Ein Prosit! Brews of the World

“We are celebrating Oktoberfest here at Brews of the World this year to showcase the finest beer that German has to offer,” states Robin Ludlow. “We have always longed to host an event like this and this year we are finally able to do it.”

For those unfamiliar with the concept of Oktoberfest, Robin explains: “It is a German folk festival held annually in Munich, usually lasting sixteen to eighteen days ending on the first Sunday in October. The festival originated on 12 October 1810 to celebrate the marriage of the Crown Prince of Bavaria.”

“Even before the original Brews of the World opened as a shop, we wanted to do Oktoberfest,” agrees Chris McCormack. “We are big fans of German beer, the history and traditions. There are so many stories, so many different styles, with an amazing range of flavours, aromas from the five basic ingredients of malted barley, wheat, hops, water and yeast. It is something that has fascinated us. Burton beer was exported all over the world, so we thought we’d do it the other way and bring Bavarian beers to Burton.”

The event started on Friday and goes on for ten days.

“We never do anything by halves!” laughs Chris. “Now we’ve got the extra ten taps, we can do events like this, tastings, tap takeovers …”

Toria, Robin and Chris take a breather on a busy Friday night (Credit Hayley Ward)

Oktoberfest is a massive party, with music, food, beer and merry making. The modern festival involves six Munich breweries.

“Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbräu, Löwenbräu, Paulaner, and Spaten,” Chris lists. “We have three of the Oktoberfest beers on, I believe that Augustiner haven’t made on this year, although we do have Augustiner Helles in bottle.”

Brews of the World have stocked German beer from when they started in November 2017.

“We’ve always made a point of having German beer on sale, we started with the shop and had a range of bottles,” says Chris. “When the bar opened we always made a point of having one Helles Lager and one Wheat Beer on tap. We hope it brings sone colour to the local beer scene. The pubs in Burton are largely based on Cask Ale but there is a big fan base for Craft Beer and we hope this is just another feather in the Bavarian hat of Burton!”

Along with the three Oktoberfest beers, there is a vast selection of other beers to try.

“We’ve gone pretty much across the board,” reveals Chris. “We’ve a Dunkel (dark lager), a smoked beer called Schlenkerla Kräusen, Jever Pilsner which is very bitter, Fruh Kolsch, we’ve also got Hallo Ich Bin Raspberry Berliner from Mikkeller which is an imitation as we couldn’t get the real beer … so a diverse range.”

A delivery of German beers

The Beertonian has long held the opinion that bland British Lager has given the style a bad name, something Chris agrees with.

“When it is ‘Brewed under license’ in particular!”

So what advice is there for those who are put off by the British versions of Carling, Carlsberg, Fosters etc.?

“The go-to would be the Tegernsee Helles, if you are unsure give it a try, have a half and you might find something you really like,” says Chris with an air of authority, before adding the following with a chuckle. “We try to give the impression that we know what we are talking about! Lager beer takes as much skill to produce as any other beer, a real lager is up there with Cask Ale, it does deserve recognition.”

In typical Brews of the World style, they are still catering for every palate.

“If someone wants traditional Cask Ale we have options from Burton Town Brewery, their Modwena Stout went down well yesterday and we have their Kolsch Lager on too. We’ve got Craft Beers, including a Blue Raspberry Ice Slush Sour from Play Brew Co. which is a shocking green colour, there’s traditional Cider, we’ve even got Gin!”

So far Oktoberfest has been really well supported, both Friday and Saturday nights have seen the place full.

“We had a few poke their head in the door but it was too busy, they came back later which was encouraging. I see big times ahead; I think the local beer scene is on the cusp of something special,” suggests Chris.

Why not pop in this week and support this local business by sinking a few steins? Brews of the World not only have a unique vision in the town but have made a lot of progress in the last six months and surely this is only just the start.

Ein Prosit!

One For The Lads – Ten Years Of Gates Burton Brewery

“One For The Lads”
Ten Years of Gates Burton Brewery

A man walks into a pub, buys a pint and no this isn’t a joke, the beer in question is Gates Burton Ale and it has just been bought by the chap who brewed it.

“I drink my own beer as I believe it’s the best in the pub,” says Stuart Gates, this may sound like a conceited statement but anyone who has met Stuart knows him to be a quietly modest chap. “It’s a quality beer, consistent and I know the passion that has gone in to making it.”

“I’ve said to him many a time that I feel awful charging him the full amount,” laughs Julie Latham, who has just served him.

Julie is the Landlady of The Roebuck Inn in Burton upon Trent and Stuart has returned to the pub to talk about the tenth anniversary of Gates Burton Brewery which is being celebrated this month. This may suggest that he has not been in here for years but in reality, Stuart is a regular and always drinks his own beers. Both the pub and Julie play a significant part in the brewery’s history as this was where the idea to turn a hobby into a commercial venture first came about.

Fresh from school Stuart started work at Allied Breweries which once sat directly opposite the Roebuck. He worked there for 40 years, witnessing the rebirth of Ind Coope Burton Brewery in 1981, the merger with Carlsberg in 1992, the Bass takeover in 1998, the 2000 sale to Interbrew and company buy out by Coors (later Molson Coors) in 2002 before he retired in 2010.

“I started in the Porters,” recalls Stuart. “It was a massive site in those days and we had to deliver all the post. Every Manager and Executive had a secretary, so you can imagine how much there was, it was unbelievable! I think there were fourteen of us at any one time. We had to take the teas to the Directors in the morning and afternoon too.

“I did that for three years and progressed when I was eighteen, then you went in the brewery wherever you could or where you fancied; that’s where it all began. I worked in Packaging where I was a Team Leader in Canning for a while and in the brewery: Brewhouse, Filtration and in the satellite Labs too.”

For a man who spent his entire working life surrounded by beer, it may seem unusual to want to go home and brew in his spare time.

“It’s different when you do it yourself,” Stuart explains. “In the brewery you are just following a process. We all have hobbies, some like to play golf and I liked to come home and brew. I’ve always been passionate about cask beer, a friend of mine started making his own when I was seventeen. He hadn’t got much money as he’d just started a family. I’d go round his house and try to drink this beer, it was from one of those kits and err a very acquirred taste. I said to John, one day I’m going to make some beer but I’m going to do it the traditional way and that’s what I did.”

