The home of beer

I’ve arranged to meet Mike at 9:00 for breakfast. Which is a buffet.

What do I get? What do you think? Bacon, scrambled egg and mushrooms. Quite a lot of bacon. Why? Because it’s there. And you can’t go wrong with bacon.

There’s quite a good view from the breakfast room, as it’s on the top floor. To one side is the bus station, the other the city centre shops.

After breakfast I nip around the corner to the bus station where there’s a shop. In which I pick up some water for the hotel. And a little hotel whisky. I’ll be needing that later.

We meet Shane, who’s staying in a different hotel, at the station. And James, another AB Inbev person. Our train is at 11:10. And in ten minutes were pulling into Burton. Past what I recognise is the former Allsopps brewery.

As we’ve quite a while until our 13:00 appointment at Marstons, we wander into town, hoping to find a pub that’s open.

No luck. Even after noon. This is another worrying trend. No pubs seem to open before 14:00. Some not until 16:00. The lunchtime session seems moribund. Really annoying for me, as I love a lunch session. When it’s nice and quiet and you can sit in a corner reading a newspaper. While slowly slurping down a few pints. Now Wetherspoons is often the only option for midday  pints.

We get to Marstons a little early for our appointment. As there’s nothing else for us to do.

We’re greeted by Callum Turner, the surprisingly youthful head brewer. Who gets us kitted out in full protective gear: high-vis jacket, protective shoes, glasses and hat. All very proper.

Our tour starts in the brew house. An attractive (and listed) brick building, originally built for London brewer Mann, Crossman and Paulin.

First, we visit the room housing the old mash tuns. Massive, wooden-clad affairs with lids. They were still in use until surprisingly recently. In an adjoining room are their replacements. Two enclosed vessels built from shiny stainless steel.

Opposite are three similarly shiny coppers. Looking very similar to the mash tuns, save for the absence of grist cases.

I ask Callum: “Do you parti-gyle at all?”

“No, not since we stopped brewing Owd Roger. We used to parti-gyle that with Pedigree.”

“Owd Roger has been dropped?”

“Yes, a few years ago.”

That’s a shame. Owd Roger was a proper strong Old Ale, weighing in at around 8% ABV.

We walk the short distance to the fermentation room. Or hall of sadness, as it should be called. Where they’re currently dismantling the world’s last working union sets.

It’s a depressing sight. Especially as I never saw them in action. Which Mike did, the jammy bastard. I try to stifle my sobs as we survey the remnants of the sets. Will we ever see their like again?

According to Callum, one of the main reasons for using the union sets was yeast propagation. The yeast harvested from the sets being particularly healthy and active. They aren’t quite sure how they will replicate that.

The squares are up against the walls. Of a design I’ve never seen before. Totally enclosed and with a manhole. Though I don’t think it’s airtight and under pressure.

One square is being filled with Pedigree and they’re making sure to blend the right quantities of first and second wort to hit the target gravity.

We get ear plugs for the packaging department. Which is pretty noisy with all the bottles rattling around.

There is something hypnotic about cans or bottles shuffling around a filling line. But, other than that, there isn’t a great deal to see. Especially as they aren’t racking into casks at the moment.

Our final stop is the sampling room. The proper sampling room, with rows of casks along the floor. All firkins.

“What’s the largest cask size you use?” I ask Callum.

“Firkins. Other than Bass. That’s in 10-gallon casks.”

What? That’s a weird size.

We start with some Bass that’s been open for a few days. It’s dry and finishes satisfyingly bitter. And no trace of sulphur. Quite like the pint in the Smithfield. Moving on to a freshly-tapped Bass, the contrast is striking. It’s full of sulphur on the nose, not as dry and with less perceived bitterness.

I try a couple of the Marstons beers. Pedigree, which being quite fresh, is also quite sulphurous. But quite different from the Bass. I really like the Old Empire. A beer I’ve never encountered in cask form before.

Derek’s question is answered by the presence of Youngs Ordinary and Special. They’re brewed here in Burton.

As are Courage Best and Directors. A whole load of legacy brands has ended up here. My attention is drawn to the shelves of bottled beer.

“Do you brew Manns here?”

“Yes.”

