Month: April 2023

There’s been something special about Burton upon Trent and beer that stretches back centuries and if the present climate is seeing breweries closing, Burton is showing signs of bucking that trend with certainly two and possibly three companies either actively searching for premises in or planning to move to the town in the near future. When picking Burton as a base, it’s not just a case of “opening a brewery”, they are choosing to add another page to the town’s unique history that has seen over 100 commercial endeavours in the last 300 odd years.

One of these hopefuls is G3 Brewery who launched their first beer at Brews of the World last weekend, it is the passion of Daryl Hollier.

“I was born in Burton Hospital and I’m still here!” says the proud Burtonian. “As far back as I can remember I’ve known Burton is a brewing town, I’ve always been very interested in the town’s heritage. Up until now I have only ever been a passionate homebrewer.”

This changed when Daryl bumped into an old friend George, fittingly in Brews of the World, and they got talking: “We both use to be drummers of local bands in Burton. George is the owner and brewer at Bluntrock in Padstow, and we spoke about my brewery plans and decided to do a collab for my first beer. I went down to Bluntrock for the brew day with George and six weeks later here we are launching G3 with an event at Brews of the World, along with a Bluntrock tap takeover and live music from local band Dirty Bomb.”

The first G3 beer is Spacetime and is described as a 5.6% New Zealand hazy craft beer but with one big difference, it is Gluten Free.

“Around ten years ago I started to develop Gluten Intolerance, which was a bummer as I’m a beer enthusiast,” confesses Daryl. Finding there was very little choice for Craft Beer he has decided to make it his mission to change that. ”I’d usually have to settle for a cider when drinking out although things have improved recently and you’re starting to see more Gluten Free beers around. Even still statistics show that only one third of pubs offer Gluten Free beer and they’re usually lagers.”

With millions of people on the UK alone living with Gluten Intolerance, it is an important issue, particularly for those who are undiagnosed.

“With intolerances it’s usually a quantity thing, I can usually get away with one normal beer without getting too many symptoms, these can vary from person to person: some minor, like bloating, indigestion, and fatigue but can also be more severe, similar to food poisoning!”

The brewing process for Gluten Free beers has improved in recent years, as Daryl explains: “It was nearly always brewed with grain alternatives, like sorghum syrup. In recent years, it has become possible to brew using the standard all-grain methods but strip the gluten out of the beer at the end of the process. This has drastically improved Gluten Free beers, making them almost indistinguishable.”

Spacetime has been brewed with all the grain you would get in a standard beer and then had the gluten removed during the brewing process. 

“It isn’t easy to find good Gluten Free craft beer. I plan on changing this by bringing hoppy and hazy Gluten Free craft beer to the market with no compromises on taste and quality.”

Anyone who drank Spacetime at Brews of the World would have been hard pressed to differentiate it from the other Hazy IPA Craft Beers on sale, so mission accomplished!

G3 will continue as a Cuckoo brewery for the time being, but there are plans to find a permanent home: “For the next beer I’m looking at either a Pale Ale or a West Coast IPA, I’m starting with collaborations and contracting, but the goal is to open my own brewery in Burton when the time is right.”

Spacetime is available in keg and you can buy cans from the web site www.g3brewery.com

The National Brewery Heritage Trust has appointed Laura Waters as Collections Officer to help them oversee the protection and preservation of the archives and artefacts which make up the National Brewery Collection, based in Burton upon Trent.

Laura has decades of experience at museums and heritage sites across the UK, including Buxton Museum and Art Gallery and the National Trust. Her immediate priorities will be overseeing the relocation of the collection, and working with East Staffordshire Borough Council (ESBC) and other stakeholders as together they shape the future vision for the National Brewery Collection. 

As part of the role, which is being funded by Molson Coors, Laura will support a team of volunteers currently working to catalogue and carefully pack all the archives before they are moved to their temporary new home, on Station Street in Burton. 

The volunteers include amateur archivists and engineers from the local area, many of whom have years of experience in maintaining historic artefacts, vehicles and brewery equipment, alongside employee volunteers from Molson Coors. 

The painstaking process of creating a comprehensive inventory of all the documents and exhibits held within the Collection has uncovered some rare items of historical interest, including volumes of journals documenting experimental brews, a photo archive including hundreds of images of Charrington & Co. pubs and a video archive of Carling TV ads.

Laura Waters said “I’m excited to be joining the National Brewery Heritage Trust at such an important time. As well as the vital work of relocating the Collection and securing its future, I’ll be working with the volunteers to ensure everything continues to be safe and well maintained. I’ll also be ensuring that the archives are accessible to the public, initially online, but then very much in person when they’re safely relocated into their temporary home in Station Street.”

Harry White, Chair of the National Brewery Heritage Trust, said: “Our charity exists to protect and preserve our unique brewing heritage. We are currently working hard on securing the future of the archives and artefacts which together make up the National Brewery Collection. We are delighted to welcome Laura to the team. She brings a level of professionalism and expertise that will be hugely valuable in the months and years ahead as we ensure the collection remains intact, in Burton and accessible to the public.”

The Trust is ensuring that the archives and artefacts are moved in line with relevant national standards.  Once packed, the items will be stored in a temporary centre being created by ESBC in Station Street, before moving to the proposed new Heritage Centre in High Street, Burton. The collection is being moved to enable the current building to be converted into a new Head Office site for Molson Coors, while its current office site is redeveloped as part of ESBC’s plans for Burton town centre.

