CAMRA spokesman said the Good Beer Guide is not a definitive list of every pub serving real ale of which there are 38,000, but their chosen list is of the best real ale pubs, around 4,500.

He added each area group has a limited number of places they can nominate and must choose which it believe serves the best real ale.

“In some very uncommon instances a branch may select a business which would not have traditionally been viewed as a pub or bar, such as a bottle shop or cafe, but which has made special effort to serve real ale in bottle or on draught. However it is extremely rare for an outlet that does not serve draught real ale to be considered for inclusion in the Good Beer Guide,” he added.

Mr Atkinson said it was unfair as many devotees consult the guide and it could impact on business.

“We shall continue to do what we do best which is to serve and guide people through a wide range of great beer from all over the world. It is a shame those who don’t know us and rely on the Good Beer Guide to find where to drink will be denied the opportunity to widen their experience,” he added.