[theo_luddite]

V

13-Dec-2016 19:45
The Pirelli Stadium
Princess Way
Burton Upon Trent
Staffordshire
DE13 0BH

After some semblance of order was re-established in the Championship this weekend, Town head down the M1 and A38 for Tuesday night's fixture, hoping to continue the traction gained with Saturday's long overdue win against Brizzle and not wanting to get caught on the hop by a useful Burton Albion side managed by a certain Mr. Nigel Clough.

We've met before??

This is the first meeting between the club's so there is absolutely no previous form to go on, other than we've met young Mr. Clough twice before (1 win each, Derby 2012-13 season) and a now 27 year old Huddersfield born winger called Lucas Akins.

He will no doubt be frothing at the mouth to show us we were wrong to let him go some 8 seasons back. He made the breakthrough into the Town senior squad after scoring for fun in the Academy and U21's while Andy Ritchtea was in charge for Town, but only made 4 appearances from the bench before we let him go. After journeying around Scotland, Tranmere and Stevenage, he certainly seems to have settled in at Burton where he has so far scored 23 goals in 80 games. He's scored 3 so far this season with top scorer Irvine on 7. Let's hope he puts a few over the bar and that Wardy mops up any slops at the back.

A bit about The Brewers

As many clubs do, they continued their promotion form during the first month of this season despite losing the first two games including a 4-3 thriller at Forest, reaching a nose bleeding 6th place in the division after 5 games. Not bad for a club that only 7 seasons back were still playing non-league football. No doubt their result of the season so far was beating local rivals Derby 1-0 at home in a televised match at the end of August. Head Brewer and Chairman Ben Robinson has fermented a 40 year association at Burton that has seen them rise from the old Southern League (now Evo-Stik League Southern) and has seen Nigel Clough in charge twice so far, though he left the first time when 13 points clear at the top of the Conference to go join Derby. They were 19 points clear in February when betting company Blue Square decided to pay out on champions bets. The initial rapid fermentation that season slowed a bit after that though, as happens with even the best of home brews, and they eventually won the Conference by 2 points from Cambidge (2009) and avoided the mother of all hang-overs.

Paul Peschisolido started his managerial career with The Brewers in May 2009 to be replaced by Gary Rowett, now at Brum City and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink as they continued to pick their way up through the lower divisions. Peschisolido had the Brewers up to 5th place in League 2 on Boxing Day of the 2011-12 season, but a 17 game (or 14 depending on which Wiki page you read) run without a win dropped them back to 17th and the mid-table mediocrity they had enjoyed since their promotion. He is now a full-time baby sitter and child minder for Baroness Brady of Boleyn and Stratford (should that be professional nanny?). Rowett came in and got them in a position to be promoted.to League 1 at the second attempt having missed out in the play-off's in his first season befrore Brum came knocking. Hasselbaink got them over the line but he was off the QPR in December 2015 and we all know that ended in tears. Cue the return of the prodigal son, young Mr. Clough who got them promoted last season finishing 2nd to Wigan and making a good impression so far in their first ever season at this level.

These guys are no mugs at home, they've only been beaten twice at home, by Brizzle in their home opener and Brighton, they've drawn with QPR and Barnsalee and beaten Wendies (for there first win at this level) Derby, Cardiff, Brum and Rotherham in their last home game (2-1) ending a 5 game streak without a win (sounds familiar that). The one big beer swilling monkey on their backs is they haven't won an away game yet. What I've seen of them is they play an attractive attacking style of football so I'm expecting a pretty open game.

The Pirelli Stadium.

Burton moved to the Pirelli Stadium in 2005 after their previous home Eton Park (since 1958) became too threadbare and tyred to keep up with the rapidly inflating ambitions of the club. It was demolished and developed into housing. The new ground was built on the former site of the Pirelli UK Tyres Ltd Sports & Social Club, and having had the land donated to the club by Pirelli, in return for naming rights, the ground cost £7.2 million to build.

