Market town seeks Ale Taster

With unemployment running high, any job opportunity is worth considering.

Even so, the market town of Wellington, Shropshire can expect particular interest in the latest civic post it hopes to fill - even though there's no salary attached.

The town is seeking applications for the ancient role of Ale Taster, a job last done in the early nineteenth century.

From medieval times, the taster's duties involved visiting stalls and inns on market days and during the town's fairs to ensure that the beer and other produce on sale were of good quality.

"Wellington Market was awarded its Charter in 1244, so the Ale Taster would have been a familiar sight right up to the 1840s when the position was phased out," said Malcolm Ball, chief executive of Wellington Market Company.

Reviving the ancient office reflects increased interest in local produce "Our ceremonial Ale Taster will become an ambassador for the promotion of food and drink in the town," added Bell.

"Modern tastes have evolved and become so much more sophisticated in recent times and people demand ever greater levels of quality and variety."

A full job description can be found at Ale Taster​. Applicants will be considered by a panel of judges including Dave Goldingay of Ironbridge Brewery, in nearby Telford, with a formal investiture planned for the autumn.