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.
“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.
“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!”
“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.
“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?
For all the homebrewers among you, Al has kindly shared the recipe.
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
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