Capacity 6,912 (2,034 seated)
Record attendance 6,746 (vs. Derby County, August 2016)

Getting there

It's all in here by car and here by train. It's a bit of a hike from the station but there's a few places to wet your whistle on the way.
Ale be letting the train take the strain for this one.    

Burton train at St. Georges Park, a few miles west of the town and certainly very celubrious surroundings. There's a certain national team that train there that could do with some of Burton's recent success rubbing off on them.

Stats

Neither side is pulling in pints at a rapid rate at the moment with a near identical record over the last 6 games. Town are showing signs of pulling out of their slump after good performances that didn't always get us the reward in our last 3 outings, so we'll be looking for a continuation of that form, while Burton are now in a run of probably their most difficult fixtures in their history.

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Midweek Fixtures


December Fixtures


Beer, beer, we want more beer.
Enough of that football stuff, this is where the real thread starts. Burton is known the world over as the home of British Brewing.

20 beery facts knicked from the local paper

1: The town has been producing beer since the 11th century when monks first started brewing under the guidance of Wulfric Spot, the Earl of Mercia – who founded Burton Abbey.

2: It began in 1007 with the Benedictine monk. Burton Abbey was formed as a result of a seventh century nun passing through. Curing powers of the water soon led to beer making.

3: Those first monks were making 13 per cent ales. And they were each drinking 16 pints per day. (It wasn't called liquid bread for nothing)

4: In 1540 Henry VIII closed monasteries, forcing brewers to begin making and selling imperial Russian stouts.

5: In the 18th century, the town thrived on trade with Russia. The Russian Empress, Catherine the Great, is reported to have been 'immoderately fond' of the ale brewed in Burton.

6: Burton is know for its heavier beers – porters and stouts – for the entire 1700s. It was not until 1799 that it all changed. The Napoleonic Wars ceased exportation to Baltic states. Burton Brewers relied on this – export was 80 per cent of their business.

7: In 1839, with the introduction of national railways, Burton brewers got a massive increase in trade because they could now compete with local breweries in other parts of England.

8: By the late 1800s, Burton was producing more beer than London.

9: It is the quality of the local water that has helped make the town a prospering, beer-brewing community. The hills surrounding Burton contain minerals which greatly assist the brewing process – which gets added to the water and helps to preserve the beer for longer. This preservative allows beers to be exported around the world.The hard water is pumped around the town by subterranean springs.

10: One of the largest beer manufacturers, Samuel Allsopp and Sons, had been producing beer since 1807. The company is famous because it was the first to export Burton Pale Ale to India in 1822.By 1890 their output had reached 460,000 barrels and they had a workforce of 1,750. Throughout the 19th century, Allsopp's brewing business was second only in size to Bass.

11: Today, breweries are still a major part of Burton with Molson Coors and Marston's, led by Genevieve Upton, the firm's 'innovation brewer' at its Shobnall Road site, joined by a raft of smaller breweries such as the Burton Bridge Brewery, spearheaded by Geoff Mumford and Bruce Wilkinson, John Mills' Tower Brewery and dozens of others.

12: Some of the major brands which are produced in the town include Marston's Pedigree, Carling lager and Cobra.

13: In Burton, it is estimated that brewers and pubs pay more than £400 million of tax each year and contribute more than £140 million to the UK GDP (gross domestic product).

14: The industry puts £61 million into the wage packets of people in Burton every year and employs more than 5,000 staff in the town.

15: The National Brewery Centre, based in Horninglow Street, is the site of the former Bass Brewery. Founded in 1777, its triangle logo was the world's first registered trademark.

16: Away from Burton, Bass still had an impact. At London's St Pancras railway station, the basement was six acres long and was owned by Bass because it shipped so much beer.

17: The impact of Burton and its beer trade has been felt across the globe. The Haneda Shuzo distillery and brew house in Kyoto is well known in the country for having great water, which it uses to ape techniques used in Burton to brew beer.