I explain to the others that Manns was the original modern Brown Ale. And how the Brewers Association guidelines for English Brown Ale are way off the mark. Even on a basic characteristic as ABV. The guidelines say 4.2% to 6% ABV. While Manns, the classic example, is 2.8% ABV.

They ask Callum if they can try it. He goes to fetch a bottle. Which the others share. Its wateriness is quite a shock.

I give the Hobgoblin a try, not expecting much. And I’m not disappointed. I just don’t care for it. Never have. I’m not sure exactly why.

We spend quite some time in the cellar. Which has been very instructive. It’s time to go and drink some beer. In town.

We start at the Roebuck, a curved corner pub close to the station. Which we walked past earlier, when, frustratingly, it was closed.

The landlady is dead impressed by Mike’s Bass jacket. It is rather loverly. With an embroidered red triangle and the word “Bass”. Guess what we’re drinking? You’ll never get it. Bass!

It’s very good. The sulphur is almost all gone and there’s the dry bitterness that I liked in the older sample at the brewery. I can see why Bass still has a following. It’s excellent when looked after properly.

There are a fair few customers for 4 PM. But the customer profile is rather worrying, again. Most are 50 plus. This doesn’t bode well for the future of pubs. Maybe it’s just the time of day. And the young people all turn up later. That’s my hope.

We need to be moving on. Not far. To another pub that was closed at lunchtime: the Devonshire Arms. A former Ind Coope pub. That just happens to be selling Bass. Well, we are in Burton. Why not have a Bass?

The polished copper table tops reflect and enhance the deep amber colour of the Bass. It looks lovely, with its creamy collar and proud red triangle. It’s still a thing of wonder, a well-kept and pulled pint of Bass.

After a couple of pints, hunger, which has been lagging behind us all day, finally catches up with us. What about a curry?

There’s a curry house nearby and we decant there. For various starters and main courses. Not spicy enough for my taste. Do I like really spicy stuff now? I don’t think so.

The final Burton stop is the legendary Cooper’s Tavern. We have trouble getting in as a folk band is blocking the door. Not sure why they don’t just move a little further into the room.

The Bass is served by gravity here. Unfortunately, the cask is almost empty and the beer is pretty flat. Had we arrived a little later, we’d have had lovely, fresh Bass. What a shame.

We only stay for a couple. Before heading back to Derby.

“Fancy a pint in the White Horse?” Mike asks. It’s the pub opposite our hotel.

“Why not?”

It’s fairly full. Many middle-aged (or older) men, watching Derby playing. Though there are some younger drinkers as well Oh, look. They’ve got Bass.

The Bass is pretty good. Mike and I discuss football as we watch the game and sip our Bass. I mention Jim Baxter, who was sent off in the first football match I went to.

“You had to thump someone to get sent off back then. Which is what Jim Baxter did.”

We don’t make it too late. More travelling tomorrow.

On our way out, one of the old chavs comes up and says:

“I heard you talking about Jim Baxter. Great player.”

A tot of hotel whisky has me tooting away to sleep.




The Roebuck Inn
101 Station St,
Burton-on-Trent.
DE14 1BT.
https://www.roe-buck-inn.co.uk/


Devonshire Arms
86 Station St,
Burton-on-Trent,
DE14 1BT.


The Coopers Tavern
43 Cross St,
Burton-on-Trent,
DE14 1EG.


The White Horse
25 Morledge,
Derby,
DE1 2AW.


Disclosure: my travel and all expenses were paid by Goose Island.

Midlands Bitter in 1971

Surprisingly, averaging 14.1p per pint, this is one of the most expensive sets, only beaten by London. Though it does also have one of the highest average OGs and the second highest average ABV.

Some of the examples are very highly-attenuated at over 80%. Which must have left Draught E, and Banks and Marston's Bitter very dry. Forming quite a contrast with Kingpin Keg with only 67% attenuation.

Best value by quite a way was Marston’s Bitter. Though it looks to me like they’ve got the Pedigree and Bitter the wrong way around. According to the 1977 Good Beer guide, Pedigree was 1043º and Bitter 1037º.

The three worst value beers are all from Big Six brewers: Ansell and M & B. Springfield Bitter wasn’t brewed at Cape Hill in Birmingham, but at M & B’s other brewery in Wolverhampton. I drank a fair bit of it in the early 1970s. It was a lovely, light Bitter, far superior to Cape Hill brewed Brew XI. Obviously, they closed the brewery making the better beer.

