Burton ale is a type of strong ale which is dark and sweet.Back to the local, Maurice Gorham, Faber & Faber, 1949. It is named after the brewing town of Burton-on-Trent.Change is Brewing: The Industrialization of the London Beer-Brewing Trade, 1400-1750, doctoral dissertation, Loyola University Chicago, John Krenzke, 2014 The Book of Beer, Andrew Campbell, 1956
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 were interchangeable, but compared to other old ales and barley wines Burton ale is distinctively dark, sweet and fruity.Barley wine and old ale, Martyn Cornell, 14 September 2010, quote: "there were three different types or traditions of strong beer, besides Imperial stout: strong Burton ales, like Bass No 1; strong stock bitters (think Fuller's Vintage Ale); and strong ales of the XXXXX type, darker than but not as fruity-sweet as a Burton, and less hoppy than stock bitters or Burtons (Gale's Prize Old Ale being a classic example, a beer with dark mild at its weaker, younger end). … There are hints (see Keith Thomas's researches) that beers called Old Tom were dryer, paler and weaker than beers called Stingo, but my impression is that most brewers went for the XXXXX style of strong ale, dark and sweetish but not fruity, and paler strong beer of the stock bitter type were rare until Tennant's of Sheffield introduced Gold Label in 1951."
__TOC__
Old Burton Old Burton is a strong version of Burton ale. Allsopp's Arctic Ale, first brewed in 1852 for Captain Edward Belcher's expedition to search for Sir John Franklin, was originally 11.24% ABV. The subsequent McClintock Arctic Expedition also took Burton ale."An Arctic Christmas", 27 December 1857: "Our Christmas was a very cheerful merry one. The men were supplied with several additional articles, such as hams, plum-puddings, preserved goosberries and apples, nuts, sweetmeats, and Burton ale." The Voyage of the 'Fox' in the Arctic Seas: a Narrative of the Discovery of the Fate of Sir John Franklin and His Companions, F. L. M'Clintock, 1859 Old Burton was referenced in The Wind in the Willows: "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![']"The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame, 1908
Burton ale Like most mediaeval monasteries, Burton Abbey, 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 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.The History of Brewing in Burton Upon Trent, CC Owen, J Inst Brew, 1986. See also Brewing in Burton-upon-Trent, Ian Webster, Amberley Publishing Limited, 2018 Account books from the 1470s for a north Derbyshire gentry family, the Eyres of Hassop, record the purchase of Burton ale.Everyday Life in Medieval England, Christopher Dyer, 2000 A Burton brewer assisted in conveying messages hidden in barrels to and from Mary, Queen of Scots during her captivity in the 1580s at Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire.See Babington Plot.
In the 17th century, the Trent valley became more widely noted in London as the source of fine (and expensive) ales, both bottled and in cask.See A short history of bottled beer, Martyn Cornell, 2010 Pepys' Hull ale,Samuel Pepys's diary entry for 4 November 1660 records "Thence to my Lord's, where I found Mr. Pierce, the surgeon, and with him and Mr. Sheply, in our way calling at the Bell to see the seven Flanders mares that my Lord has bought lately, where we drank several bottles of 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.The Brewing Industry in England, 1700-1830, Peter Mathias, 1959 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".A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 9, Burton-Upon-Trent, Victoria County History, 2003. Hull and Darby Ales were listed as famous types of ale in a humorous work of 1637 by John Taylor, 'the water poet',Drinke and Welcome: Or The Famovs Historie of the Most Part of Drinks, in Use Now in the Kingdomes of Great Brittaine and Ireland : with an Especiall Declaration of the Potency, Vertue, and Operation of Our English Ale, allegedly by the fictitious Huldrick Van Speagle and translated by John Taylor (the real author), 1637. See Swag-Bellied Hollanders and Dead-Drunk Almaines: Reputation and Pseudo-Translation in Early Modern England, Demmy Verbeke, 2010. and Ashbourne Ale was mentioned in The Compleat Angler of 1653.The complete angler, of Izaak Walton and Charles Cotton, with variorum notes, ed. E. Jesse, 1856, the editor saying that Ashbourne Ale "is now famous throughout the Northern and Midland Counties, and is not surpassed for strength, purity, and flavour, even by Nottingham ale".
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.Burton-on-Trent: Its History, Its Waters, and Its Breweries, William Molyneux, 1869 John Stevenson Bushnan, a 19th-century medical expert, wrote that, "In 1623 Burton Ale made itself known in London, as Darbie or Derby, from which town it used to reach London".Panala ala Catholica, or a Compound Ale, which is a general purge and generous medicine for most infirmities incidental to the bodie of man - being familiar, safe, and convenient for all ages, sexes, and constitutions, by William Folkingham"Burton and its bitter beer, John Stevenson Bushnan, 1853
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 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.The English Alehouse, P Clark, 1983 A guidebook of 1722 notes that "Burton is the most famous town in England for [ale] … 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 Journey Through England: In Familiar Letters from a Gentleman Here, to His Friend Abroad, Volume 2, John Macky, 1722 A guide to public houses in the City of London around 1718 refers to the feat of drinking a yard of ale:
A publication of 1727 lists 36 kinds of malt liquor being sold in London, including Burton ale, Derby ale and Litchfield ale.A Dissertation Upon Drunkenness: Shewing to what an Intolerable Pitch that Vice is Arriv'd at in this Kingdom. Together with the Astonishing Number of Taverns, Coffee-houses, Alehouses, Brandy-shops, &c. Now Extant in London, the Like Not to be Parallel'd by Any Other City in the Christian World. Also an Account of the Pride, Insolence, and Exorbitance of Brewers, Vintners, Victuallers, Coffee-house-keepers, and Distillers; with the Various Arts and Methods by which They Allure and Excite People to Drink and Debauch Themselve. The Whole Proving, that If this Drinking Spirit Does Not soon abate, All Our Arts, Sciences, Trade, and Manufactures Will be Entirely Lost, and the Island Become Nothing But a Brewery Or Distillery, and the Inhabitants All Drunkards, Anonymous, printed for T. Warner, 1727. See also Bernanrd Mandeville and 'A Dissertation upon Drunkenness ', Gordon S Vichert, 1964.
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.Burton-on-Trent: Its History, Its Waters, and Its Breweries, William Molyneux, 1869. The grant of probate for Benjamin Printon was dated 30 April 1729 in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. "Musgrove's genuine Burton ale" was advertised for sale at the St Dunstan's coffee house in Fleet Street, London in 1751 Other breweries in Burton-on-Trent 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.River Trent and Trent Navigation, quote: "Previously it had been unsafe to take a boat past Nottingham but the new improvements allowed navigation all the way to Burton-upon-Trent."
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.Trading patterns in the East Midlands, 1660-1800, Ben Travers, Midland History Volume 15, 1990 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 and the Empress Catherine are said to have been fond of this beverage, which was then high coloured and sweet, and of remarkable strength.Burton-on-Trent: Its History, Its Waters, and Its Breweries, William Molyneux, 1869. Stout was also exported to Russia. Stebbing Shaw, 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."The history and antiquities of Staffordshire, Volume 1, Stebbing Shaw, 1798.