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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 this year and I’ve been pouring over the list picking out those I really want to try.

As this is the 50th anniversary of the Burton & South Derbyshire branch, three local breweries have produced special commemorative beers. I have covered ‘L’ Of A Beer from Burton Bridge Brewery in depth here, 3P’s from Woodville have brewed 50 Celebration which I am particularly looking forward to and then there is Tollgate’s Burton Five-0, a 5.0% premium bitter, their beers rarely disappoint,

There’s a proper Royal beer here too, Tower Brewery was recently visited by HRH King Charles III, who honoured the longstanding tradition of Burton Royal Ales that stretches back to 1902 with Bass King’s Ale. I know nothing about Ale To The King other than it is a 5.6% premium bitter. I believe it was served at Tower Brewery last Friday but this is the first time it is available to the wider public.

We have a first for the festival, with Burton’s newest brewery Outwoods (located under the Station Bridge, near the Roebuck Inn) supplying three firkins. Not only is this their festival debut, their beer has never been available outside of their brewery tap The Arches before! Golden Harvest, Platform No.3 and the delightfully named Fimbulvetr are all pints of history in the making.

Burton Bridge Brewery’s No Half Measures is being launched here on Thursday. This 4.5% Ruby Ale was a collaboration with Nottingham’s No Half Measures Collective and was brewed on International Women’s Day, it will also be available at Beer Debunked at the Canalhouse in Nottingham on Saturday.

There are a few interesting heritage beers: True North from Sheffield have brought Stones Bitter back to life, this beer was everywhere in the 1980s and I’ve only drank it from the striking orange can before. The Burton Bridge Brewery bar has Czar’s P2 which is based on the classic Bass P2 Stout and it has been conditioning in cask since last autumn. A little more recent and not a really heritage beer, but certainly one that seemed to be lost forever is Fownd‘s King Korvak’s Saga, this was a once staple at the Olde Royal Oak when owned by Fowne’s Brewery (note the different spellings) who went under a few years back, it is a might porter.

Sarah Hughes Champion Winter Beer of Britain 2024 winner Snowflake, makes a welcome return. It sold out quickly last year leaving many drinkers disappointed. At 8.0% it is as delicious as it is dangerous.

Carlsberg have provided a firkin of Martson’s Pedigree Reserve, a 5.0% version of their classic Burton bitter. Do I have high hopes for this? No, but will I be sampling it? Obviously, if only out of curiosity. There’s also Marston’s Old Empire, one of the beers that was discontinued recently, I’ve always enjoyed this IPA and this could well be my last chance. I wrote about the retiring of another Marston’s classic here.

Other beers on my list are Thornbridge Burton Union brewed 1838, Golden Duck’s Tinners Tipple and Nosey Parker, Gates Reservoir Gold which is always a treat, Blue Monkey’s 5.0% Cinder Toffee stout which I am told tastes just like it sounds and last but not least the two craft keg offerings from Burton’s other new brewery G3 Hazy Waves and West Side which are Gluten Free and full of flavour.

I’m be interested in what you are looking to drink and why. No doubt there will be a number of surprises to be found. The Cellar Team have been hard at work since Monday and the beer to be in excellent condition.

Enjoy the festival, I certainly will.

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 at 12:00. To mark the occasion, what better than a special beer, brewed by none other than Burton Bridge Brewery, who have been supplying the festival since 1982? Burton Bridge also have a long history of producing celebratory beers for the branch, the first being Festival Ale initially produced in 1983 and fittingly on sale again this year.

‘L’ Of A Beer pumpclip

“We have been talking to Emma and Al at Burton Bridge for some months about an anniversary ale,” explains CAMRA’s Dr Gary Lock. “We looked at historically brewed Burton Ales, different beer styles and settled on a full-bodied full-flavoured Extra Special Bitter. We felt this was a fitting and appropriate beer to celebrate the 50-year milestone.”

Last month the Head Brewer at Burton Bridge Al Wall oversaw the brewing of ‘L’ Of A Beer with help from Gary, the L referencing the Roman numeral for 50.

