How Burton is setting others an example with its innovative ale trail
COLSTON CRAWFORD recommends an initiative to help boost the town’s breweries and pubs as they fight back from lockdowns
PLANS are firmly in place for what is arguably the most comprehensive showcase put together in modern times for the beers and pubs in Burton. The Burton Ale Trail will run from Thursday, September 2, to Sunday, September 5 inclusive and there are 14 venues in the town on board, ranging from brewery taps through micropubs and social clubs to, well, pubs.
All are getting in more beers than they would normally have, entertainment will be dotted about through it and the interest it has generated is considerable.
The Ale Trail is an excellent idea. It is happening in the absence of Burton’s traditional beer festival, which had to be cancelled because of the pandemic last year and was not able to reappear this year.
Many towns and cities ought to consider something like this trail and I understand that it has been tentatively mooted in Derby before, without everyone coming together on the same page to make it happen.
As usual with something like this, it often takes one driven person, or a few, to get things moving.
In Burton, that man is Ian Webster, who devotes a great deal of his spare time to promoting the beers, breweries and pubs of the town when he is not writing books about them.
Ian says: “The idea for the Burton Ale Trail first came about in April last year, following the 11th-hour cancellation of the Burton & South Derbyshire CAMRA Beer Festival.
“Tentative steps were taken between the lockdowns but it just wasn’t feasible with the restrictions in place, so the idea was shelved until conditions became more favourable.”
“As soon as the government began hinting at lifting restrictions, I started to contact local pubs to gauge interest in the festival and it was very positive.
“When Freedom Day was confirmed for July 19, promotion started on social media.
“Things went a little crazy, we had hundreds of people following us in a short space of time and we’ve kept the momentum going.”
Indeed it did go a little crazy. Social media is still a wondrous thing when used the right way and, yesterday, there were 2,231 members of the Burton Ail Trail Facebook group.
I would say all of the town centre pubs revered by discerning drinkers who come from or visit Burton are on board with the trail.
“There are 14 venues taking part, these range from traditional pubs, micropubs, a social club and there is even a brewery taking part,” says Ian.
“Burton Town Brewery kick things off on the Thursday by inviting people to come and watch (and smell) them brewing Modwena stout.
“Burton is a relatively small place and is perfectly suited for a pub crawl. “Obviously all the venues want to do well out of the event. “There is a fair bit rivalry between the venues but it is healthy and friendly. “Organising this has helped to bring the local pubs together – they all need each other to be able to survive.” Indeed they do, especially in the wake of what the pandemic has inflicted on the hospitality sector, which many of us believe was disproportionately targeted by the government’s health advisors. Ian has diligently produced a profile of each of the 14 venues and what they hope to offer during the trail on the Facebook page; in some cases there’s a video in which he chats to the licensees.
Ash Ayling, from the micropub Beeropolis, formerly the Fuggle & Nugget in High Street, has produced a map of the venues which can be downloaded and printed off, and there will be a printed programme available.
It would perhaps be a stretch and it’s certainly not something I intend to take on, to get around all the venues, even in four days, unless you’ve booked a holiday or you’re retired but hey, nothing’s set in stone. Everyone taking part can do what they are comfortable with.
One of the things the Burton Ale Trail highlights abundantly – and it’s something that even some folk from the town, let alone further afield, might not have realised – is the extent to which the beer offering in the brewing capital has burgeoned.
Long gone are the days when you were merely drinking the products of Burton’s big breweries.
Now you have Joules at the Coopers Tavern, Fownes Brewing Company at the Old Royal Oak, Burton Bridge of course, Muirhouse Brewery at the Weighbridge, Heritage Brewery at The Brewery Tap and Burton Town Brewery, as well as a first class bottle shop and bar in Brews of the World, as well as wide choices in the independent pubs.
Sure, Burton, like everywhere else, has suffered a lot of casualties in terms of old pubs closing down but, as the Burton Ale Trail is going to prove conclusively, beer drinkers are spoilt for choice now.
A second ale trail is already being talked about, before a pint has been drunk on the first one. It could become a staple, alongside, not instead of, a returning beer festival.
Find the downloadable programme on the Burton Ale Trail Facebook page or through Ian Webster’s website www. thebeertonian.com/burton-aletrail-2021/
As soon as the government began hinting at lifting restrictions I contacted local pubs to gauge interest Ian Webster