Back in the 1970’s there wasn’t a great deal of choice if you drank cask bitter in Burton, there was Draught Bass, Marston’s Pedigree and the relative new comer Ind Coope Draught Burton Ale.

“My Dad used to drink Bass and my Uncle Pedigree, if they went to a pub and it wasn’t on they wouldn’t drink the other. My Uncle would rather drink Guinness than Bass,” he recalls.

Today this would be unthinkable but this led Stuart to his vision: “I wanted to make a beer that would stand up against Pedigree and Bass, I hope I’ve done that; I’m pleased with the way it turned out,” he says in his typical understated fashion.

His first attempt at brewing is lost in the mist of time, but after some thought he recalls: “I started brewing around 27 years ago in the kitchen. I used a big pan and one day I burnt the work surface! I’ve never done a kit, always a full mash so it was suck it and see. There used to be a mess in the kitchen, malt everywhere, Valda used to clean up; another wife would have gone mad but Valda supported me.

“I’d brew for the kids’ birthday parties, Christmas, Easter, barbeques, dinner parties, Bonfire Night … I’d brew a lot through the year but it wasn’t every week and it’d get drunk every time. I’d always take notes on how it went; I was so proud when they’d come round and drink my beer.”

In those early days Valda went as far to produce the first Gates’ Ales pump clip for their mythical pub the Reservoir Inn. It sits proudly in their conservatory along with three handpulls, although it is a sign of the popularity of Stuart’s beers that there isn’t a drop to be had. Something that Stuart apologises for with the offer of an invite in the future when there will be more than tea available.

There are a few funny stories that Stuart fondly remembers about his home brewing days where family ended up as willing taste subjects.

“I made one once and I took a sample into work, the Lab did a test for me. I knew it was bloody strong, they checked it and it was 7.3%! My brother-in-law Jerry worked in the Lab and he was coming round on the Friday night to drink it along with Valda’s brother. We had a dinner party and I set a handpull up in the kitchen. Sean said this is beautiful, how strong is it? I’d already primed Jerry before to not tell him it was 7.3%, I said it was 4.6%. We had three pints then served the soup out and his head went into it, he came round when we were serving pudding! Another day we’d had a barbeque and Jerry got in the taxi without his shoes as he’d had too many.”

As his interest and expertise increased, Stuart spotted some stainless-steel pipes at the brewery that nobody wanted.

“One of the Engineers cut it down for me, welded a bottom and put an element in so I’d got a boiler. I’d do a full mash in that, run off into a plastic bucket, clear all the mash out then pour it back in and do my boil, then add the hops. That would make a 36 pint pin, I did that for a long long time and that’s where I was when Julie had the first one in the Roebuck.”

TIME TO RETIRE?

In 2010 Stuart took early retirement from his job in the Filtration Department and decided there was only one place to have his send off.

“The Roebuck was the flagship for the brewery, so I’d spent a lot of time in there over the years,” laughs Stuart.

“You used to be able to spend your Beer Tokens in there,” adds Valda.

“I went in the Roebuck and spoke to Julie and said I want to have my leaving do in here, I’ll put some money behind the bar and I’d like to put a pin of beer on. She said yes! Valda did a pumpclip and it was called ‘One For The Lads’.”

“You asked would it be okay and can I bring some beer in? I said I’d put it through the handpull; it went down a storm,” says Julie. “Everyone just loved it, even the locals tried it.”

“I was a bit apprehensive of how it was going to go down,” confesses Stuart. “I knew it was a nice drink but I didn’t know how nice at that time. Julie said if you ever go commercial I’ll be the first to have it off you and she did, she hasn’t missed in ten years, apart from Lockdown obviously. She’s either had one or two a week.”

When Julie Latham took over the tenancy of The Roebuck in 2007 it was a troubled pub. Since 2000 it had spent as much time closed for business as it had open.

“The only regular customers were the Bower brothers,” says Julie, the Bower family having been the Ind Coope signwriters. “They’d turn up every weekend and if it was closed they’d carry on round the corner to the Devonshire. Consequently, they were our hardest nut to crack as they were used to seeing tenants come and go. It was consistency that got us going and the introduction of various real ales. Stuart’s beer became more and more popular.”

“Julie has been great to me, she’s made it happen and I’ve told her many many times,” says an eternally grateful Stuart. “She said ‘Stuart this pub wouldn’t be the same without your beer in it, there are lots of people coming in asking for Reservoir or GBA and if it isn’t on they walk out.’”

‘One For The Lads’ would later be renamed Reservoir Premium, but the recipe remains unchanged to the present day.

AT A PREMIUM

It’s a little known fact that it nearly wasn’t Gates Burton Brewery at all: “We pondered calling it Reservoir Brewery as we are on Reservoir Road.”

“Over the years when I was first brewing I made beers that I never really named, but once I got the flavour of the Reservoir I thought I’m not changing that, same with the Damn. Reservoir was originally called Reservoir Premium because it is a premium ale at 4.6%. I thought Reservoir would be a catchier name. I looked at Carling which used to be Carling Black Label and I thought well it worked for them …”

“We wanted to redesign the pump clips with a ribbon on and we had too much wording, it didn’t work,” observes Valda, so the Premium was dropped.

“People would go in to pubs and say have you got any Reservoir Premium? The current pump clip does however say Fine Premium Ale underneath Reservoir.”

The first pint of Gates Reservoir Premium sold in the Roebuck in June 2011, Julie even remembers the customer: “It was Phil Hutchinson, he sadly passed away three years ago.”

ANOTHER BEER OR TWO?

Stuart needed to build up a portfolio so Reservoir Premium was quickly joined by two more beers in late 2011. The first was Damn which according to the tasting notes is a “smooth drinking Ruby Ale with chocolate malt tones and delicately hopped with a subtle sweet finish.”

“When the nights get dark people ask for the Damn, it’s more of a ruby beer and it always sold well in the winter time.”

“I’ve been your biggest seller of Damn,” says Julie. “It’s always gone well here as it’s 5.0% and my core customers don’t like weaker beers. If I have something 3.8% I end up throwing most of it away.”