Looking over the set, I drank quite a few of them. Ansell’s Bitter wasn’t great, either. Not a patch on their Mild. Pedigree was a farty delight. A classic Burton Pale Ale. I never realised that there had been a cask version of Worthington E. Pretty sure that was later rebadged as Worthington Best Bitter. 

Incidentally Worthington E is another beer with its roots as an IPA. E is, in fact, short for EIPA and was Worthington's flagship IPA in the 19th century.

Midlands Bitter in 1971
Brewer	Beer	Price per pint (p)	º gravity per p	% ABV per p	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation
Ansell	Kingpin Keg	14	2.43	0.21	1034	1011.1	2.96	67.35%
M & B Springfield	Springfield Bitter	13	2.88	0.27	1037.5	1010	3.57	73.33%
Ansell	Bitter	14	2.78	0.27	1038.9	1010.2	3.72	73.78%
Marston	Pedigree	13.5	2.67	0.28	1036.1	1007.1	3.77	80.33%
Worthington	E Keg	16	2.36	0.24	1037.8	1008.5	3.81	77.65%
Worthington	E Draught	15.5	2.37	0.26	1036.8	1006.4	3.95	82.61%
Banks	Bitter	14	2.87	0.31	1040.2	1006.6	4.38	83.58%
Marston	Bitter	12.5	3.38	0.37	1042.2	1007.1	4.57	83.18%
Average		14.1	2.72	0.28	1037.9	1008.4	3.84	77.73%
Source:
Sunday Mirror - Sunday 21 March 1971, page 25.

Horninglow Brewery, Burton-on-Trent

Yes, time for another dose of Barnard. This time he's visiting the brewery of Marston and Co. I think you may perhaps have heard of them.

It's not their current brewery. When they merged with John Thompson & Son in 1898, they moved to the Albion brewery. Presumably because that was larger.

"After this, we returned to the brewery yard to commence our inspection of the western side of the premises. In front of the brewhouse, in a conspicuous position over the archway, a handsome clock marks the time, not only for the employes, but serves as a monitor to the inhabitants of the vicinity. At the right of the building, a stone staircase, erected in a lofty circular tower, gives admittance to the various floors of the brewhouse, by which we ascended to reach the malt stores and malt receiving room. It is in the third floor of the left wing, and capable of holding 150 quarters of malt. The mill hopper rises from the centre of the floor and underneath it there is a screen for Gleaning the malt. Passing down a steep stair we came to the mill room containing the usual machinery and a pair of steel rollers capable of grinding twenty quarters per hour. The bruised malt falls therefrom on to an elevator by which it is conveyed to the grist hopper in the next building. As we passed along to the grist room we noticed extincteur and hand grenades on shelves for use in case of fire. Under the mill room there is an engineers' and fitters' shop, and an engine house which we afterwards visited. After inspecting the grist hopper and a metal liquor back, heated by steam copper coils and erected on a gallery, we entered the mashing stage occupying the floor over the archway. Here we were shown a thirty-quarter mash tun solidly constructed of oak, containing sparger, rakes and slotted iron draining plates. This tun is commanded by a Steel's mashing machine, and the grains are emptied from it by means of a valve trap leading to a spout in the yard. On this floor there is a large space reserved for a second mash tun, and under the stage there is a sub-floor, about 5 feet high leading to a balcony in the yard, used for setting the taps of the mash tun, and where is situated the excise office. Crossing this floor, and descending a few steps, we entered the next building, where is situated the copper stage, by far the most important place in the brewery. It is floored throughout with iron plates, is very lofty and open from floor to ceiling. It contains two splendid coppers, each with a capacity of sixty barrels, and over them the underback, which is heated by steam copper coils. Here also is the hop-press, and on the ground, opposite the copper hearth, a forty-barrel copper hop-back. The ale-wort is pumped by a centrifugal pump, from this latter vessel, to the coolers in the opposite wing of the brewhouse, and thither we next bent our steps.

