Burton ale is a type of

strong ale Strong ale is a type of ale, usually above 5% abv and often higher, between 7% to 11% abv, which spans a number of beer styles, including old ale, barley wine and Burton ale. Strong ales are brewed throughout Europe and beyond, including in Englan ...

which is dark and sweet. It is named after the brewing town of

Burton-on-Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In 2011, it had a population of 72,299. The d ...

. Burton ales were generally aged and needed cellaring for months before serving, and almost certainly had some degree of secondary fermentation going on during that time. In London, the terms Burton ale and

old ale Old ale is a form of strong ale. The term is commonly applied to dark, malty beers in England, generally above 5% ABV, and also to dark ales of any strength in Australia. It is sometimes associated with ''stock ale'' or, archaically, ''keeping ale ...

were interchangeable, but compared to other old ales and

barley wine Barley wine is a strong ale between 6–12% alcohol by volume."Barley wine"

__TOC__

Old Burton

Old Burton is a strong version of Burton ale. Allsopp's Arctic Ale, first brewed in 1852 for Captain

Edward Belcher Admiral Sir Edward Belcher (27 February 1799 – 18 March 1877) was a British naval officer, hydrographer, and explorer. Born in Nova Scotia, he was the great-grandson of Jonathan Belcher, who served as a colonial governor of Massachuse ...

's expedition to search for

Sir John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. After serving in wars against Napoleonic France and the United States, he led two expeditions into the Canadian Arctic and through t ...

, was originally 11.24% ABV. The subsequent McClintock Arctic Expedition also took Burton ale. Old Burton was referenced in

The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and gets ...

: "The Rat, meanwhile, was busy examining the label on one of the beer-bottles. 'I perceive this to be Old Burton', he remarked approvingly. 'Sensible Mole! The very thing!"

Burton ale

Like most mediaeval religious houses,

Burton Abbey Burton Abbey at Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire, England, was founded in the 7th or 9th century by St Modwen or Modwenna. It was refounded in 1003 as a Benedictine abbey by the thegn Wulfric Spott. He was known to have been buried in the ab ...

, established early in the eleventh century, possessed its own brewhouse able to cater for the needs of both residents and travellers. The excellence of its products had gained national recognition by the mid-fourteenth century according to contemporary literature. With the dissolution of the Abbey in 1540 ownership of the brewhouse passed to the

Paget family Paget is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin which may refer to: * Lord Alfred Paget (1816–1888), British soldier, courtier and politician * Almeric Paget, 1st Baron Queenborough (1861–1949), British cowboy, industrialist, yachtsman and politicia ...

who did much to encourage the economic development of the town and the surrounding area. Part of this development was the malting of local barley and the brewing of ale at many of the town's inns. Account books from the 1470s for a north Derbyshire gentry family, the Eyres of

Hassop Hassop is a village in the local government district of Derbyshire Dales in Derbyshire, England. It is in the civil parish of Great Longstone It developed around a number of lead mines, with such names as "The Brightside", "Backdale", "Harry Bru ...

, record the purchase of Burton ale. A Burton brewer assisted in conveying messages hidden in barrels to and from

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

during her captivity in the 1580s at

Tutbury Castle Tutbury Castle is a largely ruined medieval castle at Tutbury, Staffordshire, England, in the ownership of the Duchy of Lancaster and hence currently of King Charles III. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. People who have stayed in the castle i ...

in Staffordshire. Staffordshire - John Speed map 1610

In the 17th century, the

Trent valley The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...

