Old Codgers' Trip to Burton-on-Trent
Early one sunny Wednesday morning in July, a small band of intrepid real ale explorers assembled on the platform at Ashchurch Railway Station. All were - shall we say - more "mature" members of Tewkesbury CAMRA Sub-Branch, a.k.a. "The No Work Team"! (Advancing years do, after all, bring some benefits!)
A veritable feast of Burton Bridge ales was on offer. It was impossible to try everything, but particularly palatable were the Bridge Bitter (4.2% ABV) - hoppy taste with a touch of malt, the Burton Festival Ale (5.5%) - a tawny coloured beer, sweetish but hoppy at the same time, the Burton Porter (4.5%) and the monthly "special" ale (Burton Bridge produces one special brew each month, each one with a unique name). The landlord/marketing manager was very friendly and welcoming and said he would look forward to supplying at least one seasonal ale for our next Winter Ale Festival in February 2006.
The Coopers Tavern is a gem of a backstreet pub, virtually unchanged since Edwardian times. For decades, it was the favoured lunchtime refreshment stop for the brewery workers from the nearby Bass Brewery (now part of the multinational Coors brewing group). The landlord and his staff are all real ale enthusiasts and have many fascinating tales to relate of days gone by in the Burton brewing industry. There is no real "bar" as such ... the ale is served up in a small back room, some straight from the cask and some by hand-pump, and customers fetch their chosen brew back into one of the two wood-panelled saloons. Burton Bridge ales are never stocked at this pub, but a variety of other brews were available - all in tip-top condition. Particularly memorable were the Draught Bass (4.4% ABV), not quite the same as it was in the old days, but still a very worthwhile tipple, and the excellent and quaffable Castle Rock Harvest Ale (3.9%) from just up the road in Nottingham. The Coopers Tavern is also notable for its excellent, inexpensive lunches. Various members of our party enjoyed the enormous chicken curry with chips, the very substantial black pudding sandwich, and sundry lighter bites.
Their destination - arguably the UK's most famous brewing town, Burton-on-Trent in Staffordshire. Their mission - to sample as wide a range of fine ales as possible on a short day trip.
A relaxed train journey of just two hours brought us to Burton-on-Trent station by 11 am, and a short walk took us to our first port of call, the Oak and Ivy, which was already open for business. There was a most cordial welcome from the CAMRA-friendly landlady who served up a very acceptable Banks's Fine Fettle (4.8% ABV), by the jug! An excellent start to the day's proceedings.
Our schedule was tight, so a taxi was summoned at 11.30 to convey us to our next stop, the renowned Burton Bridge Brewery tap, so called because of its location adjacent to the main road bridge crossing the River Trent.
Time flies when one is enjoying oneself, and all too soon it was time for a second short taxi-ride to our lunchtime destination, the somewhat hard-to-find Coopers Tavern at 43 Cross Street (not to be confused with the Coopers Arms, which is elsewhere in the town!)
Two o'clock was decision time ... either to stay at the Coopers until it closed at 3 pm, or to extend our trip to take in one more pub, the brewery tap of the Old Cottage Brewery. The vote, not surprisingly (!), was to visit the Old Cottage, taking advantage of its all-day opening hours and opting to catch a slightly later train for the journey home. A brisk walk helped to work off some of the after-effects of an ample lunch and we duly arrived, somewhat breathless, at the Old Cottage Tavern in Byrkley Street. Half a dozen real ales were on offer to reward our effort and a very pleasant 45 minutes were spent sampling some unusual and very acceptable brews, whilst making friends with some of the locals. The curiously-named Pastiche (5.2% ABV) particularly tickled the taste-buds. Other Old Cottage favourites included Columbus (4.1%), Oak Ale (4.0%) - a tawny, full-bodied bitter - and the superb Old Cottage Stout (4.7%) with loads of caramel, liquorice and a roast and bitter finish. For most of us, Old Cottage was a new and thoroughly pleasing experience; it is to be hoped that this excellent small brewery will extend its distribution area in coming months.
Our journey home was broken by a short but worthwhile visit to the GBG-listed Ladybird Inn, near Bromsgrove Railway Station. There was just enough time for some of our party to sample a pint of the splendid Bathams Best Bitter (4.3% ABV). Also on offer was the famed Cornish Sharp's Doom Bar Bitter (4.0%), well-remembered from our recent trip to Bath Spa ... but which, alas, will have to await our next visit!
Possible future Old Codgers' trips by train in 2006: Bristol, Wolverhampton (highly recommended!), Nottingham. And that's just a start! Keep your ear to the ground ....
W.D.
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