The National Brewery Centre (formerly the Bass Museum of Brewing and later the Coors Visitor Center) was a museum and tourist attraction adjacent to the Bass Brewery in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The centre celebrated the brewing heritage of Burton and featured exhibits showcasing the history of brewing techniques. The centre also housed a bar and cafe, a history of the town, a collection of historic vehicles, a working steam engine, a micro brewery and a shire horse collection. [1]
On 18 March 2008, Coors announced that it was to close the Visitor Centre which the company was subsidising at a cost of £1 million a year. [2] The museum closed on 30 June 2008 but the attractions were mothballed in the hope that the museum could be reopened at a later date. [3] A steering group was established to investigate reopening the museum. [4] [5] The museum reopened as the National Brewery Centre on 1 May 2010 and was officially reopened by The Princess Royal on 21 September 2010. [6]
The Centre finally closed on 31 October 2022 after Coors decided to move its UK headquarters to the site. This was prompted by East Staffordshire Borough Council who gambled on winning money to secure Bass House in Burton to house a new museum. However, this money, part of the Government's levelling up funding, was not forthcoming. The exhibits are due to be put into storage. [7]
The centre's collection will be housed on the ground floor of Bass House on Burton High Street if funding is secured. The building is owned by East Staffordshire Borough Council. [8]
Staffordshire is a landlocked ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the south-east, the West Midlands county and Worcestershire to the south, and Shropshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and the county town is Stafford.
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 2021, it had a population of 76,270. The demonym for residents of the town is Burtonian. Burton is located 11 miles (18 km) south-west of Derby, 27 miles (43 km) north-west of Leicester, 28 miles (45 km) west-south-west of Nottingham and 20 miles (32 km) south of the southern entrance to the Peak District National Park.
Bass Brewery was founded in 1777 by William Bass in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The main brand was Bass Pale Ale, once the highest-selling beer in the UK. By 1877, Bass had become the largest brewery in the world, with an annual output of one million barrels. Its pale ale was exported throughout the British Empire, and the company's red triangle became the UK's first registered trade mark.
Burton is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Burton-on-Trent railway station is a mainline railway station located in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway, although only CrossCountry services call at this station.
Worthington Brewery, also known as Worthington & Co. and Worthington's, is a British brewer founded by William Worthington in Burton upon Trent in 1761. It is the third oldest continuously brewed British beer brand, after Shepherde Neame and Whitbread. The best known Worthington beers are its Creamflow nitrokeg bitter and White Shield India Pale Ale.
The Heineken Experience, located in Amsterdam, is a historic brewery and corporate visitor center for the internationally distributed Dutch pilsner, Heineken beer.
Charrington Brewery was founded in Bethnal Green, London, in the early 18th century by Robert Westfield. In 1766, John Charrington joined the company, which then traded as Westfield, Moss & Charrington from the Anchor Brewery in Stepney. It merged with United Breweries of London in 1964, and with Bass Brewery in 1967 to become the largest UK brewing company, Bass Charrington. The brewing operations of the company were bought by Interbrew in 2000, while the retail side were renamed Six Continents. In 2003, Six Continents split into a pubs business, now known as Mitchells & Butlers, and a hotels and soft drinks business, now known as InterContinental Hotels Group.
Burton upon Trent has a long history of brewing, at one time exporting beer throughout the world and accounting for a quarter of UK beer production; emulation of Burton water in brewing is called Burtonisation. Much of the town was given over to the industry throughout the 19th century and brewers dominated it politically and socially.
Stones Brewery was a brewery founded in 1868 by William Stones in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, and purchased by Bass Brewery in 1968. After its closure in 1999, its major brand, Stones Bitter, has continued to be produced by the Molson Coors Brewing Company.
Tetley's Brewery(Joshua Tetley & Son Ltd) was an English regional brewery founded in 1822 by Joshua Tetley in Hunslet, now a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire. The beer was originally produced at the Leeds Brewery, which was later renamed the Leeds Tetley Brewery to avoid confusion with a microbrewery of the same name.
Coors Brewers Limited, later known as Molson Coors Brewing Company (UK) Limited, is the UK arm of Molson Coors Beverage Company. Its headquarters is in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. The company originates from Bass Brewers Limited. The company has gone through many name changes and mergers.
Mitchells & Butlers Brewery was formed when Henry Mitchell's old Crown Brewery merged with William Butler's Brewery in 1898. Henry Mitchell had moved to the Cape Hill site in 1879 and this became the company's main brewing site. It had its own railway network, connected to the national railway system from 1907 to 1962, via the Harborne line.
Worthington's White Shield was an India pale ale (IPA) available principally in bottle conditioned form.
Ferry Bridge is a Victorian pedestrian bridge over the River Trent in Staffordshire, England. The bridge and its extension, the Stapenhill Viaduct, link Burton upon Trent town centre to the suburb of Stapenhill half a mile away on the other side of the river.
Burton ale is a type of strong ale which is dark and sweet. It is named after the brewing town of Burton-on-Trent.
The Burton Cooper is a 1977 statue by James Walter Butler currently located in Coopers Square shopping centre, Burton upon Trent. The statue commemorates the close connection of the town to the trade, which was key to Burton's brewing industry. Originally situated outdoors, the statue was relocated inside the centre when it was refurbished in 1994.
The Malt Shovel is a 2001 sculpture by Andrew Hazell that stands on the corner of High Street and New Street in Burton upon Trent in England. It was commissioned by East Staffordshire Borough Council in 1998 and funded by a National Lottery grant. The sculpture is a representation of a shovel used for malting, part of the brewery process that dominated the town's history. The stainless-steel sculpture stands 9 metres (30 ft) tall and has a bottle-shaped opening in the blade through which people can walk. The sculpture was unveiled amid local controversy over its accuracy and site.