became more widely noted in London as the source of fine (and expensive) ales, both bottled and in cask. Pepys' Hull ale, Nottingham, Derby and Burton ale, are often mentioned in the literature of the times; and in household accounts they are usually priced per dozen bottles rather than by cask. Prices varied very much, but, when compared with standard London prices for a quart pot of strong drink, they are always in another class, being designed for the fashionable market. In the seventeenth century, the literary evidence (in the absence of production figures), suggests that Nottingham and Derby enjoyed precedence over Burton in the London market. This is probably more from the economic advantages of better transport than an intrinsic superiority of product. Not until the next century did the fame of Burton ale develop in the Baltic area, and then reflect back to its advantage in London and elsewhere. Burton experienced a period of decline in the 17th century, the number of innkeepers falling from 57 in 1624 to 38 in 1656. In 1694, the town was described as "very much ruined and decayed in its buildings and the inhabitants in general much impoverished". Hull and Darby Ales were listed as famous types of ale in a humorous work of 1637 by John Taylor, 'the water poet', and Ashbourne Ale was mentioned in

The Compleat Angler ''The Compleat Angler'' (the spelling is sometimes modernised to ''The Complete Angler'', though this spelling also occurs in first editions) is a book by Izaak Walton. It was first published in 1653 by Richard Marriot in London. Walton continu ...

of 1653. One source says that Burton ale was first sold in London "about the year 1630", but there does not appear to be supporting evidence for this date. John Stevenson Bushnan, a 19th-century medical expert, wrote that, "In 1623 Burton Ale made itself known in London, as Darbie or

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

, from which town it used to reach London".

Burton ale established in London

In the early 18th century the fame of Derby Ale in London was eclipsed by that of its close neighbour, Burton ale. The Spectator magazine for 20 May 1712 says that a visit to the

Vauxhall Gardens Vauxhall Gardens is a public park in Kennington in the London Borough of Lambeth, England, on the south bank of the River Thames. Originally known as New Spring Gardens, it is believed to have opened before the Restoration of 1660, being ...

might be concluded "with a glass of Burton ale and a slice of hung beef". In the same year, Burton ale was being sold in London for 7s/6d per dozen bottles. A guidebook of 1722 notes that "Burton is the most famous town in England for le… and indeed the best character you give to ale in London, is calling it Burton ale; from whence they send vast quantities to London: yet they brew at London some that goes by that denomination." A guide to public houses in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

around 1718 refers to the feat of drinking a

yard of ale A yard of ale or yard glass is a very tall beer glass used for drinking around of beer, depending upon the diameter. The glass is approximately long, shaped with a bulb at the bottom, and a widening shaft, which constitutes most of the height ...

: A publication of 1727 lists 36 kinds of malt liquor being sold in London, including Burton ale, Derby ale and Litchfield ale.

Burton ale in the 18th and early 19th century; development of the export trade

In around 1708, Benjamin Printon (1680-1728) established a brewery, later bought by John Musgrove, which is considered to be the start of the foreign export trade in Burton ale. Other breweries in

Burton on Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In 2011, it had a population of 72,299. The d ...

soon followed, including the businesses of Benjamin Wilson (established 1742), William Worthington (1761) and William Bass (1777). It was Burton ale that built both the reputations and fortunes of the Burton brewers. Exports were facilitated by the opening in 1712 of the Burton Trent Navigation, constructed by

George Hayne George Hayne (died 1723) was a merchant and entrepreneur who was responsible for the creation of the Trent Navigation in England and hence the development of Burton upon Trent as the pre-eminent beer brewing and exporting town. Hayne was the son ...

Pipe Bridge over the Trent and Mersey Canal, Burton-upon-Trent - geograph

The extension of the Trent enabled Burton brewers to increase their annual beer sales in London from 638 barrels in 1712 to 1,000 barrels in 1722. The Trent navigation connected Hull with the Baltic ports, and the facilities thus offered for the introduction of the Burton ales were promptly taken advantage of, and by the year 1748 a considerable trade had already been established in the Baltic, the principal port for which was St Petersburg, where the ale obtained a ready sale at high prices. Both

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

and the Empress Catherine are said to have been fond of this beverage, which was then high coloured and sweet, and of remarkable strength.

Stout Stout is a dark, top-fermented beer with a number of variations, including dry stout, oatmeal stout, milk stout, and imperial stout. The first known use of the word ''stout'' for beer, in a document dated 1677 found in the Egerton Manuscript ...

was also exported to Russia.

