We wanted to update you regarding the recent cyber-security incident affecting two Dudley & South Staffordshire CAMRA branch email accounts...

After identifying unusual activity, we immediately escalated the matter to CAMRA's Hosting Support Team and worked with them to investigate the issue.

Analysis of the server logs indicates that the mail accounts were compromised through a brute-force attack, where repeated password attempts were made until access was gained. The attacker then used addresses within the accounts to send spam.

We appreciate that incidents of this nature can be concerning. The accounts were protected by strong, non-trivial passwords but were nevertheless compromised through persistence.

Whilst no security measure can provide an absolute guarantee against determined attackers, we do take the security of our systems and data seriously.

As soon as the issue was identified, action was taken to secure the affected accounts. Passwords were changed and the accounts secured. We also updated our social media pages to warn of the hoax.

We have also reviewed the way these mailboxes operate, in line with advice provided by the Hosting Support Team, to reduce the risk of a similar incident occurring in future.

We sincerely apologise for the concern this incident may have caused. If you received an unexpected or suspicious email appearing to come from Dudley CAMRA recently, please delete and do not engage with it.

You'll see that the reply-to address domains are the giveaway, using Gmail or Outlook addresses rather than dudley.camra.org.uk.

As obtained from a webmail service which we have used for branch communications, we believe personal details, other than email addresses, have not been impacted.

We are again sorry for this. Our team of volunteers support the branch with the best of intentions at heart, and we share your frustration and upset.

Finally, a word of thanks to the CAMRA Hosting Support Team for their assistance in investigating the incident and helping to secure the affected accounts.

With thanks from us, the committee of the Dudley & South Staffordshire CAMRA branch.

We're aware that members may have received an email about lifetime membership.

Ignore it. It's nonsense.

Wetherspoon pubs in the branch area will be taking part in the pub chain's latest beer festival.

They include The Clifton in Sedgley (pictured), Abraham Darby at the Merry Hill shopping centre and Britannia in Halesowen Street, Blackheath which all feature in the 2027 Good Beer Guide. The festival runs from October 7 to 18 with up to 30 beers that are new to the chain featured, including five international brewers, over the course of the festival.

There will be third of a pint glasses for customers to try three different ales for the price of a festival pint.

*The 2027 Dudley Winter Ales Fayre will also be running at Dudley Town Hall 26-28 November.

A talk on beers and breweries of the Black Country is being given in Sedgley.

CAMRA member and local historian Keith Hodgkins is delivering the Trevor Genge Memorial Lecture for Sedgley Local History Society on Thursday, October 8 in St Andrew's Church, Bilston Street at 7.30pm (pictured).

His talk will cover the last 50 years and feature lost pubs and breweries, heritage revivals and new breweries.

Admission is £2 for non-members for the talk which launches the society's 2026-2027 programme.

Following the meeting there is the opportunity to visit Sedgley's many real ale pubs with five in the current Good Beer Guide.

The 2027 Good Beer Guide will be published on September 24.

The branch is delighted to share news of Dudley Winter Ales Fayre 2026. Click on the menu on the left hand side menu for all the latest news.

The committee for the 2026 Dudley Winter Ales Fayre has chosen mental health charity Rethink as the cause it will help this year

The 2025 event raised £603.16 for Action Heart at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley.

An auction of items from Tipton Town Libraries Local History Group and some donated by Dudley and South Staffordshire CAMRA members raised some of the charity money.

A donation of £209.97 also went to the group. It has helped with its new heritage calendar and the launch at the Dudley Archives and Local History Centre in Tipton Road on Saturday, September 5 at 10am.

Several Where's Willy calendars for sale on the day will have golden tickets inside offering a prize donated by local firms. Holden's Brewery in Woodsetton is one of the sponsors for the calendar The launch also celebrates boxer William Perry, the famous Tipton Slasher, and Includes a talk by Keith Hodgkins on Slasher's Tipton and a local history film show.

The bare knuckle Champion of England featured on glasses for the 2025 winter ales festival.

The group's event also features community history stalls with Tipton Slasher items on sale.

The 2026 DWAF is taking place in Dudley Town Hall from November 26 to 28 with tickets going on sale from this week.

Rethink runs services in the Black Country including a free 24/7 helpline for people who require support on urgent mental health concerns. PIC: The calendar is sponsored by Holden's Brewery

A branch pub is raising funds for the firefighters that fought the wildfire that destroyed 19 houses in Stourbridge.

The Bird in Hand in John Street, Wordsley, is staging a fundraiser from lunchtime on Saturday, September 12. Licensee Paula Herbert says all money raised will be given back to the hero firefighters that tackled the fire that started on August 13 to buy thank you gifts such as gift vouchers, chocolates, beer and wine.

Customers are being invited to donate raffle prizes.

