University of St Andrews Real Ale Society
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The St Andrews University Real Ale Society (abbreviated to SAURAS, hence the dinosaur logo) is a student society affiliated with the St Andrews University Student’s Association, and also affiliated, in spirit if not in letter, with the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). Its stated aim is to educate its members in every aspect of Real Ale (also known as cask-conditioned beer), by organizing trips to beer festivals and breweries, and holding weekly meetings.
Membership of the society is open to all matriculated students, and an associate membership is available to non-students. Membership typically costs between around three pounds, and members joining at the annual Societies Fayre held each Fresher's Week receive a free pint of real ale.
Meetings usually take place in one of the pubs in St Andrews which serve a selection of hand-pulled real ales. Currently, these are the Central Bar, the Whey Pat Tavern, and the Cellar Bar.
The society’s most popular event is an annual pub crawl, known as the “Monster Pub Crawl”. This event typically takes place on a Saturday in February or March, and takes in every bar open to the public in St Andrews.
Contents |
[edit] Beer Festivals
Every year, the society visits the Alloa Octoberfest festival, which takes place in late October in Alloa town hall, and the Glenrothes beer festival which takes place in Rothes Hall in late April or early May. Both of these events are organized by CAMRA. The committee normally organizes a coach from St Andrews to the festival location which is free to members.
[edit] Monster Pub Crawl
The Monster Pub Crawl is an annual event, occurring in February or early March, in and around St Andrews itself. In recent years, it has been normal practice to organize the pub crawl during an off-week of the Six Nations Championship. In 2007, the pub crawl was on Saturday 17th February.
The advertising text for the 2007 pub crawl:
Unleash your inner monster on the St Andrews University Real Ale Society's annual epic journey from the Stables to the Union via at least 25 of St Andrews' public bars - with half a pint (preferably real ale!) in each. No other pub crawl comes close! Find us at the Stables on Tom Morris Drive at 10:50 if you want your mug in the photograph, or if Badlands geography isn't your strong point, there'll be a group leaving from outside the Union at 10:30.
11.00 The Stables
11.30 The New Inn
12.00 Byre Theatre
12.30 The Castle Tavern
13.00 Howies
13.30 Lizard/Oak Rooms
14.00 Greyfriars (lunch break)
15.00 Russell Hotel
15.20 Ma Bells
15.40 Rusacks Hotel
16.00 Jigger Inn
16.20 1 Golf Place
16.40 Dunvegan
17.00 Playfairs
17.20 The Pilmour
17.40 Chariots
18.00 The Raisin
18.20 The Victoria Cafe
18.40 The Keys
19.00 The Central (dinner break)
20.00 Criterion
20.30 Gin House
21.00 West Port
21.30 Whey Pat
22.00 Drouthy Neebors
22.30 Cellar
23.00 Union
The pub crawl starts when The Stables opens. The Stables is considered by most students of the university to be one of the least student-friendly bars in the town. However it is looked upon affectionately by the Real Ale Society, due to the part it plays as the opening bar of the pub crawl. The Stables is somewhat outwith the centre of St Andrews, so the society plans its route to commence here and take in the bars further out, then finishing in the centre of town. The crawl ends in the Students' Association (The Union) main bar.
Over 20 students took part in the 2007 Monster Pub Crawl.
[edit] Committee
Society events are organized by a committee of seven. This committee is formed of ordinary members of the society who are elected annually at the society’s Annual General Meeting. The AGM normally takes place towards the end of the academic year, in April or early May.
The committee is made up of the following members.
| Post | Role |
|---|---|
| President | Oversees society, arranges committee meetings, guides the rest of the committee. |
| Vice President | Assists president. Typically takes a lead role in organizing events. |
| Secretary | Records minutes of committee meetings and general society meetings. |
| Treasurer | Keeps the society's accounts, arranges funding from the students' association. |
| Publicity Officer | Maintains the society's website, advertises the society, communicates with membership via email. |
| Charity Officer | Arranges charitable events during the university's rag week celebrations. |
| Ordinary Member | No set duties, but assists other members where necessary. |
In addition to the above duties, it is the committee's task to look after the safety and well being of the society members during events. As the events typically involve alcohol consumption, committee members often need to stay relatively sober to ensure that the other members are safe.
[edit] History
No information yet.
[edit] Previous society presidents
Prior to 2001: To be updated
2001-2002: James Bolus
2002-2003: Greg Waddington
2003-2004: Scott Manson
2004-2005: Scott Manson
2005-2006: Sara Brown
[edit] Sources
The St Andrews University Real Ale Society website
Scott Manson, society president 2003-2005
The minutes of the Real Ale Society
Categories: Proposed for deletion for over five days | Proposed deletion as of 28 March 2007 | All articles proposed for deletion | All pages needing to be wikified | Wikify from March 2007 | University of St Andrews | St Andrews | Student societies | British student societies | Beer organisations | Beer culture