Stebbing Shaw Stebbing Shaw (1762 – 28 October 1802) was an English cleric, local historian and topographer. He is remembered as a county historian of Staffordshire Life Stebbing Shaw was born in about the spring of 1762 near Stone, Staffordshire. His father ...

, the historian of Staffordshire, recorded in the 1790s, using notes prepared in the 1730s by the antiquary Richard Wilkes, that "so great is the celebrity of this place for its ale brewed here, that, betides a very considerable home consumption, both in the, country and in London, (where it was first sold at the Peacock in Gray's-Inn-lane, a house still celebrated for the vending of this liquor), vast quantities have been exported to Sweden, Denmark, Russia, and many other kingdoms." Transport was further aided by improved roads (the Burton to Lichfield and Burton to Derby roads were turnpiked in 1729 and 1753 respectively) and the construction of the

Trent and Mersey Canal The Trent and Mersey Canal is a canal in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire in north-central England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities to the east of Burton upon Trent and north of Middle ...

in 1777. "Fine Burton Ale in hogsheads" was sold on

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

by 1770. As early as 1726 Burton ale was sent to

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, according to

Francis Nicholson Lieutenant-General Francis Nicholson (12 November 1655 – ) was a British Army general and colonial official who served as the Governor of South Carolina from 1721 to 1725. He previously was the Governor of Nova Scotia from 1712 to 1715, the ...

(Governor 1721–25). During consideration of the Malt Duties Act 1780 Sir William Bagot, Member of Parliament for Staffordshire, proposed a clause in favour of the brewers of Burton ale, to exempt them from the new tax, because they brewed not for home consumption, but exportation.

Lord North Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (13 April 17325 August 1792), better known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from 1752 to 1790, was 12th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most o ...

said the clause would open a door to fraud, and consequently it ought not to be admitted. The motion therefore was rejected. When the Russian government imposed a prohibitive tariff on beer imports in 1822, Samuel Allsopp introduced a less sweet and more bitter version of Burton ale and marketed it across England and as far as Australia. Not all Burton ale was exported and there were many enthusiasts at home. The poet John Langhorne "passed many of his convivial hours at the Burton ale house in Gray's-inn Lane, where he took liberal draughts of a potent liquor, for which that house he Peacockis well known by the lovers of the infusion of malt". In the 1780s these included the future

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

In the 1790s,

Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his ''Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book ''Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764–18 ...

, the writer,

John Mathew Gutch John Mathew Gutch (1776-1861) was an English journalist and historian. Life John Mathew, eldest son of John Gutch, was born in 1776, probably at Oxford, and was educated at Christ's Hospital, where he was the schoolfellow of Samuel Taylor Coler ...

, the journalist, and James White, founder of the UK's first advertising agency, met at the Feathers in Hand Court,

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its roots ...

, to drink Burton ale. In 1806. it was noted that "Burton ale is accounted excellent, and great quantities are sent down the river to Hull, and exported to other parts of the kingdom and abroad". It was said in 1810 that "the ale made at Burton-upon-Trent in Staffordshire is smooth, extremely heady, but not clear", and in 1816 that "Burton ale is reckoned the best of any brought to London." William Cornelius Offley's Burton ale House in

Henrietta Street, Covent Garden Henrietta Street is a street in Covent Garden, London, that was once home to a number of artists and later became the location of many publishing firms. Location Henrietta Street is near to Covent Garden piazza. It continues Southampton Street ...

was a noted tavern and eating house in the early 19th century. Burton ale was also enjoyed at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, although

Brasenose College Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

insisted that its ale was better than all.

