This Saturday, for one day only, The Devvie on Station Street, Burton upon Trent is holding its first Beer Festival since it was taken over by Carl and Nicki Stout earlier this year. The theme is as brilliant as it is simple, “A Showcase of Burton Beers.”
The idea appeared to Landlord Carl in a flash of inspiration: “It just came out of nowhere! My initial thought was to have a Geordie Beer Festival, with all beers from the North East, which is close to my heart. Then I thought we’ve got several breweries on the doorstep and it gives something back to the town. I don’t believe it has ever been done before, due to conflicts of interest; if it was a Bass pub they wouldn’t serve Marston’s etc. … but as a Free House we can put on what we like.”
Expect beers from all the Burton brewers: Marston’s, Burton Bridge, Heritage, Burton Town, Tower and Gates. Carl hasn’t decided on his starting line up will be but it is likely to be: Bridge Bitter, either Golden Delicious or 61 Deep, St. Modwen’s, Tower Imperial, Gates Burton Ale, Reservoir Gold, Burton Town Modwena and Bass.
“All the beer is in the cellar, all resting, all ready to go,” Carl says before further explaining the logistics of such an event. “You’ve got to get the beer in early; there’s no point getting it Wednesday and serving it Saturday, the majority have been down there for ten days. All the beers are hard-pegged and in prime condition, so by Saturday they should be absolutely tip top. It’s all about the preparation and managing your cellar.”
All of the beer will be on hand-pull, even the Reservoir Gold: “There’s a lot of people looking forward to that one so I imagine it’s not going to be hanging around long. If I was a betting man I’d say Gates’ will be one of the first to go, Stuart’s beer is such that when you put one down, you want another one, it has drinkablility and that’s good for the Brewer and the Landlord.”
“A Showcase of Burton Beers” is being used to gauge the level of interest for the return of the Beer & Sausage Festival that was a fixture at Carl and Nikki’s last pub The Bridge; the date has not been set, but expect it to be late September.
“They were hugely popular at the Bridge but this is a different pub, we may not have the same volumes, we may have more! At the Bridge we had 36 beers over a two and a half day event and that’s not including what we sold in the pub; that’s a tremendous amount of beer and it is a huge financial commitment,” Carl admits. “We were lucky enough to sell out nine times out of ten. Even though it’s the same model, it’s new premises and logistically things are different and we haven’t got the central yard.”
Saturday will also feature music and food, with Dave O’Hara playing an acoustic set at around six o’clock, but the festival is really all about the beer and offers the chance to compare and contrast what Burton has to offer.
“It will create interest as some people think Bass is not as good as Pedigree or Burton Town isn’t as good as the Tower … it’ll give people an opportunity to go through the card, so to speak, to try them like for like and make up their minds what they like best.”
The Devvie is a pub proud of being traditional: “Some of these modern beers haven’t got drinkability as they’ve got such complex flavours it baffles you. I am very traditional in the beers that I like and the majority of people who come in here like a traditional pint. This is a busy pub, we sell a lot of beer, we are surrounded by pubs who sell a lot of beer, so there’s a market out there for it. We are trying to get the best beers in, keep the quality good and sell an awful lot of it. The more you sell, the better it is, the better it is the more you sell because of the turnover. It’s not rocket science but there’s a lot of people who get it wrong.
“A Showcase of Burton Beers” runs from midday on Saturday 6 July and provides a unique opportunity to sample the best of Burton all under one roof. Do not miss this one!
Links
The Devonshire Arms
/www.facebook.com/devonshirearmsburton/
@devvieburton
Burton Bridge Brewery
@Bridge_Brewer
Burton Town Brewery
Burton.town
@BurtonTownBrew
Gates Brewery
https://www.facebook.com/groups/376582829425370/
www.gatesburtonbrewery.co.uk
Heritage Brewing Company
www.heritagebrewingcompany.co.uk
@Heritagebrew
Marston’s Brewery
@MarstonsBrewery
Tower Brewery
www.towerbrewery.co.uk