During her 42 years in the licensed trade, including eight at The Coopers Tavern, Mandy Addis has called last orders more times than she could ever count. But on this final Saturday as Landlady, she’s doing it differently; quietly, with purpose, and in her own inimitable style. “It’s time,” she says simply, her voice carrying […]
Pub of the Year … Again: Inside The Devvie’s Award-Winning Streak
It’s early Saturday evening and Burton Albion have just beaten Mansfield Town at the Pirelli. The sunshine is pouring over the beer garden at The Devonshire Arms, where I’m soaking up the atmosphere and waiting for landlady Nicki Stout to finish cooking my dinner on the BBQ Shack. My wife returns from the bar, navigating […]
Serious Bassiness?
Over the past decade, I’ve crossed paths with the Honourable Order of Bass Drinkers more times than I can count, usually during their annual pilgrimage to Burton. Like clockwork, I’d spot them around eight on a Sunday evening, a gallon of Bass already under their belts, living up to the “drinkers” part of their name […]
What You Having?
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 […]
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 […]
Dog Days Are Over
Popular local publicans Craig and Loz Pearce have left The Dog, which they had run since 2021 and moved over the water to The Elms on Stapenhill Road. As we sit in the bay window peering through the trees onto the Washlands, it’s easy to see the attraction of the move. “We had thought about […]
Up The Junction
It may be mid-January, traditionally the month where the licenced trade struggles but this hasn’t stopped people heading out to The Junction in Stretton. The pub first opened in 2018 and recently changed hands last November. “My locals tell me that they are seeing so many new faces in here,” confirms Fraser Chatburn who runs […]
Safeguarding Our Heritage – An Update
There has been a lot of building work on the old National Brewery Centre (NBC) site in the last six months, until recently it was hidden by a tall wooden fence, but this came down recently and the nearly finished Molson Coors Brewing Company (MCBC) offices are now visible. It’s doubtful that anyone needs a […]
All That Glitters Is Gold
Last year the new people behind Burton Bridge Brewery launched the first in a of a series of beers based on the legendary Stairway To Heaven recipe called Stairway To Simcoe. Each is a variation on the original brew and is accompanied by a striking reinterpretation of the pump clip. “Stairway To Heaven is a […]
Owd Rodger & Out
When Carlsberg issued a Press Release in November detailing the cessation of a number of beers including Banks Mild, Old Thumper and two Marston’s beers, Old Empire and 61 Deep, but there was one glaring omission: Marston’s Owd Rodger. When did this legendary Burton brew become so inconsequential that it’s demise didn’t even warrant a […]