Burton ale from the early 19th century to the mid 20th century: co-existence with pale ales

Strong Burton ale co-existed with the

pale ale Pale ale is a golden to amber coloured beer style brewed with pale malt. The term first appeared around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with high-carbon coke, which resulted in a lighter colour than other beers popular at that time. Diff ...

s and India pale ales for which Burton–on-Trent became famous from the 1820s. However, opinions about these ales differed. One writer in 1827 mused: A couple of devotees of the original strong Burton ale wrote: The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park for Grand International Exhibition of 1851

The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park for Grand International Exhibition of 1851

Samuel Allsopp & Sons Samuel Allsopp & Sons was one of the largest breweries operating in Burton upon Trent, England. History Origins Allsopp's origins go back to the 1740s, when Benjamin Wilson, an innkeeper-brewer of Burton, brewed beer for his own premises and so ...

expanded rapidly under the direction of

Henry Allsopp, 1st Baron Hindlip Henry Allsopp, 1st Baron Hindlip DL (19 February 1811 – 2 April 1887), known as Sir Henry Allsopp, Bt, between 1880 and 1886, was a British businessman and Conservative politician. Background Allsopp was the third son of Samuel Allsopp (12 Augu ...

. The catalogue of

The Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took pl ...

in 1851 advertised: In 1853, the firm opened a depot in London in which year an 18-gallon cask of Allsopp's Strong (the Old Burton) Ale cost 45s, compared to 30s for pale ale and 33s for mild ale. In 1893,

received the highest awards at

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

for their India pale ale, their stout and their strong ale. Well into the 19th century,

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

had six different versions of Burton ale, ranging from 6% to 10.5% in strength. Bass No 1, labelled a barley wine, is in fact the last-remaining example of

's Burton ales. In 1876,

obtained the first two trademarks ever issued in the UK for its red triangle and red diamond, the latter having been used for Burton ales since the 1850s.

issued several limited bottlings of Bass No 1 Burton Ale to celebrate special occasions, starting with Ratcliff Ale in 1869 and continuing with King's Ale to mark the visit of

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

, a friend of

Michael Bass, 1st Baron Burton Michael Arthur Bass, 1st Baron Burton, KCVO (12 November 1837 – 1 February 1909), known as Sir Michael Arthur Bass, 1st Baronet, from 1882 to 1886, was a British brewer, Liberal politician and philanthropist. He sat in the House of Commons ...

, in February 1902 and Prince's Ale in 1929 when the mash was started by the then Prince of Wales, later

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

. Bass No. 1 was brewed almost continuously (with a 10-year break from 1944 to 1954) until its discontinuation in 1995, "its demise pretty much marking the end of barley wine production on any real scale the UK". Although the Burton brewers were the first brewers of Burton ale, and it remained a Burton speciality (many old pub mirrors from companies such as Bass and Allsopp advertise 'pale and Burton ales'), other brewers soon made their own versions, just as they did with

IPA IPA commonly refers to: * India pale ale, a style of beer * International Phonetic Alphabet, a system of phonetic notation * Isopropyl alcohol, a chemical compound IPA may also refer to: Organizations International * Insolvency Practitioners ...

. Burton ale was brewed from

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

to Dorchester. There was also a Scottish version, Edinburgh Ale, again dark and sweet. Burton ale appeared in school textbooks such as Thomas Carpenter's ''The young scholar's manual of elementary arithmetic'' of 1842: Q - What are 56 hogsheads, 2 firkins and 6 gallons of Burton ale worth at £4.11.8 per hhd? Ans - £258.14.0½ hhd = 54 gallons, 1 firkin = 9 gallons, £1 = 20s = 240d In the 1880s, it was noted that: In the same decade one brewer advertised an 'Anti-Burton', a non-intoxicating mild ale. Until the mid-20th century the main types of draught beer served in English pubs remained

mild ale Mild ale is a type of ale. Modern milds are mostly dark-coloured, with an alcohol by volume (ABV) of 3% to 3.6%, although there are lighter-hued as well as stronger milds, reaching 6% abv and higher. Mild originated in Britain in the 17th century ...

bitter Bitter may refer to: Common uses * Resentment, negative emotion or attitude, similar to being jaded, cynical or otherwise negatively affected by experience * Bitter (taste), one of the five basic tastes Books * '' Bitter (novel)'', a 2022 nove ...

