New Draught Burton Ale aims to be 'close to original'

Bruce Wilkinson and Geoff Mumford, both directors of Burton Bridge Brewery, were involved with the original DBA at the Ind Coope Brewery.

They have agreed with Burton CAMRA to produce a trial brew for the upcoming Burton Beer Festival, which begins on 26 March.

The pair have stated their brew will be, “as close to the original” as they can get, including dry hopping with Styrion hops.

The plan is to brew the 4.8% ABV beer for the festival and then through April, with a view to producing it as an occasional beer if the reaction is positive.

“As a dry hopped beer, we will be looking for pubs with a high turnover of beer, as ideally it should be sold within 4 days of tapping. Quality will deteriorate if it remains on the stillage any longer,” said Steve Harris of the brewery.

While the beer is set to be as similar to the original DBA as possible, the branding bears little similarity.

The Publican’s Morning Advertiser understands it would be difficult, if not impossible, to trademark the name Draught Burton Ale, as it is a style of beer.

Carlsberg UK has declined to comment on the development.

It is however pursuing its own avenues to try and bring the beer back into production.

“We are exploring all options for Ind Coope Draught Burton Ale and as such are in discussions with various groups,” Bruce Ray, corporate affairs director told the Publican’s Morning Advertiser.

“These discussions are positive and intended to secure the future of the brand, and we look forward to making a further announcement in due course.”