The second new beer was Reservoir Gold, again from the tasting notes “full bodied, amber in colour, finely balanced with roast barley and gently hopped. Sweet finish. Deceitfully smooth.”

“I started brewing this in December 2011, it’s a different recipe to the Reservoir, a high sugar content is needed to produce an alcohol of 7.5%. I brew it annually.”

“There was one bloke who used to love the Gold, so he’d mix it with either the GBA or the Reservoir to make it a bit less potent,” reckons Julie. “We had the Gold on one Christmas lunch time and another guy came in and had three pints, he didn’t get up until Boxing Day. He completely missed his Christmas dinner, it bowled him over!”

WE’RE GOING TO NEED A BIGGER BREWERY

Business began to take off thanks mostly to Julie’s recommendations and before long Stuart was selling to other local pubs.

“I was supplying the Waterloo, then one or two others kicked in and I thought I can do this, that was the trigger really,” then something surprising happened that gave Stuart the confidence he needed. “There was a guy in the Black Horse that wanted to meet me as he’d seen the way my beer sold. He said money’s no issue with me, you build a brewery and I’ll pay for it. He didn’t care what it cost as it was worth investing in my beer. I came back home; would I take him up on it? No, I wouldn’t know where to begin, I’d still got my pin maker!”

As it was, Stuart had already got his eye on some old Dosing Tanks in the Blending Room back at Molson Coors and this would-be benefactor gave him the self-belief to invest in his business.

“They held a barrel and had been ripped out as they were having a new Blending Line. They were dumping them so I went to the Engineering Manager and said could I buy them? I paid £50 each. I bought three and made a fermenter, a mash tun and a copper. I could now brew two and a half firkins.”

The new brewery was built inside Stuart and Valda’s garage, although if the word garage conjures up images of a place of cobwebs and old newspapers, Gates Burton Brewery couldn’t be further from this.

“I had the roof changed, the joists covered up, it was all done clinically and a different floor put down. As soon as it kicked off and got busier I invested in another new three barrel brewery, so we converted it again six years ago; had the roof completely off put on a new pitched roof so it looks the part and I had to have a cold room as I’d nowhere to store twelve firkins at a time.”

BURTON’S BEST KEPT SECRET?

One fact that might surprise you is that in ten years Stuart has never won a CAMRA award for his beer, this is understandably a sore point particularly as both he and Valda are loyal CAMRA members. What particularly irks him is that other beers with additives and flavourings get credited instead. Stuart thinks that these types of beer reduce the skill of the brewer as they disguise off flavours.

Another view point is that this lack of official recognition adds to the romance and legend of Gates Burton Brewery; you won’t find the beer outside a ten mile radius of Burton, it’s never been in a Wetherspoon’s and commercial bottling is also a none starter, although he has packaged a limited amount of Reservoir Gold in the past. Gates Burton Brewery is a true regional beer, a local secret as one Beer blogger discovered in 2013.

“There was a guy called The Beer Trotter that had come from London; he started at the Burton Bridge and he gave a story about each pub, ending up in the Roebuck where the Reservoir was on. He described it as ‘surprisingly well made, with a lovely fruit character balancing a nice malt sweetness making it more interesting than many regular bitters I’ve tasted over the years.’ This sort of thing makes you think you can do this; it gives you confidence.”

WHY DON’T YOU CALL IT GATES BURTON ALE?

2016 saw the introduction of Stuart’s fourth and up until now last addition to his beer range; GBA or Gates Burton Ale.

“Draught Burton Ale was my favourite drink and I used to try and replicate it as a Home Brewer. In the brewery it was well known what hops went into DBA, so I just played with the recipe. I used to have friends round who drank DBA and they’d say that’s not bad, well they never left any. I think I’ve got it spot on and a lot of people say it’s like the original.

“We used to go into the Roebuck on a Friday or a Saturday and drink the Reservoir or the Damn. Julie had what turned out to be the last ever cask of DBA, which was being brewed by J.W. Lees of Manchester at the time. I’d tried it but I didn’t drink it as it wasn’t the same as the original. When Julie told me they were finishing it completely she said why don’t you do it? I said I can’t even though I’d already got the recipe, I’d need a license to do it and I didn’t know how to go about it.

“There’s another guy who goes in the Roebuck who said why don’t you call it GBA or Gates Burton Ale instead? For the next month or so, every time I went into the pub they’d say why don’t you brew it? One night we came home late, we’d had a few, Valda found J.W. Lee’s email address and we put together an email that night between us. I told them that I know it sounds daft as we’re only a three barrel brewery but could I have the rights to brew DBA, because if it is going to die I’d like to keep it going. I said I can’t brew much but if I can have the recipe I could supply the Roebuck. There wasn’t places that had the DBA anymore, I think there was the Cross Keys at Tutbury too. I explained that the Roebuck is across the road from the brewery and it was their flagship pub. I said I wouldn’t pay for the recipe as it wouldn’t be worth it.

“This marketing guy emailed back, he said I’m sorry Mr. Gates, I love where you are coming from but I can’t do anything about it as we brew it for Carlsberg under license, so it’s them you need to talk to and he gave me the address of this guy at Carlsberg, so we emailed him. I mean a three barrel brewery emailing Carlsberg?” Stuart laughs at the audacity of this, but Carlsberg sent a reply. “He was nice and said we have got to have Board Meetings about the DBA as we don’t know what to do with it yet, but you are right it is a very underestimated drink. He said he’d be in touch if anything happened but he never did.

“In the meantime the Burton Mail heard the rumour that I was going to brew DBA, they rang me up and asked if I was doing it? I said I’m not, I’ve just been in touch with Carlsberg to see if I can.”

Then the story took an unexpected turn: “Lo and behold two weeks later Burton Bridge brought their version out, I couldn’t believe it! There was a big CAMRA thing about it and I thought blooming hell I feel really bad, my heart sank. They had it in the Roebuck but it didn’t sell very well, so Julie said the Bridge have done it so why can’t you? I thought blow it and that’s what I did. The old guys who drank DBA liked mine, although it’s not as powerful in the hop as the original because you’ve got the dry hop and the longer it stands in the cask the stronger the flavour. I knocked them down a bit so it’s a smoother drink but you still get the hop flavour.”

