Burton Ale rears its lovely head

Hello, old friend," I said, "long time no see."

Things have come to a pretty pass when I start talking to pump handles, but my outburst was caused by the pleasurable surprise of seeing a pump clip from the past for Ind Coope Draught Burton Ale.

I was in the Wynnstay Arms in Llangollen in north-east Wales and there, nestling between pumps for Greene King IPA and Abbot (two more beers a long way from home) was one of the classic English pale ales ­ one I haven't seen or drunk for many a year.

Burton Ale has a cherished place in the history of the real-ale revival.

Camra (Campaign for Real Ale) was founded in 1971 and was brilliantly successful in its early years in winning media support for its cause.

It convinced regional brewers to stick to the true path rather than embarking on the road to ruin known as keg beer.

Winning the nationals to the cask-beer cause was more difficult.

Allied Breweries, Courage, Bass and Whitbread had large portfolios of real ales, but concentrated on their national, and far more profitable, keg brands and new lager brands.

The north east of England and Scotland were dubbed "beer desserts" by Camra, and Scottish & Newcastle, the dominant force, paid no more than lip service to cask ale.

As for Watneys, the most reviled of all the national brewers, no real beer escaped from its breweries.

In 1976, when journalists were invited to visit Allied's Ind Coope brewery in Burton-on-Trent for "a major announcement", little did we know, as we journeyed from St Pancras to Derby, that history was in the making.

At Burton, we were shown round the historic Ind Coope brewery and were then ushered into a sampling area for the unveiling of a new beer.

It was called Draught Burton Ale.

As we sipped glasses of this malty, hoppy and fruity strong ale, executives from Allied explained that they were responding to consumer demand and were test-marketing the new beer, which would go into selected outlets in the group's national pub estate.

The success of Burton Ale took everyone, both writers and brewers, by surprise.

When news of the beer broke in the press, Allied publicans phoned the company in their thousands, demanding supplies.

Gaskell & Chambers put its workforce on permanent overtime in a desperate attempt to keep up with the demand for new beer engines.

Allied also went on to overtime as it found it had a surprise hit on its hands.

Burton Ale became a national cask brand, a premium ale on bars alongside Ansells and Tetley's.

The impact of Burton Ale was profound.

It boosted hard-pressed regional brewers and it caused the other nationals to rethink their attitude to cask beer.

Bass began to promote Draught Bass, Charrington IPA and Stones Bitter with a degree of fervour, Courage Best and Directors became more easily available, while Whitbread put its muscle behind Wethereds and Pompey Royal.

Most amazing of all, cask beers began to appear under the names of Watney and Truman.

In 1990 Allied won Camra's coveted Champion Beer of Britain award for Burton Ale.

It was a singular event ­ the first and only time a national brewer has won the accolade.

On the back of that success, Allied created the Guild of Master Cellarmen for publicans who cellared and served Burton ale in tip-top condition.

The guild certificate hangs behind the bar of the Wynnstay Arms in Llangollen.

In the late 1980s and 1990s, Allied lost interest in Burton Ale.

As Allied Domecq, its interests were global rather than national.

Support for the beer disappeared and sales went into free fall.

When Allied sold its breweries and pubs, Burton Ale disappeared and then made a startling comeback as a brand brewed by Tetley in Leeds.

Can a Burton classic be brewed in Yorkshire?

Is it a marketing nonsense?

I may argue with Tetley's that perhaps the name should be carefully tweaked to remove "Ind Coope" and "Burton" from the title.

But it's still a marvellously rich, full-bodied ale, a hymn to the hop.

Let's hope it begins to get national coverage again.

Much though I'd like to, I can't travel five hours to Llangollen every time I fancy a pint.

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