Just a quick note to say I finally managed to get to the newly opened National Brewery Centre at Burton. It originally opened as "The Bass Musuem" in 1977 to mark their bi-centenary. But, 30 years later with the Bass brewery site having passed into the ownership of American fizzmeisters Coors, it closed. An example of a real piece of heritage being allowed to wither on the bine in the hand of owners with no geographical, historical or spiritual connection with it. Now, after all sorts of pressure from interested parties (why do we only stand up and fight for things in Britain when it's almost too late?),it's, quite rightly, back. Coors have allowed the functionally titled Planning Solutions Ltd to take on the marketing of the museum and re-open it.
Remember, the brand 'Bass' isn't owned by Coors but by AB InBev (though currently up for sale) but the museum stands in the middle of property owned by Coors. So, brand politics being what they can be, I was desperate to see that in the now, re-packaged, "National Brewery Centre", the name Bass hadn't been 'airbrushed out'. I was actually quite apprehensive as I pulled off the A38. Thank goodness, even though some of the Bass exhibits have been sold off by the owner AB In Bev, the Bass name remains central to the whole Museum experience. No exhibition devoted to British Brewing history sited in Burton-on-Trent could ever present a credible story without full reference to the incredible history of Messrs Bass, Ratcliff & Gretton. For Burton read 'Bass'. It's a beautiful museum set in surviving, elegant Victorian brick buildings which were part of Bass in its heyday. I'll give you a bit more detail in the fullness of time. Meanwhile, here's one of the lovely local Burton girls ready with a warm welcome - and a cool serving of Worthington's 'E' or White Shield - in the museum's Edwardian bar. Cheers.
