Members of CAMRA’s East London & City branch and the organisers of the Pig’s Ear Beer Festival were shocked to hear the news that branch member and Pig’s Ear cider bar manager Mick Lewis had died on the morning of 2 October. Although Mick had been in poor health for a while and had been in and out of hospital, he had seemed to be recovering and was planning to work at this year’s Pig’s Ear. He helped supply our festival with cider and perry and managed the cider bar for many years. He also worked on the cider bars of numerous other CAMRA festivals over the years, including the Great British Beer Festival. He also trained many CAMRA volunteers in the delights of traditional cider and perry. He held strong views about real cider and would call out producers and pubs that seemed to be selling the real thing but whose products did not meet the CAMRA definition. Mick was also an active member of our branch over the years, often attending socials and meetings. He once even nominated the fictional Queen Vic pub from the EastEnders soap opera as our pub of the year in order to generate publicity for CAMRA! However, the rest of us thought that we had enough excellent genuine hostelries, without awarding our top branch prize to a fictional pub! Mick was often to be found enjoying the beers in the Leyton Orient Supporters Club bar before most home matches but for many years, like most of us, didn’t enjoy the football quite as much. However, he would have enjoyed the last few years supporting the most successful London club with two championships in four years. Everyone will miss his fun attitude to life. We send our condolences to Mick’s partner, Pam. Wassail Mick.
Mick’s funeral took place on 31 October at the City of London Crematorium in Manor Park. There was an excellent turnout from family, friends and CAMRA colleagues, both local and national. The wake was held at the nearby Golden Fleece.
Andy Kinch
Editor’s note: Gillian Hough has written an obituary for CAMRA’s on-line newspaper, What’s Brewing. You can find it at https://wb.camra.org.uk/2023/11/04/a-man-of-many-passions.