18: Spent yeast created by Molson Coors in the town helps to create another major Burton product – Marmite.

19: Burton is also the home of pubco giants Punch Taverns and Spirit Pub Company, firms which operate hundreds of pubs and employ thousands of people across the UK.

20: Marston's and Molson Coors have pumped a combined near £85 million into the town in the past five or six years, cementing Burton's future.

Read more at http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/fascinating-...story.html

In North America, the old frontiersmen when driving west across the continent and establishing new settlements would set up a brewery as the first priority. Although they hadn't worked out that wild yeast was making the fermentation process work at the time, it ensured that the "water" that they drunk (hic) was boiled and thus free from parasites and bugs that could cause illness. Many beers in the early days were never designed to be or capable of travelling far from the brewery until the brewers discoverd (or is that rediscovered) that yeast was key to the fermentaion process and keeping a live culture helped no end in improving the quality and consistency. As said above, when the British Army came calling for beer to be sent from home to India for the troops it was Allsops who came up with Burton Pale Ale and what many now sell as India Pale Ale (or IPA) and a beer that could travel a long way and not spoil.

The Burton Union System

Modernized Burton Union system seen in Burton-on-Trent at the National Brewery Centre, formerly the Bass Brewery museum and Coors Visitor Centre. Bass has been owned by Molson Coors since 2002.

The Burton Union system is a system of wooden fermentation vessels used predominantly by the brewers in and around Burton-on-Trent, England in the mid to late 1800s. This network usually consists of 24–60 large wooden barrel casks (about 150 gallons/ea) laid on their side in rows, suspended off the floor. These barrels are linked together so that wort/beer can be evenly dispersed throughout the Union. At the top of the barrels is a swan neck pipe that connects to a trough suspended over the barrels. This trough, being slightly pitched to one end, is connected to another feeder trough so that the wort/beer can be re-circulated into the barrels.

Actively fermenting wort (usually 12–24 hours after adding the yeast) is fed into the Union, via gravity, from the primary fermentation vessels. As the yeast continues consuming the sugars, it is forced out of the top of the barrels through the swan necks in foamy bursts. The beer runs down the trough, into the feeder vessel and back into the casks to continue its fermentation, all the while leaving behind a large amount of its healthy, viable yeast. This yeast is collected for re-use and the beer subsequently becomes steadily brighter and brighter. After about 6 days in the Union, the beer is drained from the barrels and moved to a finishing vessel whereby it’s blended with other beer or packaged.

The most notable users of the Burton Union System were the Bass Brewery and Marston’s Brewery. Unfortunately, it is a labour and capital-intensive process, requiring constant maintenance and, thus, all but one British brewery has abandoned this approach. Marston’s still uses their Union largely for the production of their flagship beer, Pedigree Bitter. They believe the results are worth the extra effort because it produces a unique house yeast strain that imbues their beer with its characteristic flavor, which to their taste buds, cannot be replicated with modern fermentation methods. Just as well, in the period of time when this system was popular, it was one of the more reliable and “hi-tech” ways to achieve clarity in beer as opposed (or in addition) to the use of additives such as isinglass. Brewers and brewing scientists now have a greater understanding of what it takes to get clearer beer making the Burton Union no longer a necessity.
Read more here

Double dropping

Double dropping, also known as the dropping system is a brewing method used for the production of ales. During the early 20th century it was the most popular method of clearing trub (inactive yeast and excess, staling and haze-forming protein from the malted barley) during fermentation for English ales. It is less commonly used today as it requires additional brewing vessels in a 2-tier system.

During the double dropping process the wort (newly brewed, fermenting beer) is first fermented for a period of time before being transferred, under gravity or by other means, into a lower vessel where it continues fermentation. The dropping process has two primary effects on the beer being fermented: the trub that has settled during the first period of fermentation will be left behind, leaving a cleaner beer and a cleaner yeast to crop from the beer for the next fermentation; the second effect is the aeration of the wort, which results in healthy clean yeast growth, and in certain circumstances butterscotch flavours from the production of diacetyl.

