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 […]
Last Orders at The Coopers
During her 42 years in the licensed trade, including eight at The Coopers Tavern, Mandy Addis has called last orders more times than she could ever count. But on this final Saturday as Landlady, she’s doing it differently; quietly, with purpose, and in her own inimitable style. “It’s time,” she says simply, her voice carrying […]
Pub of the Year … Again: Inside The Devvie’s Award-Winning Streak
It’s early Saturday evening and Burton Albion have just beaten Mansfield Town at the Pirelli. The sunshine is pouring over the beer garden at The Devonshire Arms, where I’m soaking up the atmosphere and waiting for landlady Nicki Stout to finish cooking my dinner on the BBQ Shack. My wife returns from the bar, navigating […]
Serious Bassiness?
Over the past decade, I’ve crossed paths with the Honourable Order of Bass Drinkers more times than I can count, usually during their annual pilgrimage to Burton. Like clockwork, I’d spot them around eight on a Sunday evening, a gallon of Bass already under their belts, living up to the “drinkers” part of their name […]
What You Having?
Organising the beer list for any festival takes a lot of effort, skill, imagination and sometimes some luck that the right beer is available at the right time. There needs to be variety in styles, so something for every palate and beers that are either rare or exclusive. The Beer Ordering Team have excelled themselves […]
All ‘L’ Breaks Loose
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Burton & South Derbyshire CAMRA branch and celebrations kicked off at The Leopard on 5th March, which was the location of the inaugural meeting in 1975. The commemorations are set to continue at the annual Beer Festival to be held at Burton Town Hall starting on Thursday […]
Dog Days Are Over
Popular local publicans Craig and Loz Pearce have left The Dog, which they had run since 2021 and moved over the water to The Elms on Stapenhill Road. As we sit in the bay window peering through the trees onto the Washlands, it’s easy to see the attraction of the move. “We had thought about […]
Up The Junction
It may be mid-January, traditionally the month where the licenced trade struggles but this hasn’t stopped people heading out to The Junction in Stretton. The pub first opened in 2018 and recently changed hands last November. “My locals tell me that they are seeing so many new faces in here,” confirms Fraser Chatburn who runs […]