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12-05-2018, 11:26
Visit The Pub Curmudgeon site (http://pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2018/05/a-national-treasure.html)
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oOlpfDwQ-AE/WvbMVXkdfsI/AAAAAAAAGRk/MkUCYDZw8YYNOkyWzxnm3ZPDzjLQEeVvACLcBGAs/s200/draught%2Bbass.jpg (https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oOlpfDwQ-AE/WvbMVXkdfsI/AAAAAAAAGRk/MkUCYDZw8YYNOkyWzxnm3ZPDzjLQEeVvACLcBGAs/s1600/draught%2Bbass.jpg)
If we set aside Guinness as Irish, Bass must be the most famous British beer brand in the world. However, in recent years, especially in its home country, it has received scant support from brand owners AB InBev, and its distribution has drastically reduced.
However, it retains a strong base of support, and Ian Thurman, who blogs as thewickingman (https://thewickingman.wordpress.com/), has taken on the task of producing a database of all known Draught Bass outlets, to which a number of others including myself, retiredmartin (https://retiredmartin.com/) and britainbeermat (https://lifeafterfootball839.wordpress.com/) have contributed. The results of his endeavours can be found here (https://thewickingman.wordpress.com/2018/05/09/mirror-mirror-on-the-pub-wall-where-can-i-drink-draught-bass/), together with an excellent summary of the recent history of the brand and where it stands today. Its heartland remains the Midlands counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire, which together account for well over half the total. There’s a particular concentration in the Potteries, but only a solitary outlet in Greater Manchester. If you know of anywhere else that stocks Bass, Ian will be very happy to hear from you.
I blogged about Bass a couple of years ago (http://pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/great-stuff-this-bass.html), when I wrote:
I wouldn’t claim that the Marston’s-brewed Draught Bass is a patch on the 1970s original, but it is hard to compare things over a forty-year gap. But it does carry an echo of its essential character – complex, subtle, bitter-sweet, slightly sour and lactic, and not really drinking its strength. Its understatement makes it a classic English beer. Unlike many other 4.4% beers, you could happily sink several pints in a session. It’s one of my favourite real ales, and one I always like to see on the bar, and will go for in preference to other widely-distributed premium beers.While it may not be what it was forty years ago, what else is, and it’s still a well-made, distinctive, high-quality beer that stands up very well against the other beers in the premium sector with which it competes such as Doom Bar, Wainwright and Bombardier. It’s also, more than any other beer, a unique icon of British brewing. In many pubs, from the Tynemouth Lodge in the North-East to the Dolphin in Plymouth, stocking Bass is a symbol of their commitment to quality beer and respect for their heritage.
It’s just a pity that it has been so neglected by its owners that it needs the efforts of enthusiastic amateurs to promote it. Hopefully someone from the corporate world will read what Ian has written and give it a much-needed shot in the arm.
More... (http://pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2018/05/a-national-treasure.html)
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oOlpfDwQ-AE/WvbMVXkdfsI/AAAAAAAAGRk/MkUCYDZw8YYNOkyWzxnm3ZPDzjLQEeVvACLcBGAs/s200/draught%2Bbass.jpg (https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oOlpfDwQ-AE/WvbMVXkdfsI/AAAAAAAAGRk/MkUCYDZw8YYNOkyWzxnm3ZPDzjLQEeVvACLcBGAs/s1600/draught%2Bbass.jpg)
If we set aside Guinness as Irish, Bass must be the most famous British beer brand in the world. However, in recent years, especially in its home country, it has received scant support from brand owners AB InBev, and its distribution has drastically reduced.
However, it retains a strong base of support, and Ian Thurman, who blogs as thewickingman (https://thewickingman.wordpress.com/), has taken on the task of producing a database of all known Draught Bass outlets, to which a number of others including myself, retiredmartin (https://retiredmartin.com/) and britainbeermat (https://lifeafterfootball839.wordpress.com/) have contributed. The results of his endeavours can be found here (https://thewickingman.wordpress.com/2018/05/09/mirror-mirror-on-the-pub-wall-where-can-i-drink-draught-bass/), together with an excellent summary of the recent history of the brand and where it stands today. Its heartland remains the Midlands counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire, which together account for well over half the total. There’s a particular concentration in the Potteries, but only a solitary outlet in Greater Manchester. If you know of anywhere else that stocks Bass, Ian will be very happy to hear from you.
I blogged about Bass a couple of years ago (http://pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/great-stuff-this-bass.html), when I wrote:
I wouldn’t claim that the Marston’s-brewed Draught Bass is a patch on the 1970s original, but it is hard to compare things over a forty-year gap. But it does carry an echo of its essential character – complex, subtle, bitter-sweet, slightly sour and lactic, and not really drinking its strength. Its understatement makes it a classic English beer. Unlike many other 4.4% beers, you could happily sink several pints in a session. It’s one of my favourite real ales, and one I always like to see on the bar, and will go for in preference to other widely-distributed premium beers.While it may not be what it was forty years ago, what else is, and it’s still a well-made, distinctive, high-quality beer that stands up very well against the other beers in the premium sector with which it competes such as Doom Bar, Wainwright and Bombardier. It’s also, more than any other beer, a unique icon of British brewing. In many pubs, from the Tynemouth Lodge in the North-East to the Dolphin in Plymouth, stocking Bass is a symbol of their commitment to quality beer and respect for their heritage.
It’s just a pity that it has been so neglected by its owners that it needs the efforts of enthusiastic amateurs to promote it. Hopefully someone from the corporate world will read what Ian has written and give it a much-needed shot in the arm.
More... (http://pubcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2018/05/a-national-treasure.html)