Breweries using the double dropping process include Wychwood Brewery who contract brew Brakspear branded beers and Flack Manor. Marston's use the name Double Drop for one of their beers as they use the related brewing method of the Burton Union system.

Bass Brewery and Coors (spit, spit).

The Bass Brewery was founded in 1777 by William Bass in Burton-upon-Trent, England. The main brand was Bass Pale Ale, once the highest-selling beer in the UK. By 1877, Bass had become the largest brewery in the world, with an annual output of one million barrels. Its pale ale was exported throughout the British Empire, and the company's distinctive red triangle became the UK's first registered trademark.

Bass took control of a number of other large breweries in the early 20th century, and in the 1960s merged with Charrington United Breweries to become the largest UK brewing company, Bass Charrington. The brewing operations of the company were bought by Interbrew (now Anheuser-Busch InBev) in 2000. its hotel and pub holdings absorbed and renamed Six Continents plc.

After the Competition Commission raised potential monopoly concerns, Interbrew disposed of Bass Brewers Limited's Carling and Worthington brands to Coors (now Molson Coors Brewing Company), but retained the rights to the Bass beer brand. The beer was produced under licence by Coors, which acquired the Bass brewery facility. Bass Brewers Limited was renamed Coors Brewers Limited. When the licence to brew draught Bass came to an end in 2005 (or as some locals might say, Coors were crap at brewing it, prefering to make there own version of sex-in-a-canoe instead), it was taken up by Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries PLC, which started production at Burton's Marston's Brewery. Bottled and keg Bass formerly exported to the USA with a higher alcohol content are now produced there domestically by Anheuser-Busch at a Baldwinsville, New York, facility. Marstons brew Bass in Yorkshire Squares which are also used by the Black Sheep brewery in Masham.

National Brewery Centre

Sited next to the brewery, the Bass Museum of Brewing (later renamed the Coors Visitor Centre & The Museum of Brewing), was Burton-upon-Trent's largest tourist attraction until closed by Coors in June 2008. Well, givien they know sod all about brewing beer that really came as no surprise. A steering group was established to investigate re-opening, and the museum was relaunched in May 2010 as the National Brewery Centre. If you've got the day off this is well worth a visit. Adult tickets are £9.50 including tour, kids half price. There's an on-site brewery tap, food available and other special events take place through the year. More on the website. It's only open while 4:00pm mind during the Winter months and 5:00pm in the Summer so maybe make a note to visit on another day if you can't get down here soon enough on Tuesday.

Breweries in Burton.

Over the years there's been a huggin' of them. A huggin' being a bit more than a rake but not as many as a thraip.

You might think that Munich, Pilsen or Dublin could challenge Burton for the title of World’s Most Important Brewing Town. But those other towns never had a reputation that scaled the heights of Burton, the spiritual home of America’s favorite beer style, India Pale Ale. Just over a century ago, Burton was the undisputed brewing capital of the world. It was home to over thirty breweries, and the world’s most famous beer brand. The town’s beers were imitated globally, but never bettered.
http://allaboutbeer.com/article/burton-o...beer-town/

Here follows a roughly chronological list of known brewers and brewing companies in Burton: This lists owners rather than breweries because a brewery is a building - some brewers had more than one brewery and brewery buildings sometimes changed hands. In addition to companies started from scratch in the town, there were also pre-existing brewers from outside Burton who moved into the town in the 1870s. (There's been a few).

