Celebrating Burton’s brewing heritage

Burton was boiling on 8 October — not with rage but with passion for both beer and Britain’s brewing heritage. The Worthington Suite at the National Brewery Centre (NBC) was packed with an enthusiastic audience for the launch of the National Brewery Heritage Trust.

It has been set up to support the work of the NBC and to attract the widest possible audience to learn about the long history of brewing in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire.

The fact that brewers from many parts of the country had travelled long distances to attend the launch spoke volumes for the importance of the occasion.

They appreciate that Burton’s history is also their history. It was the innovations in Burton in the 19th century that enabled all British brewers to make the pale ales and bitters that are now part of our distinctive contribution to the world beer.

Vigorous campaign​

Burton’s key role in brewing — based upon the remarkable spring waters of the Trent Valley that are rich in natural sulphates — was brought to a wider audience in 1977 when the Bass Museum opened.

When Bass left brewing in 2000, ownership of the museum passed to Bass’s successor, Coors, now Molson Coors. A hammer blow fell in 2008 when Molson Coors announced it planned to close the museum. A vigorous campaign led by then Burton MP Janet Dean led to the museum re-opening in 2010 as the NBC, run by Planning Solutions but with financial support from Molson Coors.

The heritage trust has been set up to back the work of the NBC, which has an array of old brewing artefacts, interactive displays and its own in-house microbrewery named in honour of William Worthington. It supplies beers for the centre’s bar and restaurant and to a limited freetrade.

But the main aim of the trust will be to protect the Bass archives and make them available for inspection. At present this vast collection of books, ledgers, recipes, prints and photos is kept behind locked doors and getting access is similar to viewing the American gold reserves at Fort Knox.

Mesmerised​

A couple of years ago, when I was writing my book The Story of Brewing in Burton-upon-Trent​, I was given access to the archive and was mesmerised for days by the enormous amount of fascinating material held there. It is excellent news that, with the support of the trust, the archive’s collection will become more widely available and people will be able to discover the rich history of brewing in the town.

It’s a history that reaches back to the days when monks made beer at Burton Abbey.

Centuries later, Burton became famous for its nutty, brown Burton Ale, sold not only throughout Britain but exported to Europe and the Baltic. And then in the 19th century, using the new technologies of the industrial revolution, Burton became world famous as the home of India Pale Ale and pale ale.

These were beers that revolutionised brewing on a global scale and even inspired the first producers of golden lager in Europe.

Wider access to the archives means that people with an interest in brewing or who wish to carry out research will be able to study the material available. It’s an Aladdin’s cave and I urge all readers with a passion for beer to support the work of the trust: membership costs £25 a year and all proceeds will go to supporting the NBC. For further information go to the trust's website.​

Opportunities​

As the meeting ended I wandered across to William Worthington’s Brewery and found not only head brewer Stefano Cossi but Stuart Howe, renowned brewer at Sharp’s in Rock, Cornwall. Howe now has the impressive title of head of craft brewing & innovation at Molson Coors, which puts him in charge of operations at Sharp’s, Worthington’s and Franciscan Well in Cork, Ireland.

He now spends a lot of time in trains, planes and cars and is heavily involved in developments in Cork. Franciscan Well, when I visited it a year ago, was a large brew-pub, but it was bought by Molson Coors earlier this year; £1m has been invested in building a new brewery that will eventually have a capacity of 100,000 barrels a year.

Howe says there are enormous opportunities for craft beer in Ireland, which already has a couple of dozen breweries offering choice on an island dominated by Guinness and Murphy’s.

Sharp’s is also earmarked for further expansion. Doom Bar is now the biggest-selling cask beer in Britain and the Cornish brewery, which will produce 190,000 barrels this year, will grow to 250,000 in 2014.

Plans are more modest at Worthington’s tiny plant, but it will be integrated with the old White Shield brewery on site. Stefano Cossi, who studied food technology in Italy and then brewed with Thornbridge in Bakewell, Derbyshire, is planning to recreate many old Bass recipes.

I’m sure the heritage trust will be happy for him to delve into the archives.