DEMAND OUTSTRIPS SUPPLY

Currently Stuart regularly supplies the following: Roebuck Inn, Devonshire Arms, Waterloo Inn, The Brewery Tap, Marston’s Club, Brews of the World and The Last Heretic in Burton, Cask & Pottle at Tutbury, Black Lion at Blackfordby, Spread Eagle at Etwall, Mickleover Sports Club, Golden Cup at Yoxall, Stretton Club, Rolleston Club and the Dog and Partridge at Marchington.

“Demand is definitely outstripping supply; three quarters of my customers are regulars. Now they don’t just want one, they want three firkins at once and it’s hard to keep up really.

“I can’t see me getting many more customers as these are all local, that is unless I start delivering miles out of town. I can’t really expand more than this, I always said I’d only drive a ten mile radius. I get calls from Stoke and Stone but by the time you’ve driven there and back there’s not much money to be made on a firkin so it’s not worth it.”

Equipment wise the current set up is as follows: “I have just one fermenter, I could ramp it up and brew 24 firkins a week if I had another but I’d have to employ somebody. I brew as much as I can; it’s a lot of beer when you put it into pints, it’s about 43,000 a year. I’d have to knock the garage down and start again or move to a new unit,” something that Stuart appears to have no enthusiasm for.

The brewery is sited on a quiet side street in the Shobnall area, a stone’s throw from Marston’s. Fortunately his neighbours are very supportive about living next to a brewery: “Next door will say when are you brewing, I love the smell! They have a barbeque each year and I’ll take a pin round. If anyone did complain about the smell I’d say it’s not me, it’s coming from Marstons! The only tricky thing is the malt delivery, they send great big lorries sometimes and you never know when they are coming. I’m considerate too, I try to be quiet when I’m cleaning my casks.”

“I sell my beers at a reasonable price, I haven’t put mine up for ten years and the malt has got more expensive, I don’t spend £10 on a bag I pay £25 for mine; Warminster, it’s the best you can buy, it’s a floor malt. Obviously you need your knowledge and your passion, but what you put in is what you get out. Hops are from Charles Faram, they are the finest. I use tap water and Burtonise it and I add Calcium Chloride to bring out the flavour of the hops.”

As for the yeast, Stuart isn’t forthcoming with this information; every man has his secrets. He does however have one very important tip for would-be brewer.

“If you write your recipes down you can repeat them. Initially I didn’t do this as I thought I’d remember. You want consistency in a beer and that’s what the customers want too. They don’t want to walk in to the pub and ask what’s it like this week? It might be nice, it might not be.”

MEANWHILE BACK IN THE ‘BUCK …

When asked about his proudest moment, Stuart has a good answer.

“One night we went in the Roebuck and the Reservoir was in the middle of the two beers I was trying to compete with, Bass and Pedigree, and I thought I can’t believe I’ve done that and to top it all the firkin sold out in two hours.”

Julie remembers it slightly differently: “Wasn’t it the Damn that sold in two hours?”

Stuart is then asked to pose for a few photographs, he is obviously uncomfortable with this so to distract him he is asked what does he look for in a beer?

“I like a traditional full-bodied ale, a nice balance of hop and malt, it’s got to be bright and have a good tight head and nice lacing,” he then takes a mouthful of GBA and holds the glass up to the light doing an unconscious quality check, which it passes.

“It’s not just been selling it and getting your beer out there, through this I’ve met some nice people. I’d like to thank all the Landlords and Landladies, friends and family. Burton people have been fabulous supporting me and they still are. Like that bloke who set up the Facebook appreciation group Keith B. Large, I’ve never met him but when I do the beers are on me!”

“I don’t think Stuart really believes how good his beer is,” comments Julie. “I’ve never known anybody care so much, he treats his beer like a baby, he sets his alarm to get up in the night to it if he needs to.”

“Yes,” agrees Stuart. “I’ll get up at 2am to check the Present Gravity.”

“If we wanted to go on holiday, it’d be ‘… but I’ve got a brew going!’” laughs Valda. “We went somewhere for three nights, it was cheaper to go for four but he wanted to get home to brew.”

“It’s a labour of love, especially in the early days but even now you worry, making sure it’s okay don’t you,” Julie adds.

“You have to,” nods Stuart. “If you want a quality product …”

Stuart has taken his business as far as he can, with minimal advertising, no support from CAMRA and without a tied house, although the Roebuck is his unofficial Brewery Tap. His success has hinged on the consistent quality of his beers, friendly customer service and most importantly personal recommendation. His beers are universally cherished by Burton cask beer drinkers, an accolade that far outweighs any award that he could win.

“Just think soon you’ll be able to go in nearly every pub in Burton and have a Gates pub crawl, that’s remarkable!” he says with a big grin. “It makes me proud to be the most popular Burton brewed guest ale in the town.”

www.gatesburtonbrewery.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/groups/376582829425370/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/376582829425370/

Beeropolis

“I must be,” laughs Ash Ayling at the suggestion that he was crazy to have planned opening Burton’s newest pub Beeropolis during a pandemic.

Beeropolis will be Ash’s second venture after Bodell’s in Swadlincote and like Bodell’s this is in partnership with Pete Spittles from The Last Heretic. The pair took the lease of what was The Fuggle & Nugget on High Street in Burton upon Trent back in October 2020.

“We’ve completely refurbished the venue from the Fuggle & Nugget,” explains Ash. “I felt it was important to have a bar as a focal point, as during normal times its is the first place you walk up to in the pub. We’ve also removed the high seating to hopefully provide a more warmer and cosy feel.”

The pub decor is a celebration of Burton’s brewing history, with mirrors, labels and old pictures adorning the walls. The name is taken from a 1902 play on the word Metropolis which saw Burton described as “one vast brewery … a very City of Beer – Beeropolis.”

The pub promises to have a different approach to The Last Heretic.

“There will be more of a focus on craft keg than purely cask ale,” says Ash. “We’ve got twelve keg lines and a huge fridge full of some unusual cans: Amundsen, Brew York, Neon Raptor, Staggeringly Good and some other great craft breweries around the UK.”