and strong Burton ale, with Burton ale continuing to command a premium. In 1955, an American magazine explained to its readers that "It's the draught beers that are tricky. There are three main types: bitter beer, very strong and light colored; mild ale, sweeter and darker, and cheaper: and Burton or 'old', very dark, on the sweet side, and generally strong." The American brewery Ballantine's brewed a Burton ale to give to distributors and VIPs, including the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

. The expression Gone for a Burton, coined by airmen during World War II as a euphemism for missing in action (crashed 'in the drink'), may mean someone who had gone to the pub for a beer. At least eight London brewers were still making a Burton in the mid 1950s, and

Courage Courage (also called bravery or valor) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in battle. Physical courage is bravery in the face of physical pain, h ...

at the Horsleydown brewery would send out showcards to its pubs saying "Courage Burton is now on sale for the winter season". Barclay Perkins produced a draught Winter brew, "a dark beer of medium bitter taste with a mellowing sweetness", and bottled No 1 Southwarke Ale, "dark bitter sweet, of deceptive strength … rather similar in style to a Younger’s No 3 Scotch Ale". In Younger's London pubs in the 1950s, No. 3 took the slot occupied by Burton in local brewers’ boozers. In many ways, it was quite close to a London-brewed Burton, though with a lower level of hopping. However, the fall in popularity of darker ales in the 1960s meant that Burton ale rapidly almost disappeared.

Modern examples and revival of Burton ale

Young's Winter Warmer (Young's Burton until 1971) is a ruby-brown classic of the sort of ales that developed from those brewed in Burton upon Trent before that town became best known for heavily hopped pale ales and IPAs: well-rounded, mellow, old-oak dark, 1055 OG, but only five per cent ABV, and with a brown, fruity sugar tang (from the 'YSM', Young's special, proprietorial mixture of brewing sugars that go into the copper along with the wort) offset by a hint of bitter undercurrent.... Once almost every London brewery made beers like this for winter consumption, and large numbers of other brewers around the country did so too, on draught and in bottle. This was a beer with its roots in the lightly hopped ales of the 18th century and earlier, where malt flavours and strength were the qualities brewers and drinkers sought, not hoppiness.

Marston's Brewery Marston's plc is a British pub and hotel operator. Founded by John Marston in 1834, it is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Marston's disposed of its brewing operations in 2020, selling the assets to a newly formed joint venture with the Ca ...

's Owd Rodger Strong Ale is another surviving beer that was formerly sold as a Burton ale. Theakstons-Old-Peculier-with-glass

Fuller Smith and Turner replaced its Burton ale with a strong bitter, ESB, in 1969, but

Fuller's ESB Fuller's ESB (Extra Special Bitter) is a beer brewed by Fuller's at the Griffin Brewery in Chiswick, London. It has twice been named World Champion Beer, and has won CAMRA's Champion Beer of Britain Award on three occasions. History Fuller's ES ...

retains something of its Burton ale heritage and Fuller's 1845 Ale is based on a Burton ale recipe. Fuller's has also recreated two Old Burton recipes in its Past Masters' series, a 1905 Old London Ale and a 1931 Old Burton Extra (OBE). Fuller's OBE has been described by

Des de Moor Des de Moor (born 20 April 1961 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England) is a writer, singer, musician and songwriter. His first performance in front of a paying audience was in Hertford, Hertfordshire, England in June 1976. He worked with local bands and p ...

as "a relatively strong version of the style at 7.2%, made from pale and crystal barley malts boosted by maize and brewing syrup. The hops are a traditional combination of English Fuggles and Goldings used both in the copper and to dry hop the beer. The result is a rich deep Burgundy brown with a thick yellow beige head. There’s sultana and chocolate on a rich, smooth, malty and slightly spicy aroma with honey, black grape and a subtle hint of violet. A thick, cakey and very fruity palate dries rapidly, revealing roasted notes over a treacle base with spicy orange around the edges. A charred dry finish has an almost iron-like quality, with more chocolate, cake and spice."