Ascending to the third storey, we inspected the two open coolers and two vertical refrigerators, and then descended to the fermenting room underneath. It contains seven fermenting squares the largest of which holds eighty barrels, and several other vessels. The ground floor is used as a fining house, for the firm brew porter as well as ale, when required for supplying their own public-houses. Again crossing the yard, we entered a detached building nearly 100 feet in length, the upper storey of which is devoted to the union rooms, and contains eighty union casks fitted with attemperators and overhead yeast troughs. The entire ground floor is utilized as racking rooms and ale cellars, and will hold nearly 1,000 casks. In the centre of the floor there is a racking vat holding eighty barrels, and, beyond, a yeast press with small engine attached for working the steam pump and pressing apparatus."
"Noted Breweries of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. 2", Alfred Barnard, 1889, pages 423 - 424.

This wasn't a huge brewery. The mash tun had a capacity of 30 quarters. That's only ten times the size of the one in the model brewery at Allsopp. Enough to brew about 120 barrels of beer at a time. The union room capacity seems small in relation. Assuming the union casks were the normal 61-gallon size, that's a total of 135 barrels. Or just about a single brew. Which implies that only a small percentage of their beer went through the unions.

Fermenting vessels. I always like to mention them. In this case there were seven squares, the largest holding 80 barrels. Burton brewers were divided in their preference between rounds and squares. One thing there were in agreement about: the small size of fermenters. Most of Allsopp's rounds only held 15 barrels, a ridiculously small size for the quantity of beer they were producing. Bass's squares were a bit bigger at 45 barrels, but still relatively tiny. That makes Marston's largest square quite big for Burton.

This bit confuses me: "The ground floor is used as a fining house, for the firm brew porter as well as ale, when required for supplying their own public-houses." That implies that you didn't need to fine Pale Ale, just Porter. I know that a proper Stock Pale Ale was supposed to drop spontaneously bright, if left to mature long enough. The quote also tells us that Burton brewers, just like London ones, brewed beers outside their area of specialisation to be able to offer their pubs a full range.

In 1905 Marston & Thompson merged with another Burton brewery, Evershed. I'm not telling you this for the benefit of historical precision. But because I've a little information about their beers from 1891 - 1892. I'll be sharing it with you soon.

Proud

New video, about British beer, being proud of it. Quick synopsis, mackerel smelling two thirds done.

Here it is:


Proud of British Beer from Society of Independent Brewers on Vimeo.

Bit long, but with this gem:

Marston's Union Room.

Where are the troughs? These don't look like the unions in Bernard.

Makes me proud to be obsessed.

Burton beers ca 1955 (part three)

This is working perfectly. I'm spinning a whole month's worth of posts out of  Andrew Campbell's "The Book Of Beer". Today I finish off Burton beers.

First off, Truman. Who were both a London and Burton brewer. They were incredibly proud of their Burton brewery. Which is why you can still see references to it plastered all over former Truman pubs.

"Truman, Hanbury, Buxton & Co's origins are the oldest in London, beginning with a certain Mr. Thomas Bucknall who established a brewhouse in Losworth Field, Spitalfields, about 1666, and which was bought by a Joseph Truman in 1694. In 1800, Samuel Hanbury joined in partnership with the Truman family  and Thomas Fowell Buxton. It was not until 1873 that they bought a brewery in Burton, but as they brew their pale and bitter beers at Burton, they must be included in the Burton group of breweries. Their milds and stouts are brewed in London.

As we write, an intensive advertising campaign is in course to establish their beer Ben Truman as a national beer. Of similar strength to Bass, Double Diamond, and Worthington, it is a good solid beer, with a strong flavour. Another strongly publicized line for which a major campaign is being conducted and a mutual marketing agreement made with Whitbread's and Tollemache, is Trubrown, a brown ale of higher than usual gravity, sweet and well carbonated."
"The Book Of Beer" by Andrew Campbell, 1956, pages 204-205.

