It can’t be just me thinking that it’s been a bloody long time since the first week of September. In a matter of weeks we’ve lost two Burton Ale Trail venues out of fifteen, but should we be worried for the future of the BAT, I think not.
The fate of The Alfred Ale House has probably been coming for a while, whilst The Brewery Tap was a real bolt from the blue, but I don’t foresee any of the remaining thirteen in imminent danger and that is in part thanks to your continuing support; I’m not saying the BAT is all that is keeping some pubs open but it certainly makes for an amazing weekend of trade every six months and it has led to a number of you becoming returning customers between the BATs. Every pint helps!
Historically pubs come and pubs go; for an extreme example you need only look at the list from 1914 at the end of this post for all the unfamiliar names, this is without those that came and went in the last 108 years and a few glaring omissions, but two in a month? That could well be unprecedented.
The Brewery Tap and The Alfred Ale House are closing for different reasons, the first either a shortsighted decision from an uncaring multinational or the fault of the local council (delete as applicable, I choose the former) and The Alfred Ale House, well we can only but speculate but my guess is it is for similar reasons that did for the much missed Derby Inn, however one thing is certain with another period of difficult trading ahead this winter the pubs need you as much as ever.
The original idea for the BAT was for a one off post Lockdown shot in the arm for the local licensed trade but it outgrew this almost immediately with cries for a second event before the first had even started. With the fourth BAT in the planning stage, like it or love it it’s not going away. I’m not sure how long something has to exist to become an institution but we will keep doing this until we find out.
You’ll note that between events the Facebook group ticks over advertising gigs, tap takeovers and other such beery events and that’s because unlike your traditional here-one-weekend-gone-the-next beer festival, the pubs are open all year and rather than being staffed by volunteers, the people serving you do it for a living and are very grateful for your custom.
I’ve started to notice a few articles and social media posts where the phrase “… like they are doing in Burton upon Trent” or similar is being used, so yes there are other people and towns watching what we are all creating here: a network, a community, something that will guarantee the survival of our pubs. Burton Ale Trailers you can be proud of yourselves!
So who is off for a pint later?
I suppose an early “ale trail” would have been the so-called “Horninglow Mile” which began at the “Gate” on Tutbury rd & finished at the Roebuck or the Queen’s or the Fox & Goose, depending on how far you could get whilst still able to stand ! Depending on which decade this trail was undertaken this could amount to a total of as many as twenty hostelries so on most occasions would not have been completed ! Anyone out there who managed it ?