No. 1 Horninglow Street

“No. 1 Horninglow Street” is the first in a series of one off brews from Burton upon Trent brewers Marston’s; fittingly it is an India Pale Ale, the beer synonymous with the town. Marston’s are the town’s oldest brewers, with a rich history that can be traced back to 1834, when founder John Marston bought a small brewery situated in the village of Horninglow.

Initial workup on the 7.4% IPA was done in the DE14 Nanobrewery and only when Head Brewer Pat McGinty was satisfied was it scaled up for the iconic main Brewhouse. Fermentation began in Squares and after two days it was transferred into a Burton Union for a further five days. Comprising of 24 interlinked 150 gallon oak barrels, the once ubiquitous Burton Union are now used only by Marston’s and preserve a vital link to the history of brewing and sit in the “Cathedral of Brewing” Union Room.

Normally the Burton Unions are reserved exclusively for Pedigree (every drop of cask Pedigree is Union fermented), so “No. 1 Horninglow Street” is certainly a very special beer. Low colour pale ale malts, late and dry hopped with four hop varieties (Goldings, Sovereign and Ernest from the UK and Cascade from the USA) this ale has a gentle honeyed aroma with hints of apricot and crisp citrus notes on the palate. The beer is bottle conditioned, so will continue to mature over time.

There will be 32,000 500ml bottles, all individually numbered and packaged in a special box. In an unusual move the beer will not be sold in Burton supermarkets, but if you can get to the nearest Waitrose in Lichfield then it is retailing at £4.50 a bottle.

As for the next beer in the series; how about a Russian Imperial Stout or a Barley Wine, perhaps even a recreation of a traditional Burton Ale?