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Burton on Trent is a city of about 50,000 residents in the Midlands of England. For over 200 years it has been a center of brewing in Britain, and remains a delightful beer destination, one of my personal favorites.

History

Burton’s role in brewing is based on the river Trent. The river passes over enormous banks of gypsum. As a result the water is rich in calcium sulphate, which is ideal for brewing English Bitter.

Until around 1800 English taste preferred Porter ales, brewed in London.The early nineteenth century saw the rise in popularity of pale ales, or bitters, and Burton was ideally suited to brew the new beers. In 1857 there were 19 breweries in Burton; in 1869 there were 26, and in 1884 there were 34 breweries in town. Among the breweries there were such familiar names as Bass, Worthingtons, and Marstons.

Grain Storage in Burton

The growth of brewing in Burton was linked to the development of railroads in Britain in the nineteenth century. This enabled Burton to supply beer to all of Britain, as well as the export market to India. Late nineteenth century maps of Burton show a maze of breweries, maltings, and railroad tracks across the entire city. As late as 1962 there were still 29 railroad grade crossings in the central city, used by trains moving beer around.

Burton’s grip on the brewing industry began to loosen when chemists learned how to add calcium sulphate to water; this process is still known as ‘Burtonizing’ water.

Burton Today

The Bass brewery still towers over Burton, and on many days the city is engulfed with the wonderful aromas of brewing. The Bass brewery is now owned by Coors, and the red and white signs are all over the city. Bass beer is now brewed elsewhere, at Marstons. The massive Bass facility now brews whatever it is that Coors sells in the UK.

The Coors brewery includes a very interesting brewing museum and a small pilot brewery dedicated to producing beers from historic recipes. Coors has been talking about closing all of this.

Coors Brewery

The city remains a hotbed of great pubs and great micro-breweries. I’ll address a couple of these in following posts.