Benjamin Printon 1708 - bought by James Musgrave 1729
James Musgrave (and sons) 1729 - bought by John Greaves 1803
Samuel and William Sketchley c1741- bought by Benjamin Wilson 1790
Benjamin Wilson 1743- bought by nephew Samuel Allsopp 1807
Joseph Clay c1751- passed to Thomas Salt 1813
Charles Leeson c1753-1800
William Worthington 1760- bought by Bass 1927
Thomas Morecroft
Thomas Dicken
William Bass 1777- bought by Coors 2000
Henry Evans 1790 - settled on son-in-law William Worthington
John Walker Wilson -1790
Hill and Sherratts c1780 –partnership dissolved 1820, bought by Lewis Meakin 1822
John Greaves 1803- went bankrupt 1815 – run by Mason and Gilbertson by 1830
Samuel Allsopp 1807- merged with Ind Coope 1934
Thomas Salt 1813- acquired by Bass 1927
Lewis Meakin 1822- acquired by Charrington 1872
Charles Hill - the Hill of Hill and Sherratt - in 1874 Charles Hill and son[4][5]
Mason and Gilbertson 1830-
John Marston 1834- merged with Thompson 1898
Saunders 1837-
Burton Brewery Company 1842- bought by Worthington 1915
Ind Coope 1856 - went into receivership in 1909 and merged with Allsopp in 1934
Charrington (Head & Co) existing London brewer 1872 - ceased brewing in Burton 1926
Truman, Hanbury, Buxton & Co existing London brewer 1873-1971
Mann, Crossman & Paulin existing London brewer 1874 - merged with Watney 1958
Peter Walker 1876- acquired by Bass 1923
Sydney Evershed pre 1880- merged with Marston Thompson 1909
John Thompson pre 1880- merged with Marston 1898
John Bell & Co. pre 1880- bought by Thomas Salt 1901
Henry Boddington & Co existing Manchester brewer - bought by Everard 1892
James Eadie 1854 - Bought by Bass 1933
Thomas Sykes 1881- taken over by Everard 1898
William Everard existing Leicester brewer 1892-1985
Marston and Thompson 1898- merged with Evershed to form Marston Thompson Evershed 1909
Marston Thompson Evershed 1909-1999 bought by Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries PLC The Marston's Brewery also produces Bass under licence from InBev
Coors Brewers Limited - Bought from InBev in 2000. UK arm of Molson Coors Brewing Company a brewery from the United States
Burton Bridge Brewery, a local company
Tower Brewery, a new microbrewery
Cottage Brewery, based in the Old Cottage Inn

Other brewers existing in 1880 included the following:
Bindley & Co
Bowler Bros
Carter Victoria Brewery
Clayton & Co
Cliff & Co
Cooper & Co
Edwin Dawson & Co
Richard A. Eddie
Green & Clarkson.
Frederick Heap
Frederick C Hill
Pegge & Co
James Porter & Sons
Robinson & Co
A.B. Walker & Co.

A further three brewers are listed in 1898:
Beard Hill & Co
Burton & Lincoln Brewery
Trent Brewery Co

So where can you drink all this fine stuff?

The nearest pub is probably the 'The Beech Inn' which is around a ten minute walk, up the A5121 Derby Road (going in the opposite direction to Burton town centre) on the left. Otherwise there is the Great Northern pub, which serves Burton Bridge Beers, along with a guest ale. This pub is located on Wetmore RoadIf you particularly like your real ale then just under a half a mile away from the stadium is the Burton Town Brewery. Situated in a small industrial unit in Falcon Close it opens its doors before matches and has available real and craft ales, lagers, cider and wine. Also in the area is the fabulous Tower Brewery on Glensyl Way. Featuring a cosy snug room it also has a large function area that looks out onto the brewing vessels. However it is not always open before matches so check with them first via their website.

Near to the railway station are the Roebuck, Devonshire, the Last Heretic micropub and the Cooper's Tavern which are all recommended, If you walk from the station to the ground, you will pass the Albert Ale House on your left which also serves well kept Burton Bridge Beers. Alcohol is also served within the stadium, with away fans being 'treated' to their own little inside bar/refreshment area. Beer costs £4 a pint (don't quote me on that) and you can also get the local delicacy, faggots and mushy pays.