For those with a more traditional taste don’t worry there’s plenty of Real Ale to be drunk.

“We have four handpulls, however expect to have around three Real Ales on at one time. If there’s sufficient demand, there will be four all the time; in Bodell’s we opened with eight cask lines, but sadly there doesn’t seem to sufficient demand to sustain them in Swadlincote. I hope the drinkers of Burton can prove otherwise,” laughs Ash. If there’s one thing Burton drinkers like, it’s a beer drinking challenge, especially against Swad!

Beeropolis opens to the general public this Thursday at 4pm although there is a soft opening for CAMRA members on Wednesday.

“Unfortunately due to the ongoing restrictions we’re limited with what we can do with regards a Grand Opening however we hope to have plenty of great and unusual beers to entice people down on our opening weekend.”

OPENING HOURS
Wed & Thu 1600-2200
Fri & Sat 1500-2230
Sun 1300-1900

https://www.facebook.com/BeeropolisBurton/

‘Sup Up

So you went to the pub last night and were asked to leave at 09:59pm, only to have the cold air hit your bladder and you had to beg to be let in again to use the toilet! Joking aside, what is the new 10pm Curfew all about, what are the Government trying to achieve and what will it do to local pubs?

“To be honest, I’ve been closing at 10pm the past few Fridays due to lack of trade,” admits Pete Spittles from The Last Heretic. “All in all I think it had to be done by the Government so as to keep the R number down.”

Richard Muir from The Weighbridge Inn isn’t so sure: “I really can’t understand what the 10pm Curfew is going to achieve? I have seen no evidence to show pubs are a big cause of the increase in cases. From what I have seen it is Care Homes and education settings that are the major contributors to this; what extra restrictions are in place there?”

“I believe our industry is being unfairly targeted,” agrees Mandy Addis from The Coopers Tavern. “Are they going to allow all takeaway shops to remain open after the 10pm curfew? You only need to walk down any street with one in to see people congregating without social distancing! Surely a 10pm Curfew will only encourage house parties?”

Carl Stout from the Devonshire Arms is worried about the impact on pub culture in general: “In the short term any restrictions will have a significant effect. Regular pub goers are creatures of habit and we have a lot of customers who enjoy a beer later in the evening, we just hope they will decide to visit the pub earlier in the evening. In the long term I worry that people will give up on pubs and some customers will not return even when we have a vaccine.”

“I also understand that the Government have to do something,” observes Lee Betts from the Derby Inn, “whatever that may be, it will always be wrong.”

“We were running on reduced hours anyway so hopefully the effect on trade should be minimal,” says Richard, something that is echoed by Lee, Pete and Mandy. “Having to enforce the rules won’t be fun but we will ensure we keep our pub as a safe and friendly environment as we always do.”

One thing is for certain, pubs need your custom and support as we enter what will be a long hard winter, just make sure that you’ve gone for a piss in good time before they ask you to leave.

Tamworth Town Beer Festival

Are Beer Festivals a thing of the past, well at least for the foreseeable future? With current restrictions a traditional event is out of the question obviously, even The Great British Beer Festival has gone virtual, however there is a Beer Festival happening in Tamworth starting this Thursday and running to Sunday, albeit with a twist.

The King’s Ditch

One of the organisers of the Tamworth Town Beer Festival is Adam Randall who has been part of CAMRA for around 25 years. Adam is the Membership Secretary and magazine editor of the Lichfield, Sutton and Tamworth Branch; so a dedicated and long serving member of the campaign.

“Replace is a strong word, but essentially yes,” muses Adam on the purpose of this event. “We were keen to keep our normal festival in people’s minds even though we can’t do it and provide the usual extra footfall for the town’s pubs; the normal CAMRA festival draws in a lot of visitors and the pubs have a busy weekend. a win-win, if you will.”

The lead pubs are the Kings Ditch, the Sir Robert Peel and Tamworth Tap.

“We have approached others but really they’re struggling to do much meaningful; they’ve yet to properly bounce back post lockdown. The lead three always were the strongest contenders in town for both choice and quality and that really has helped them bounce back. Over the weekend there will be 40+ ales, 40+ ciders, though the ales won’t or can’t all be on at once.”

The Tamworth Tap

Although the CAMRA logo is on the poster, this is not an official CAMRA event, however it is endorsed by the local branch.

“This is about giving something back to the pubs who in normal years are significant financial supporters of the CAMRA festival with generous sponsorship and supply of ales,” observes Adam. “Truth be told, we didn’t even think of consulting CAMRA HQ, there’s no financial involvement by the branch.”

Unlike the months and months of work needed to organise a big beer festival, the whole event has come together at a remarkable speed.

“We had the conversations with the pubs about five weeks in advance of the event. It’s so quick because all of the usual infrastructure issues disappear such as venue, equipment, staffing, setup etc.”

Sir Robert Peel

To keep costs at a minimum, festival t-shirts, commemorative glasses and official programmes will not be available.

“Honest answer is, we never really thought about it,” admits Adam regarding the programme. “As we’re not in control of beer ordering or when they go on, it’s a minefield of likely inaccuracy and disappointment, quite apart from cost. We will look at what online info we can provide.”

As for glasses and t-shirts: “Nah! It would involve us getting too deeply embedded in the event. The idea was really just to provide publicity and then let the pubs largely get on with it! If it became on ongoing event then there’d be the motivation to do more, but it really is intended just as a stopgap.”

The local publicans were unsurprisingly very receptive to the idea.

“If we had to twist their arms then we’d maybe have just abandoned it, no point in pressing others to take risks they’re not happy with. We have a strong relationship with them and they’re always supportive, but also because of the normal footfall issue as above, it should work for them in terms of pound notes! The key thing was knowing that the places were already strong on COVID measures, this won’t turn into a glorified reputation destroying rave and all are recommending or requiring booking.”

Promotion has also been kept very simple.

“Other than a small number of posters displayed locally, it has been almost entirely by social media and surrounding branches. We’re also strong on regular communication with our 1300+ branch members, so they’ll get a couple of emails on it.

“Primarily it’s been such a breeze, I’d say it’s important not to twist arms, and also manage expectations. Should an event be a damp squib, it’s important that the pubs went into it with open eyes i.e. won’t blame CAMRA!”

