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News broke last week that one of the iconic and historic Burton Unions traditionally used to brew beers such as Marstons Pedigree has found a new home at Thornbridge Brewery having recently been discarded by Marstons. Here's the story, plus an appreciation of both the brewery and the first beer that they are planning to brew using the system....
Let's just recap for a minute.
Back in January, Carlsberg Marstons announced that they were ending production of their iconic Marston's Pedigree using the last example of the unique Burton Union brewing system still operating in this country. The decision caused uproar amongst many beer drinkers, CAMRA, and supporters of the brewing industry in general. In its defence, the brewery cited the cost of operating, cleaning, and maintenance of the equipment, and falling sales. Pedigree, an amber beer, and the only one still brewed using the system, had seen its sales volumes fall from being the pre-eminent cask beer it once was, which made the equipment's fate almost inevitable.The Burton Union system took its name from the town of Burton-on-Trent which was historically one of the main brewing centres in England. It was there where it was developed in the 1830's, and was soon adopted by many of the large number of brewers in and around the town. It was quirky and cumbersome and a uniquely British, a Heath Robinson-esque way of doing things, but it continued to be used over the years way after many of those original brewers had long gone. However when Bass, one of the most famous names in brewing and by now part of Molson Coors, stopped using the system a few years ago, it left Marstons as the only brewer in the country maintaining this unique tradition, with the accountants at Carlsberg Marstons Brewing Company (CMBC) eyeing up an opportunity to save some money, which eventually came to pass.So, question one, how does it all work and, question two, what it makes it so special? In a nutshell, the system uses a series of large wooden casks each with a capacity of around 7hl (150 gallons) which are positioned on their sides on a gantry. Each of the barrels are linked by a pipe on each side which allows the beer to be dispersed evenly between them by use of a feeder vessel. As yeast is added into the liquid in the barrels it causes it to ferment vigorously, and some beer and yeast is expelled via a swan neck pipe at the top of each barrel. This flows into an angled trough where the yeast is collected for future brews as the beer flows down the trough back into the feeder vessel where it goes back into the linked barrels. The process continues for about 6 days until all the yeast has been expelled and the beer is clear and ready to be packaged. To answer the second question, supporters of the system would say that rather than everything just remaining static in a single vessel during fermentation the extra activity and flow between barrels keeps the yeast happy and healthy which in turn produces better beer.
Burton Union system; a future beckons
All had gone quiet regarding the fate and state of the Unions until out of the blue, on the recent May Day Bank Holiday, a tweet from CMBC announced that they had a found a home for one of the sets at the Derbyshire home of Thornbridge Brewery, and that they were providing assistance and guidance during the installation. Clearly Thornbridge believe they can make a go of using a system that Marstons decided was unviable, but over the years since they started brewing in 2005 Thornbridge have shown themselves to be innovators and adept at adapting to the wide-ranging changes that have happened in the beer landscape.


It seems that the deal between CMBC and Thornbridge was assisted by legendary brewer Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery in the USA, with whom CMBC have a trading arrangement, who is a great admirer of Thornbridge. He is quoted as saying "When I heard that the unions were slated to go silent, I immediately thought that Thornbridge would be the perfect inheritors of this beautiful piece of British brewing heritage. I'm thrilled to provide the 'assist' on this historic play."

According to their website, Thornbridge have stepped in to save one of the sets, not only for its historic importance, but also to utilise it in a modern way and continue to develop the premium quality of their cask beer range. Starting with a brew of their flagship beer, Jaipur, they will follow up by brewing other much-loved beers from their catalogue, and new beers specifically for the Union set. They also say that collaboration brews using the system will be an integral part of its future there; bringing together breweries with a keen sense of history who would like to help innovate with the system. Simon Webster, the CEO and Co-Founder, of Thornbridge said of the deal “To have the chance to brew on a small part of the Union is incredible for us. We are so grateful to be given this opportunity and will make sure that great beers are brewed on the Thornbridge Union. It will give us a chance to collaborate, innovate and create premium cask beer whilst providing a new showcase for this important piece of brewing history.”