Head Brewer Al Wall in action

“It was an early start at 06:30 but it was great to be at a commercial brewery for a day and see the anniversary ale on its brew day,” observes Gary, who is a keen home brewer. “I was doing my best not to get in the way and to not distract them, but I was there from the start and was invited to support with emptying the sacks of fresh hops towards the end of the brew.

“I have placed a personal order for a pin as I expect it to be a cracker and well worth the wait. I look forward to inviting some friends over to help me drink it and enjoy a nice full-bodied full-flavoured 5% ESB. It will hopefully be a pint to be enjoyed and savoured.”

Emma Cole from Burton Bridge Brewery explains: “‘L’ Of A Beer is a special collaboration brew that pays tribute to the rich brewing heritage of Burton upon Trent and to those who campaign for its successful continuation!”

Brewer Jon Williams adding hops

“Crafted with a deep respect for traditional Extra Strong Bitters, ‘L’ Of A Beer showcases a dark, rich mahogany hue and a perfectly balanced malt-hop profile,” enlightens Al. “We’ve combined rye, barley, and a carefully selected hop bill to create a beer that is both bold and complex. Expect caramel and toffee notes, a touch of spicy rye, and a firm yet refined earthy hop bitterness.”

The Burton & South Derbyshire Beer Festival will have over 140 beers to choose from, a third have been sourced locally. There will also a vast array of real ciders and perries.

“It is important that the local breweries and Burton’s rich brewery history take centre stage with the anniversary,” reckons Gary. “We are showcasing the local breweries at the beer festival and there are a number of events through the anniversary year to support and promote the local pubs and cask ales in the region. The anniversary ale is a fitting part of our celebrations and wish to thank Burton Bridge for making it happen.”

‘L’ Of A Beer will be available at the Burton Bridge Brewery bar at the festival, along with Top Dog Stout, Stairway To Heaven, Stairway To Citra, Festival Ale, Brewers Gold, Masseys Golden Bitter, Masterpiece, Czar’s P2 and No Half Measures.

Burton Bridge Brewery festival bar

“We are really excited to have our own bar at the festival,” says a passionate Emma. “This is also the first time we have had our own proper bar at any festival since we took over a year ago. With ten beers, we are showcasing a mix of new beers and old favourites, we hope everyone will enjoy them as much as we love creating them. The new bar that we built encapsulates Burton Bridge to its core; following on from the ethos of reusing and repurposing that Geoff and Bruce demonstrated, we made it out of pallets that our malt arrives on. Building it was a collaborative effort between everyone in our lovely team and we plan to reuse it after the festival during the summer months in our pub beer garden.

“Many thanks to CAMRA’s Dr Gary Lock who at the last minute saved the day by loaning us four extra beer engines when the ones we had didn’t work! Also, a big thanks to Colorscan, and in particular Steve Webster, who sorted all the artwork and our big pump clips that adorn the front of the bar. This all goes to show what a great beer community we have here in Burton.”

‘L’ Of A Beer will no doubt prove very popular and it will also be on sale at Burton Bridge Inn from Thursday, after that in bottle and other pubs in the free trade. What are the odds that it is the first beer to sell out at the festival?

Malt
Golden Promise 84.7%
Caramalt 7.7%
T50 Crystal malt 3.9%
CaraRye malt 2.5%
Chocolate Malt 1.2%

Hops
Bitterness 2.45g/l Target
Boil end hops 4.9/l Goldings (this was very scientific, as that made exactly 10kg, so no need to weigh out any quantities of hops, just use entire boxes!)

Fermentation
O.G. 1.050 and A.B.V. of 5%
Strike water temperature 76°C, mash temperature of 67.5°C, as it was decided that the beer required more body than some of other Burton Bridge beers
Collected at 22°C and fermented at 23°C with Burton Brewery yeast strain
Dropped to 18°C for one day post fermentation for a Diacetyl rest, then down to 8°C for packing into cask