Phil Whitehead, Managing Director for Western Europe at Molson Coors said: “We are pleased to be able to support the continued great and important work of volunteers.  We look forward to working with Laura and the National Brewery Heritage Trust and ESBC to help create a great new home for the archives and artefacts, one which celebrates our industry and which visitors from across the UK will be able to enjoy.”

The annual quest to find The Best Bass in Burton was held over the Easter weekend, with The Devonshire Arms and The Roebuck Inn being joint winners, The Constitutional Club were runners up. Last year’s event was also very close with The Roebuck Inn narrowly beating The Devonshire Arms, so it seems fitting that this time that the honours were shared.

Organiser Ian Webster was not at all surprised at the result: “Personally I couldn’t decide between The Devonshire Arms, The Roebuck Inn or The Constitutional Club! All three served what I thought was an amazing pint, true perfection in a glass. This shows not only the excellent standard of the beer, which is brewed by Carlsberg Marston’s, but also the passion and skill that goes into cellaring and serving.”

“I was convinced it’d be between The Constitutional Club and The Devonshire Arms, so I’m more flabbergasted than last time,” says Julie Latham, landlady of The Roebuck Inn. “Retaining the title means more than winning in 2022 and I’m really pleased to be able to share it with The Devonshire Arms. I’d like to thank everyone who voted for us and to congratulate The Devonshire Arms.”

“Julie, Martin and their staff at The Roebuck Inn keep a great pint of Bass,” observes Carl Stout of The Devonshire Arms, who are also Burton & South Derbyshire CAMRA Pub of the Year. “We knew that if we could match their quality, we’d be in with a chance of competing for top spot. We’d like to thank everyone that’s voted for us in The Best Bass in Burton competition. Throughout the town there’s some great Bass served and to finish joint top is a great honour. Bass is a great British institution, and it’s quite right that it should be celebrated throughout the country on National Bass Day. Thanks also to Ian Webster for organising the competition, cheers!”

Ian would like to thank all the volunteer judges who took the time to go around each of the finalists: “It was reassuring to see a wide range of scores being submitted, this truly reflected the differences in drinkers’ tastes. Bass has been part of the identity of Burton for nearly 250 years and it is heart-warming to see so many places giving Draught Bass the love and attention that it richly deserves. I may be biased but I think it is the greatest traditional British beer available and I am proud as a Burtonian to say that the standard is incredibly high in its hometown. 

Congratulations to Carl, Nicki, Julie, Martin and their staff; you have done yourselves, Bass and Burton proud.

The competition for The Best Bass in Burton returns for a second year on 7th and 8th April. The inaugural event was won by the Roebuck Inn.

“At the Roebuck Inn we put a lot of effort into making sure our beers are in the best possible condition, but I was shocked when I found out we had won The Best Bass in Burton last year. I was speechless in fact and thought Ian Webster was joking!” Laughs Julie Latham, landlady of the Roebuck Inn.

Organiser Ian Webster: “It was so close last year, there was only a few points between the Roebuck and second place the Devonshire Arms. This year the competition is being held over two days, there was a lot of feedback that the Judges wanted longer to enjoy the Bass so this time it runs over Good Friday and Saturday, the Saturday is of course National Bass Day.”

Following a Facebook poll that ran for the whole of March, the following venues made it to the final and will have their Bass scored by a group of independent volunteer Judges: Blacksmith’s Arms, The Burton Constitutional Club, Coopers Tavern, Devonshire Arms, The Gate, Roebuck Inn, Uxbridge Arms and Waterloo.

“Last year I appealed for Bass lovers to volunteer as judges and the response was overwhelming with nearly 40 drinkers committing to sample the Bass in each venue,” says Ian. “Taking part couldn’t be easier, no specialist beer tasting knowledge is required, just the ability to recognise fantastic Bass. There is no need to pre-register, just turn up at one of the eight venues on either 7th or 8th April (or both) and ask for an information pack; Judges will be given a Scoring Sheet and a list of instructions or you can download them from the following link The Best Bass in Burton Judges Information – THE BEERTONIAN”

Trevor and Alison Mellor went judging last year and had this to say.

Trevor: “It fantastic to still see Bass being served in the Burton area on draught, as well as straight from the cask. This gave me a great chance to try Bass in numerous pubs in the area not just the ones I normally drink in and choose the best Bass on that day. It’s a great day out, you also meet other people and chat about beers in general.”

Alison: “A great opportunity to meet people in pubs I don’t usually go to and see how popular a Burton classic is.”

Taking part couldn’t be simpler; go on a pub crawl and sign in behind the bar at every venue, drink the Bass and give it a score. Judges will of course have to pay for their beer, The Best Bass in Burton and National Bass Day is all about supporting Bass pubs after all.

“Although this is designed to be a bit of fun, there’s a fair bit of friendly rivalry between the pubs and I’m sure all of them would like to win,” observes Ian. “There’s no prize for first place, but the kudos of selling the best Bass in its hometown will undoubtably bring in new customers for the successful venue. There are three new contenders this year, I really wouldn’t want to predict who will win.”

“There are a lot of other pubs in Burton who also serve amazing Bass so the competition will be close,” thinks Julie Latham. “Would the Roebuck Inn like to win it again? Of course, but it would also be nice for another pub to take the accolade.”

May the best Bass win!