Thornbridge had been founded back in 2005 by Jim Harrison and Simon Webster recruited two young brewers, Martin Dickie (who went on to be a co-founder of Brewdog) and Stefani Cossi to brew on a second hand 10-barrel kit in the grounds of Thornbridge Hall, a then run-down pile set in beautiful gardens on a 100-acre estate near Bakewell in Derbyshire that had been acquired a year or two previously by Harrison. Both brewers had experience of the craft beer scene in the US, and started using American hops in some of the Thornbridge brews at a time when they were largely unknown to UK beer drinkers.


Thornbridge Hall

The first Thornbridge beer was Lord Marples, a 4% traditional bitter which is still in the range today. Another early beer was Jaipur, whose success led to the company's growth, and about which more in a minute. As demand continued to grow, things became too much for the small brewery at Thornbridge Hall, and a brand new state-of-the-art brewery was opened in Bakewell in 2009, although the original site is still used for small batch brews. Over the years the company has developed a wide range of beers, all labelled with a clear, distinct branding with a large number of regular beers such as Wild Swan, a blond session ale, Astryd, a 3.8% golden ale, the 4.5% Market Porter, and Kipling, a 5.2% golden pale premium beer on cask. Keg beers include Green Mountain, a 4.3% hazy session pale, Jamestown, a 5.9% NEIPA, and Lukas, a 4.2% Helles lager. Some such as Jaipur and Cocoa Wonderland, a 6.8% chocolate porter are available in various formats. Specials are brewed and beers are barrel-conditioned as well, and ever since they started, Thornbridge have continued to innovate and remain one of the most important brewers in the country. Over the years a dozen or so pubs have been acquired, some owned and some managed in conjunction with pubco Pivni, several in and around Sheffield, with others including the Banker's Cat in Leeds, the Market Cat in York, and the Colmore in Birmingham.


The Colmore, Birmingham

And what of the beer, a version of, that Thornbridge have chosen to be the first to be produced using their newly-acquired Union system? As referred to previously, Jaipur was one of the first beers brewed by the company, and remains the company's flagship brew. In responding to a request from the guys in charge that the brewers' US experience really came into its own. Beers in the US at that time generally had stronger ABVs than their UK counterparts, and they came up with this IPA hopped with Cascade, Chinook, Ahtanum, and Simcoe hops from the US, none of which were used in many - if any - British beers at the time. The beer concerned rocked up with a swaggering 5.9% ABV, despite which with its aroma of orange and other citrus peel and pine married with low colour Maris Otter malt from Norfolk was highly drinkable. It was christened Jaipur after the Indian city where Jim Harrison, had got married.



Jaipur was a ground-breaking ale for the UK market. As a cask beer it had had no precedents, but this strong IPA brewed with American hops took off, and it was only when Martin Dickie left Thornbridge to form Brewdog he developed Punk IPA that Jaipur had a serious rival, although it was rarely seen on cask. At that time there were few craft bars as we know them today and sales were into traditional pubs selling cask beer. But gradually, with bars such as North in Leeds and Port Street in Manchester opening up a new market sector, opportunities for Jaipur grew, and along with Punk, it led the way as an explosion of interest in American-style IPA's swept the country during the early 2010's, and provided the benchmark against which they were judged. Most though went into keg where the slight petillance and cooler serving temperature worked well with the generally higher ABV's, and when canning became a viable option, that was swiftly adopted too. Jaipur, whilst readily available in keg, bottle, and can, has always maintained a strong presence in its original cask format, and is regularly found on bars up and down the country.


Jaipur mixing it up on the bar in the Left Luggage Room, Monkseaton

Then there became a time when hazy New England IPA's came to the fore that Jaipur, which was clear as a bell in appearance, became old-fashioned, behind the curve, and seemingly out of touch with where the market was in the view of the hipsters that had embraced it so eagerly only a year or two before. To their credit, Thornbridge's view was to believe in their product and stick to their guns, carry on supporting what remains their flagship brand in cask, keg, can, or bottle, and in doing so it has continued to be a massive seller. You can buy it in the pub, the local offie, the supermarket, or the 35 countries or so where it is sold to in the export market. And it remains a quality beer. Other versions have appeared over the years such as a Double IPA and Jaipur X, which have gone down well. And I have to say that I am looking forward trying a new version infused with the brewer's imagination and the nuances in flavour derived from brewing it using an old-fashioned piece of Victorian whimsy....


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