Marston’s Brewery (Part 1)

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve posted a fair few Microbreweries on this blog for e.g. Heritage Brewing Company, Burton Town Brewery, Gates Burton Brewery and many more.

This made me realise I haven’t actually done one on a mainstream brewery.

Well today is your lucky day as my mainstream brewery post is about Marston’s Brewery which is based in Burton Upon Trent.

This is the home of Pedigree!

History

Marston’s brewery is a British brewery and within this establishment it owns pubs and is also a hotel operator.

The name was well known as Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries PLC (Programmable Logical Controller), then in 2007 the name was branded as Marston’s.

Below is a picture of Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries PLC:

What a marvellous image and the scale of the site is amazing.

Now let’s go back to the 1830s….

In 1834 John Marstons established J. Marston & Son at the old Horninglow Brewery in Burton Upon Trent.

By the mid 1860s the brewery produced a small amount of 3’000 barrels a year.

Then in 1898 Marston’s merged with John Thompson & Son Ltd and ventured over to there new prime location the Albion Brewery in Shobnall.

Still to this very day Marston’s is still operating on this fantastic site within the Brewing Capital Burton Upon Trent.

The capacity of this brewery went from 3’000 barrels a year to an enormous 100’000 barrels a year.

I just think that is incredible.

There was also another fantastic piece of history that came to life for Marston’s, the invention of The Burton Union System and still to this very day Marston’s is now the only brewery which use this system in the UK.

I’ll show you an example of the Burton Union System below:

The principle of this system is to prevent excessive beer and yeast which can be lost through foaming.

This system was used because it provides persistent flavour and their is less chance of a batch of beer being destroyed.

Marston’s Brewery currently owns and operates six different breweries within the UK.

They’re:

• The Park Brewery – Based in Wolverhampton – brews Bank’s and Thwaites beers under contract
• Marston’s Brewery – Based in Burton Upon Trent – brews traditional Marston’s Pedigree (4.3% ABV) and Draught Bass (4.4% ABV) under licensed with AB Inbev
• The Jennings Brewery – Based in Cockermouth
• The Wychwood Brewery – Based in Witney – Typically brew Hobgoblin Ruby Ale (5.2% ABV)
• The Ringwood Brewery – Based in Hampshire – A particular beer is Fortyniner (4.9% ABV)
• The Eagle Brewery – Based in Bedfordshire – Brews a fantastic Bombardier beer (4.7% ABV), which is sensational.

What a superb achievement this is for Burton and for all the people who have worked and currently work at the brewery.

Will six breweries, turn into ten breweries, who knows!

Next, it’s going to be virtually impossible for me to do a beer list on all of these breweries, to make things easier and not let this blog post turn into a 1000 worded post, I am just going to focus on the beers from Marston’s Brewery itself.

I will do beer posts and brewery posts on the other five Marston’s owned sites in the future once I have gathered my information.

I think it’s now time to talk about the beautiful beers that Marston’s Brewery currently brew:

Marston’s Brewery Beers

Marston’s 61 Deep Pale Ale (3.8% ABV) – A tropical, zesty and citrusy session pale ale. Named after its 61 metres depth well.

Marston’s Smooth (3.6% ABV) – A creamy and smooth crafted ale, delivering a full malty flavour. Leaves a citrus finish.

Marston’s EPA (3.6% ABV) – A refreshing and light blonde beer with citrusy flavours.

Marston’s Old Empire (5.7% ABV) – A traditional IPA (India Pale Ale), A pale appearance with a strong hoppy taste.

Marston’s Saddle Tank (3.8% ABV) – A clear, bright and full flavoured with a malty biscuit taste.

Marston’s Resolution (4.7% ABV) – A strong, refreshing beer that’s less filling and easier to drink, loads of full-bodied flavours.

Marston’s Pedigree (4.5% ABV) – Everyone’s favourite, A palate of biscuit malt, spicy hops and light fruitness.

Marston’s Pearl Jet (4.1% ABV) – The finest stout with hints of chocolate, coffee and sweet treacle flavours.

All the beers listed above are available in 9 Gallon Firkin Casks, Kegs, Cans and bottles (ABVs maybe different in the bottles and cans)

All bottles are bottled conditioned, do becareful when pouring.

What an incredible range of cask beers, my personal favourite is the Pearl Jet Stout.

I had this beer after completing my Cellar Course at Marston’s Brewery and it was gorgeous, best pint of stout I have ever had and it was crafted Keg Ale.

To finish up on this blog post I just want to say how amazed I am to see Marston’s Brewery go from strength to strength, starting with a small brewery based in Horninglow, to now owning five more breweries across the country.

There is so much more I could say about Marstons Brewery, but I dont want to go on to much.

In part 2, I’ll be writing a post about The Park Brewery, which concludes beers from Bank’s and Thwaites.

Hope you enjoyed reading my latest post.

Cheeeeeeeers

Luke x