The event, for which there will be a small entrance fee, will include live music.

A Coseley pub is to be transformed into one of Marstons' Grandstand sports-led pubs in the new year.

The Apple Tree in Central Drive is currently recruiting ahead of the change.

New TV screens will be installed as part of the project which aims to make the pub a place to go for big sporting occasions.

Management also aim to make the Apple Tree a community pub for the area throughout the week with family events, children's activities and live entertainment. There will be quizzes and bingo as well. Community groups and, clubs will also be encouraged to make use of the pub.

A Woodsetton real ale pub is celebrating its first year since re-opening.

Licensee Tina Marson is organising a bank holiday party on Saturday, August 29 at the Brook Inn, Woodsetton. As part of the day from 2pm to 4pm there will be a chance to learn about first aid from St John Ambulance.

A barbecue will be running in the restored beer garden at the Bourne Street pub from 4pm to 7pm.

From 7pm there will be live music from Kev Grainger.

There will be a chance to win raffle prizes through the day.

New managers have taken over at a Wombourne real ale pub.

Caitlin Ryan and Alex Fraser are running their first pub. They took over The Mount Pleasant in Ounsdale Road on July 28.

The Star Pubs premises is hosting a charity music night with The Busketeers and Friends on Saturday, August 22 from 6,30pm. It is raising money for Teenage Hub Russells Hall Hospital, Riverside House, Tough Enough to Care and Sandwell Visually Impaired and MS Therapy Centre.

The pub is to have a new play area built in its large beer garden and outside area ready for opening in October.

The couple plan to have monthly live bands playing either inside or outside.

A new pensioners' menu is also being planned for the pub which offers food seven days a week.

The Black Country Boating Festival is returning to Netherton from September 11 to 13.

This year is the 40th annual festival and it is once again running at the Bumblehole Local Nature Reserve on the Dudley No 2 Canal.

The free admission volunteer-run event features a real ale and cider bar.

This year will be the biggest ever bar. Bar manager Nick McCowan says the bar will be split into three sections with eight cask beers as well as eight ciders on each.

There will be a Back to the Eighties theme night on the Friday from 6pm.

The festival runs from 10m to 11pm on the Saturday and 10am to 5pm on the Sunday.

Call 01384 203040 to enquire about volunteering.

A charity beer festival in Sedgley will not be taking place this year.

The event normally takes place on the last weekend in September in First Sedgley Scout's Jubilee Hall headquarters.

It has not been possible to organise a festival this year.

The non-CAMRA event has raised more than £100,000 for good causes, including the scout group, over 10 years.

It is hoped that the Sedgley Charity Beer Festival will return in 2027.

A Dudley rock pub is reopening under new management on Saturday, 25 July.

Ye Olde Foundry has been shut since January.

The pub is to continue to offer live music with rock and heavy metal bands playing on Saturday evenings.

There will be DJs and karaoke nights on nights on Fridays.

A new stage has been built ready for the reopening at the King Street pub which is to offer up to three real ales.

The pub will still have a pool table, darts board and rock jukebox.

The new licensee is Rhi Cooke.

Initially it will only be opening Thursday to Sunday - 12 noon to 12 midnight Thursday; 12 noon to 3am Friday and Saturday and 12 noon to 11pm on Sunday.

Branch pub The Old Bush in Wombourne has taken third place in CAMRA's Pub of the Year competition for Staffordshire.

The Black Country Ales pub in High Street won the branch Pub of the Year award for South Staffordshire.

The winner of the Staffordshire round was The Tamworth Tap, the reigning national CAMRA Pub of the Year.

The Vine (Bull and Bladder) in Brierley Hill, the branch overall Pub of the Year, did not place in the top three in the West Midlands county round which was won by The Robin Hood in Amblecote. It and The Tamworth Tap have gone through for judging in the West Midlands regional round.

The first beer festival at the Old Bush in Wombourne opens on Thursday, July 2.

The Black Country Ales pub is the current South Staffordshire pub of the year for the Dudley and South Staffordshire CAMRA branch.

There will be 30 real ales, including local favourites, on sale across the four-day event which features an outdoor bar in the rear beer garden of the pub in High Street.

Live music will feature on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

We’re really pleased to share that the branch committee is now in place for the coming year, with all key roles filled. There are still a few non‑critical positions open, so there’s plenty of scope for anyone who’d like to get involved.

It’s great to see such continuity from last year, and a big thank you to everyone who has kindly agreed to continue. Your support makes a real difference.

At the same time, like many volunteer organisations, the long‑term health of the branch depends on fresh faces and new ideas coming through.

Getting involved- even in a small way- helps ensure we can keep things thriving in the years ahead.

If you’ve ever thought about playing a part in the branch, or simply becoming a more active member, we’d love to see you at one of our monthly meetings.

You can find all the dates on our branch diary page.