If arriving at Burton railway station, then turn right for the Roebuck (Burton Ale House) Continue heading down the right-hand side of Station Street to the Last Heretic micropub and then onto the Devonshire Arms on the corner of Milton Street. The ‘Devvie’ has a large range of Burton Bridge beers, guest ales and an extensive food menu. Also has a range of continental bottled beers as well as traditional fruit wines.Turn right into Milton Street, cross over and you will see a narrow entry to the Cooper’s Tavern.  Along Derby Street on your left is the Alfred Ale House which serves Burton Bridge beers with at least one guest ale and has an extensive food menu.

At the roundabout in front of the Pirelli stadium turn right and walk for two minutes over the railway to the Great Northern on the left in Wetmore Road. Burton Bridge beers and a guest ale are served, along with the usual keg beers associated with Burton-on-Trent. The pub has a big screen showing Sky Sports.Returning to the roundabout and heading past the stadium along the busy Derby Road you come to the Beech pub on your left between the Pirelli factory and McDonald’s. This is a Marston’s local with a bar on the front, a smaller lounge at the rear and a beer garden.

Continuing along Derby Road going away from the stadium and turning left at Ian Shipton Cars you come to The Mill House. It is at least a 10 minute walk from the ground (one minute in the car) and is very handy for people approaching from the A38 - just turn right at the island by Ian Shipton Cars. The food is good, but not cheap, and beers include Bass, Marston’s and Theakston‘s. Children welcome with both indoor and outdoor play areas'.

read the full article here

Have fun, don't get too merry and don't complain about the fans standing up in front of you either - there's no seats in the stand that most of us will be in.

Thanks to my usual sources for cut and paste at Wiki, Statto, footballgroundguide and elsewhere. What would I do without them?

[Amelia Chaffinch]

So why are they called the Brewers then? 

[jjamez]

Anyone would think you enjoy beer from this thread...dunno why though?

[Lord Snooty]

For once in this league we won't be the "small club".

[theo_luddite]

Anyone would think you enjoy beer from this thread...dunno why though?

Can't stand the stuff if it's served in a plastic glass, it's just not reet. Otherwise I told you I fancied a good beery thread for Christmas. Oh, Amchaff, they've allus got the kettle on for a cup o' tay, just in case I forgot to point that out.

[Amelia Chaffinch]

Yes, that makes sense, theo. Mmmm.

[theo_luddite]

Yeh, this part of Muddled England is well known for its tea leaves

[EastLondonTerrier]

Cracking thread Theo. Proper good history lesson that. This is a game we could easily lose and I'm sure DW and CB will have rattled the boys telling them this will be no walk in the park. I expect maybe young billing may get a start and Mooy rested for Norwich and possibly THD or Crainie to get a game but not both. Maybe Payne as well for Palmer. Those are the rotation changes I foresee that DW's alluded to. Heart says 2-0 town, head says 1-1.

[jjamez]

I can see ward in goal, a back 4 of smith hef schindler and thd. Billing and hogg in a mid 2 with kach rajiv and payne behind wells. Dont think he'll leave wells out this week, probably give him chance to go on a bit of a scoring streak

[theo_luddite]

Cracking thread Theo. Proper good history lesson that. This is a game we could easily lose and I'm sure DW and CB will have rattled the boys telling them this will be no walk in the park. I expect maybe young billing may get a start and Mooy rested for Norwich and possibly THD or Crainie to get a game but not both. Maybe Payne as well for Palmer. Those are the rotation changes I foresee that DW's alluded to. Heart says 2-0 town, head says 1-1.

If they did proper history lessons like that at school and Uni ELT we'd all have took it on. Not sure what the pay is like in museums though. Any road, found a nice pub in Burton that does nice beer and what smells like good grub. Trouble is its all 2 for 1 and I'm on me own. I've asked but they won't serve me one on a plate and one to take home via the match. Prices are between £10 and £17 for a main course. So here's the thing, if they were willing to do that, I'd have been here until after 7, got a joe baxi to the ground and put the thick end of £30 over the bar. As it is I'm leaving after two pints and spent less than £6. Fooking thick as two short planks some folk.