Let's take a look at those beers in more detail:

Truman Burton beers in the 1950's
Year	Beer	Style	Price	size	package	FG	OG	Colour	ABV	attenuation
1950	Bitter	Pale Ale	16d	pint	draught	1005.6	1035.3	22	3.86	84.14%
1951	PA	Pale Ale	16d	pint	draught	1006	1038.2	21	4.19	84.29%
1951	Bitter	Pale Ale	17d	pint	draught	1003.8	1038.8	23	4.57	90.21%
1954	PA	Pale Ale	17d	pint	draught	1006.8	1036.9	19	3.91	81.57%
1954	PA	Pale Ale	17d	pint	draught	1006.4	1036.7	18	3.94	82.56%
1955	PA	Pale Ale	17d	pint	draught	1005.9	1037.7	17	4.14	84.35%
1957	PA	Pale Ale	17d	pint	draught	1007.1	1037.2	18	3.91	80.91%
1959	Keg Bitter	Pale Ale	22d	pint	draught	1008.8	1040.5	22	4.12	78.27%
Source: Whitbread Gravity Book

Unfortunately, the Whitbread Gravity Bookonly lists their ordinary Bitter, not Ben Truman. But don't despair. I can check Truman's brewing records to find out more.

Truman Burton beers in 1953
Beer	Style	OG	FG	ABV	App. Attenuation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl	pale malt	crystal malt	no. 1 sugar	no. 3 sugar	other sugar	flaked maize	high dried malt	I.M. Co.
P1 B	Pale Ale	1050.7	1014.7	4.76	71.04%	7.21	1.39	90	1	4			7	15	3
P1 B	Pale Ale	1050.7	1017.7	4.36	65.03%	7.15	1.38	90	1	4			7	16	3
No. 7	Mild	1032.7	1006.6	3.44	79.66%	5.00	0.61	21	3			3		21
P1	Pale Ale	1044.6	1013.3	4.14	70.19%	6.14	1.04	112			4			20	4
P2	Pale Ale	1036.8	1008.6	3.74	76.69%	6.14	0.86	112			4			20	4
XX	Mild	1030.7	1005.8	3.30	81.08%	6.14	0.72	112			4			20	4
No. 7	Mild	1032.7	1009.1	3.11	72.03%	4.90	0.85	41	7			7		42
XXX	Mild	1035.7	1007.5	3.74	79.07%	4.90	2.21	41	7			7		42
P1 B	Pale Ale	1051.2	1013.3	5.02	74.05%	7.16	1.42	51		4			4	7	2
Source: Truman brewing records.

P1 is Ben Truman, P1 B the bottling version. P2 is ordinary Bitter. None of these Pale Ales was particularly heavily hopped. The grists are what you would expect: mostly pale malt with some crystal malt, maize and sugar. I'm not quite sure what they mean by high dried malt. I suspect something like mild malt.

Finally a brewery that still exists: Marston's. And still brews in Burton. Incredible, eh? Here's an admission: I like Marston's Pedigree. Especially the farty smell, the sign of a true Burton Pale Ale. I'm not quite sure why it gets so much hate. Too ubiquitous, I guess. Sometimes I feel the beer world is getting like Northern soul: obscure just for the sake of it.

"Marston, Thompson and Evershed had a somewhat later start than some of the Burton breweries, and in fact are technically not in Burton-on-Trent at all, but are at Horninglow, a nearby village where they have been since 1834. Among their important brews is a barley wine type, of considerable strength and mellow character, Old Roger."
"The Book Of Beer" by Andrew Campbell, 1956, page 205.

Unfortunately, I don't have details of the one Marston's beer Campbell mentions, Owd Roger. He got the name slightly wrong, but I'll forgive him that. Instead of details, I've an Owd Roger anecdote. The Old Kings Arms in Newark used to have draught Owd Roger in the winter. I can remember Mogg drinking 5 pints of it one night and being carried out because his legs had stopped working. Served him right for drinking an 8% ABV beer by the pint. Proof that it's impossible to session a beer of that strength.

Here are the Marston's beers I do have information on:

Marston's beers in the 1950's
Year	Beer	Style	Price	size	package	FG	OG	Colour	ABV	attenuation
1950	Pale Ale	Pale Ale	17d	pint	draught		1040.9	28
1952	Extra Stout	Stout	1/3d	half pint	bottled	1011.4	1042.1	1 + 13.5	3.98	72.92%
1954	PA	Pale Ale	1/7d	pint	bottled	1005.1	1044.3	20	5.12	88.49%
1959	Mello Sweet Stout	Stout	15d	halfpint	bottled	1013.6	1040.3	325	3.45	66.25%
Sources: Truman Gravity Book Whitbread Gravity Book

Not much I can say about that. Except that Mello is a great name for a Sweet Stout.