There’s a genuine mystery in Burton… how is Stapenhill Institute Club still flying under the radar? Tucked away on Main Street for well over a century, this striking 1888 building is a product of Burton’s brewing golden age, yet somehow, plenty of locals still walk past without ever stepping inside. “I don’t know,” admits Club […]
The Coppersmiths Inn
The Coppersmiths Inn is a reimagining of The Weighbridge Inn, which quietly closed its doors back in January, but you’d barely recognise it now. Under new management and with a thoughtful renovation, the space has been opened up, trading old familiarity for a brighter, more inviting feel. Step inside and, if landlord Chilo is to […]
The Alfred
Burton Ale Trail veterans might remember The Alfred from its brief appearance on the third trail back in September 2022, a fleeting cameo before the lights went out and the doors closed. The timing raised eyebrows, though I’m assured the two events weren’t linked. Either way, it felt like a pub with more to give. […]
Burton Tennis & Squash Club
A proper hidden gem in every sense, I must have driven past it hundreds of times without the faintest idea it was there. Tucked away almost opposite the Waterloo Inn on Ashby Road, the Burton Tennis & Squash Club reveals itself only to those curious enough to look twice and it’s all the better for […]
The Waterloo Inn
The first new addition to the Burton Ale Trail for 2026 makes a bold statement. Perched on Ashby Road, The Waterloo Inn stands as part of this year’s expansion across the River Trent and it’s a pub determined not just to join the Trail, but to make its mark on it. I caught up with […]
Time Capsule at The Coopers Tavern
Walking over the threshold of The Coopers Tavern in Burton upon Trent is, in many ways, like stepping back in time. With no televisions, no jukebox, and very little to distract from conversation and good beer, it remains a proper Victorian pub with a deep, almost stubborn connection to Burton’s brewing past. And talking of […]
From Weighbridge to Coppersmiths: Burton pub reopens with new owners
Following the announcement that they would be shutting for a period of refurbishment at the turn of the year, the sudden closure of the Weighbridge Inn in mid-January still came as a surprise to many regulars. The award-winning pub had been part of the Muirhouse stable since 2019, run by Mandy and Richard Muir, and […]
A Tale of Three Labels
On New Year’s Day 1876, a lone and anonymous brewery employee secures the first registered trademarks in Britain; Bass, Ratcliff & Gretton’s three iconic beer labels, after a night spent waiting in the cold. My name, should you trouble yourself to ask, is of no importance whatsoever, and will never be engraved upon marble, entered […]
The Red Hand is close
History books and old maps are invaluable things, when you need to get the facts straight before doing something permanent like naming a street Red Hand Close in reference to the Red Hand trademark of brewer Burton Samuel Allsopp & Sons Ltd. “Red Hand Close, as part of Trent & Dove’s Tyldesley Court development, was […]
Arctic Ale in the Polar Night
Take a bottle of beer on holiday and capture the moment. Easy, right? Well, not when the bottle in question is 150 years old, covered in dust, and carrying the ghost of a failed polar expedition. This isn’t just any bottle. It is Allsopp’s Arctic Ale, brewed in 1874 for Sir George Nares’ 1875 ill-fated […]