Such an event has naturally attracted a few negative opinions.

“We’ve had a few critics, people who think we shouldn’t be doing this in a time of COVID but otherwise we’ve had a really good response. We’re happy that the pubs have the measures in place to provide a safe but enjoyable environment, and we’re pleased to be helping both pubs and pub-goers edge back to normality.”

If you can, head over to Tamworth and support the event; The King’s Ditch have eight ales, 20 ciders and three perries, the Tamworth Tap twenty ales including a Welsh selection and twenty ciders and The Sir Robert Peel 15 ales including pub favourites and some from Yorkshire as well as six ciders. Booking is strongly advised for all three pubs, contact details are on the poster.

21 things AB-InBev don’t want you to know about Draught Bass

In 2000, Belgium’s Interbrew (now Anheuser-Busch InBev or AB-InBev) purchased the brewing side of Bass; this was to be a short-lived acquisition as in 2002, following a ruling from the UK Government’s Competition Commission, they sold the brewery and the brands Carling and Worthington to Coors (now Molson Coors Brewing Company), however they were allowed to retain the rights to the Bass name.

Since 2005, Draught Bass has been contract brewed in Burton upon Trent by Marston’s and what a bloody fine job they make of it too, but that it where Marston’s role ends. The distribution and promotion of the Draught Bass brand is under the control of AB-InBev.

Back when it was a National Brand in the 1980’s, Draught Bass was served in 9,000 pubs, nowadays it is a permanent fixture in just over 500 (see thewickingman’s comprehensive list at https://thewickingman.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/bass-august-2020-2.pdf) Do not assume that a lack of outlets equates to a drop in quality, Draught Bass is still held in the highest regard by aficionados. There is The Honourable Order of Bass Drinkers, an organisation that predates CAMRA, who still make their annual pilgrimage to Burton upon Trent and then there was an aborted attempt at an independently run National Bass Day earlier this year. Those that drink Bass have a genuine love for the beer, myself included and like me many others are wondering what the hell AB-InBev are playing at?

When was the last time you saw an advertisement for Draught Bass or a bar towel / promotional item in a pub that hadn’t been sourced from eBay or found in the back of a cupboard? Why isn’t Draught Bass being pushed as a brand? These topics have been debated on Social Media and in pubs on thewickingman’s list.

Following a consultation with Bass enthusiasts on Facebook and Twitter I drew up a list of 21 interesting questions and I contacted AB-InBev to see if I could find someone willing to answer them. They agreed to take a look and I told them they be written up as an article on this blog. I was hopeful of an interesting reply, although I was expecting them to side step answers to the more contentious questions near the end:

  1. Will Draught Bass be affected by the Marston’s / Carlsberg merger?
  2. Why do Marston’s brew Draught Bass?
  3. Do AB-InBev have access to the recipe books held at the National Brewery Centre and are there any plans to make other beers from Bass’ history, for example Bass No.1?
  4. When was the decision made to brew American Bass with syrups and how long has this been the practice?
  5. Why is Bass sold in ten gallon firkins instead of the traditional nine?
  6. Is the recipe the same as when it was brewed by Bass?
  7. Are there any plans for a Bass website? Bass.com redirects to anheuser-bush.com and when you click on brands, there is no mention of Bass!
  8. Has the Bass recipe changed since 1945 and when did they stop aging it in wood?
  9. Would AB-InBev be prepared to support pubs who stock Bass with more Point Of Sale, for example half pint glasses, beer towels, drip towels etc.
  10. Will the Bass brand be applied to contemporary craft products to create a range of Bass craft beers?
  11. In November 2018 AB-InBev announced that they were reintroducing Bass Pale Ale to the UK in 355ml bottles, did this actually happen?
  12. Is Draught Bass available in Oak Casks?
  13. How is Draught Bass brewed?
  14. Why does Draught Bass and bottle Bass taste different to each other?
  15. What was the iconic Bass signature changed on the new labels?
  16. Will Bass ever be available bottle conditioned?
  17. What are the plans for the future of the brand?
  18. Why are there no adverts for Bass? Do AB-InBev have any interest in promoting the brand?
  19. Has there been any consideration given to Draught Bass becoming either a profitable national brand or an even more revered niche product, with a marketing budget / policy to back this up?
  20. Are there any plans to increase the distribution of Draught Bass?
  21. Is the Bass brand up for sale and, if so, what is the price?

After I’d heard nothing for a week or so, I emailed again only to be told that at the moment they are not able to take part in the interview, with a promise to get in touch before 2021’s National Bass Day.

This was an ideal opportunity for them to speak directly to Bass drinkers but sorry, they couldn’t be bothered; how bitterly disappointing and underwhelming!

I considered making this paragraph a rant about how they really couldn’t give a toss about Draught Bass and no doubt Beer Writer Pete Brown would have done just that, but I didn’t see the point because if you have ever wondered what AB-InBev really really think about Draught Bass, you have your answer; silence.

Great stuff eh?

The £750 Bottle Of Ale

A bottle of Allsopp’s Arctic Ale dating from 1875 was auctioned in Exeter last week and despite an estimated selling price of between £300-500, it went for an astounding £750! The purchaser was Jamie Allsopp who is the Great Great Great Great Great Grandson of Samuel Allsopp.

“This is a very special bottle for me as it is a physical link to the heyday of my family’s old brewery Samuel Allsopp and Sons,” said Jamie. “Bottles come up for sale very rarely.”

The full bottle has an attractive lead seal depicting the company’s trademark Red Hand and an inscription “Brewed for the Arctic Expedition 1875.” Other examples can have a blue and white label attached.

Allsopp’s Arctic Ale has a fascinating history; in 1851 the Lords of the Admiralty invited all the great brewers to submit an ale to accompany Admiral Sir Edward Belcher’s 1852 mission to rescue Sir John Franklin, who had been lost whilst charting the Northwest Passage. Samuel Allsopp and Sons won the prestigious commission and Belcher set sail with 540 gallons of Arctic Ale. Two further brews were provided for Sir Leopold McLintock in 1857 and Sir George Nares in 1875. The beer was the strongest ever brewed by Allsopp’s and was so viscous it had to be lifted out of the mashtun using buckets as it would not flow via the usual tap.