Truman's Brewery Truman's Brewery was a large East London brewery and one of the largest brewers in the world at the end of the 19th century. Founded around 1666, the Black Eagle Brewery was established on a plot of land next to what is now Brick Lane in London, E1. ...

has recreated a 1916 No 1 Burton Barley Wine. Everard's formerly produced Burton ale; the company now offers a strong ruby ale called Old Original. Some strong dark mild ales such as Timothy Taylor's Ram Tam resemble Burton ale, as does Theakston's Old Peculier. Other dark ales – so not stouts or porters – of between 5.5 per cent and 7.5 per cent abv, strongly malt forward, muted hop flavours, though with bitterness in the background, lacking the roast, chocolate and coffee flavours that stouts and porters have, with a balanced, often full and fruity sweetness, include Adnam's Tally Ho (which has hints of liquorice, too) and Broadside, and

Greene King Greene King is a large pub retailer and brewer. It is based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. The company owns pubs, restaurants and hotels. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by CK Assets in October 2019. ...

’s Strong Suffolk.

Ind Coope Allied Breweries was the result of a 1961 merger between Ind Coope (of Burton), Ansells (of Birmingham), and Tetley Walker (of Leeds). In 1978, Allied Breweries merged with the food and catering group J. Lyons and Co to form Allied Lyons. The bre ...

produced Draught Burton ale between 1976 and 2014, but although it was advertised as the ale that Mary Queen of Scots drank while imprisoned in Tutbury Castle, DBA was not a Burton ale at all, but a pale ale. Whilst the emergence of golden ales has seen a shift away from dark beers in modern ale brewing, some microbreweries have recreated the stronger, darker styles of the past, and the listing sections of successive Good Beer Guides are packed with stouts, porters, barley wines and old ales. Craft brewers in the US, UK and elsewhere have brewed Burton ales, described as such, based on old recipes. Burton ales have been brewed by Foggy Noggin Brewing, Bothell, Washington, Big Choice Brewery, Brighton, Colorado, Culmination Brewing Company, Portland, Oregon, Marko Paulo brewery and its

micropub A micropub is a very small, modern, one room pub founded on principles set up by Martyn Hillier of the first micropub, The Butchers Arms in Herne, Kent, which are "based upon good ale and lively banter". Definition A micropub, according to ...

, The Owl & The Pussycat, London, and the Twisted Hop Real Ale Brewery in Christchurch, New Zealand. Historic Burton Ale recipes are also available for

homebrewing Homebrewing is the brewing of beer or other alcoholic beverages on a small scale for personal, non-commercial purposes. Supplies, such as kits and fermentation tanks, can be purchased locally at specialty stores or online. Beer was brewed dom ...

. Ballantine Burton was one of

Fritz Maytag Frederick Louis "Fritz" Maytag III (born December 9, 1937 in Newton, Iowa) is the former owner of Anchor Brewing Company in San Francisco and is Chairman of the Board of the Maytag Dairy Farms (maker of Maytag Blue cheese). He is also the owner o ...

's inspirations in the creation of his Old Foghorn Barley Wine at the

Anchor brewery The Anchor Brewery was a brewery in Park Street, Southwark, London, England. Established in 1616, by the early nineteenth century it was the largest brewery in the world. From 1781 it was operated by Barclay Perkins & Co, who in 1955 merged wit ...

, in San Francisco. and the

Pabst Brewing Company The Pabst Brewing Company () is an American company that dates its origins to a brewing company founded in 1844 by Jacob Best and was, by 1889, named after Frederick Pabst. It is currently a holding company which contracts the brewing of over ...

recreated Ballantine Burton Ale in 2015. To mark its 25th anniversary, Brewers of South Suburbia, an Illinois not-for-profit corporation, recreated Allsopp's Arctic Ale. Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project have also recreated a 1901 Burton Ale KK.Old Burton Extra
Ron Pattinson, 2012

References

{{Beer Styles Beer styles Beer in the United Kingdom