The 1875 brew was sampled by Brewing Historian Alfred Barnard in 1888, who noted that the beer had a large amount of unfermentable sugar, making it also a valuable foodstuff. The beer was around 9% alcohol by volume with an Original Gravity of 1126o and was designed to withstand the extremes of the Arctic, remaining liquid even at temperatures of -41oC.

Versions of Arctic Ale would continue to be brewed until modern times; in 1897 it was advertised at seven shilling per dozen pint bottles and records show it was produced by Ind Coope & Allsopp in 1937. By 1956 the name had changed to Arctic Barley Wine, it “Keeps out the cold” according to the advertisement. In the 1970’s it became known as Triple A, with the three A’s signifying Allsopp’s Arctic Ale.

The story doesn’t end there though, in 2007 a bottle of the 1852 brewing sold on eBay for $503,000. Although the winning bid was later found to be a hoax, a brewer from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania called Chris Bowen became obsessed with Arctic Ale, even going as far to brew his own version in the Arctic Circle; he made a film called Arctic Alchemy about his story. Chris came to Burton ten years ago and opened a bottle of the 1875 Arctic Ale for a public tasting session.

Jamie Allsopp recalls another such uncorking: “My Father remembers tasting it with his Father when a few bottles had been discovered at Hindlip Hall, the old Allsopp family home,” Jamie however has no plans to open his new prized possession. “My Father said it was quite disgusting!”

www.nbcarchives.co.uk

Clicking this link https://www.nbcarchives.co.uk/ will take you on an adventure, a journey back into the past of Britain’s Brewing History …

Now I have a very personal connection with the archive held at the National Brewery Centre; as a fledgling historian in 2012 I had started researching what would later become the book “Ind Coope & Samuel Allsopp Breweries: The History of the Hand”, when I became aware that the historical documents once held in the basement of 107 Station Street (a.k.a. Allsopp’s New Brewery or B Block) had been moved by the Brewery History Society to what was still known as the Bass Museum in 2002 (the full story is here http://www.breweryhistory.com/journal/archive/112/bh-112-049.html). To do any justice to my subject I just had to gain access to this vast wealth of information! After about a year of emails and crossed fingers I was invited to meet the Collections Office Vanessa Winstone who introduced me to this Holy Grail of brewing history.

The physical archive sits behind a number of locked doors in a temperature controlled environment and consists of boxes, files and books stacked neatly onto row after row of shelving; only a lucky few got to see this and I felt honoured to be allowed inside. Over the next few years I worked my way through the Ind Coope and Samuel Allsopp archive, I’d like to say in a methodical way, but the truth is it was anything but. The catalogue was a ring bound notepad written in pencil by the hand of Dr Ray Andersen of the Brewery History Society. Each visit I had an idea of what I’d like to read next but invariably I found myself easily distracted and went off on tangents and down rabbit holes.

One day in summer 2014 Vanessa told me that a publishing company has been in touch, they were looking for a book about brewing in Burton upon Trent and she had mentioned my ongoing project to them.  Within a few weeks I had signed a contract to deliver a 50,000 words book. It was a tight deadline; I was also getting married around the same time but everything was finished two weeks after coming back off honeymoon.

I owe so much to that collection of documents, not to put too fine a point on it, it changed my life. It enabled me to develop what was a casual interest into an obsession. I learned that somewhere in the archive there lay my book; I just had to find all the parts and put them together. The same still applies as I’d like to think there is at least another book of mine hidden away in there and if I can do it, so can you. Anyone reading this who has ever aspired to be a brewery historian, be this for a school project, a specific article to a fully-fledged book may well find that the archive holds the answers and from today things are about to become a lot easier to locate.

The archive covers 250 years of Brewing History, albeit very centred on Burton upon Trent, and weighs in at around half a million items. Until now navigating it has relied upon notebooks and various other typed catalogues, not to mention Vanessa Winstone’s encyclopaedic knowledge of the whereabouts of a certain item. Two years ago a project began to produce a digital catalogue and this is what launches today. At a cost of £50,000, it was funded by generous grants from the likes of the Consolidated Charity of Burton on Trent, Staffordshire Community Foundation, the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and the Brewers’ Research Education Fund, additional funds were raised from corporate and individual donors as well as via a crowdfunding campaign. The archive system was designed and built by Shrewsbury-based digital heritage consultants Orangeleaf Systems, whose other projects include The Parliamentary Archives and the Royal Mail Archives.

Dr Harry White, the Chairman of the National Brewery Heritage Trust, who look after the archive had this to say: “Our aim is accessibility so we’re delighted that we’ve been able to start cataloguing our unique collection of brewing and pub heritage and opening on-line access for people to use for research, education and general interest.  We’ve started by digitising many of the more popular items in the collection, such as photos of historic pubs, breweries, brewing equipment, packaging & advertising, but this is a work in progress and more records and images will be added to the catalogue day by day.”

The Mystery of the 3P’s

There’s nothing like a good mystery; for the last few months there have been rumours flying around about a new local brewery called 3P’s Brewery. Originally the plan was to feature a few of the beers at the “Burton Beer Festival That Never Happened” and the anonymous brewer was going to make himself known to me, but of course COVID-19 intervened.

During Lockdown 3P’s “Amber Plum” and “Woodenbox Extra Special Bitter” were offered as takeouts from The Last Heretic in Burton and Bodell’s in Swadlincote, but the identity and location of 3P’s remained a closely guarded secret. Trying to find out anything was proving frustrating until last week when a Twitter account @3PSBrewery and website 3psbrewery.webador.co.uk suddenly appeared.

What does the Social Media presence tell us? The website states that they are located in Swadlincote, but the reference to Woodenbox may point to a more specific location somewhere in Woodville (Woodenbox being an old name for Woodville, often shortened to just ‘Box), if this is the case it heralds the return of commercial brewing to the area following Tollgate’s move to Calke Abbey in 2012.

Although better known for other industries particularly Coal Mining, Pottery and Pipeworks, Swad and ‘Box has a proud brewing history that stretches back to 1832 when Brunt & Bucknell founded their business at The Hartshorne Brewery on Woodville High Street, they brewed here until 1919. Another premises known as Wooden Box Brewery had a number of owners over the years: Joseph Thompson, Ball & Co. William Henry Ball & Sons, Thomas & Thomas William Thompson, T. Betteridge & Sons, T.W. Thompson & Co. before being bought by Thomas Salt of Burton in 1910, who were was later swallowed up by Bass, Ratcliff & Gretton in 1927. Not forgetting the wonderful Tollgate of course.

The 3P’s refer to the local Pits, Pots and Pipes and the are a small Nanobrewery with a fermentation capacity of 400 litres (about ten Firkins). It is the passion of an enthusiastic Home Brewer and his beers maintain the traditions of cask ale, but with a twist. All the beers are Vegan friendly as they use a vegetable based fining agent and only the finest natural ingredients are used.

So far 3P’s have produced the following:

Wooden Box Extra Special Bitter (5.5%)
Amber Plum (4.1%)
Vienna Pale (4.7%)
Coconut Cascade IPA (6.6%)
Pot Kiln Pale Ale (5.2%)
Liquorice Stout (5.5%)
Oatmeal Stout (5.5%)
and the newest brew Mild (3.8%).

Apart from that your guess is as good as mine, it seems for the moment at least 3P’s Brewery are content to let the beer do the talking.

Promising Signs at The Devvie

Going to the pub has changed: you can’t prop up the bar, move the furniture, stand up or wander around. It’s all about dedicated entry and exit doors, washing your hands and there’s hazard tape everywhere! Thankfully drink and social interaction are still in good supply.

Many people thought (myself included) that the public would be only too happy to return to the pubs on 4 July, but this hasn’t been the case for many places. Pubs are now not just places for a pint, they have to feel safe and give off an air of reassurance to instill a confidence in drinkers that the nastiest thing they are likely to pick up is a thick head the following morning.

Take Burton & South Derbyshire CAMRA’s Pub Of The Year The Devonshire Arms as a prime example. As you walk in the side door you are greeted with Hand Sanitiser (Tasting Notes: slightly runny, alcohol on the nose, very pale, negligible hop aroma) and a friendly smile from Landlord Carl Stout, he shows you to your table and asks what you’d like to drink? Bass, it has to be of course. It is delivered to the table by Barmaid Liz.

“The fear was that the pub wouldn’t be sustainable moving forward,” confesses Carl when asked what was worrying him most about reopening. “You’ve got to be able to make a profit to operate.”

Carl was cautious about reopening, waiting until a few days after 4 July.

“Some pubs were very busy and some were disappointed in the trade on 4 July,” he observes. “For us we’d been closed for just over 100 days and we didn’t feel quite ready. In my experience you’d never go into a new opening on a Saturday. Things were totally new to us and to the customers and we didn’t want to get off to a bad start; we had an awful lot to lose and not much to gain. Okay we were down a Saturday’s takings but it pales into insignificance with how much trade we’ve lost. I didn’t want to damage our reputation for one chaotic weekend.”

The Roebuck and The Coopers Tavern adopted the same approach, both are now open and this is good news for all of the surrounding businesses.

“We’ve got the Station Street community with the Roebuck, The Coopers, The Last Heretic and the Balti Restaurants and it works very well, we all bounce off each other.” That was pre-Lockdown of course; Carl has noticed a change in drinking habits. “Once customers are settled and they are reassured and feel secure in that premises, they seem comfortable to sit there all night.”

“It’s been a big learning curve for us because the way we operate in the pub is totally different than before, it’s very European although we are missing the weather they get in the South of France! That’d make a huge difference.” Carl laughs, we are sat in the newly refurbished Beer Garden, coats are on but it is pleasantly sheltered. “We’ve got five tables here; we also have the option to take over part of the Car Park too with six or seven tables. We want to get the service levels right and when the weather is okay we will give it a go, that’ll give us more flexibility with capacity as we are limited to fourteen tables inside.”

“The footprint of the pub itself is licensed, the Car Park isn’t but providing we take the transactions on the licensed premises then we can serve drinks in there. The government should be encouraging pubs to spill out into Market Squares, like they’ve done in Prague,” reckons Carl, a few days after our chat the sun is out and Car Park is filled with tables and chairs.

The drop in trade has necessitated a few changes to the number of beers being served.

“We’ve slightly reduced our range because the turnover isn’t quite there yet, we can justify having five beers on and we can sell them within three days but if we have to reduce it down to four to maintain the quality then we will. I’ve not got a dark beer on now, we only used to sell it in pins anyway. I didn’t want to take one of my five off for a dark, so I’ve gone for a bottle of Porter or Bramble Stout as a compromise. It’s striking a balance between getting the quality right and the range right.”

Carl’s best seller is Bass, after a national drought it is back on the bar to the relief of his regulars.

“I’ve used the same supplier for years, they tried to order 160 tubs of Bass and couldn’t get any!” Carl exclaims. “I think with the bigger brewers there has been an issue with the Supply Chain. We got hold of some Bass last week but I decided not to put it on, we kept it in the cellar for five or six days, I’m not one for rushing it, it’s all about the quality.”

I can vouch for that, a cracking pint as always.

“There is plenty in the cellar and the more we sell the better it will be. My regular supplier had no Bass for two weeks but some pubs in town had it on, I was scratching my head how they’d got it and then I got a tip off about a supplier in Derbyshire and before you know it we’ve three Nines of Bass on the way.”

Like many pubs you can book a table at The Devvie, and this is advised at busy times, but the rest of the week Carl is happy to accommodate you on an ad-hoc basis.

“We don’t want to disappoint people who turn up on a Saturday, as we may have to turn them away. There were a couple of times in the first days of trading where we came close to that, but as a general rule during the week we will adopt a walk-in approach.”

It is still early days and Carl is the first to admit that he and the staff are learning as they go along, but he remains optimistic.

“We’ve adopted a cautious approach to capacity, following all the Government guidelines, all of our tables are a metre apart, in some cases more, we have the Sanitiser Stations, cleaning as we go … but the important thing is giving people confidence that it is nice and safe and that they feel comfortable.”

I’m certainly happy sat here, can I have another Bass please? I could get used to this table service …