The Bridge Inn on Bridge Street in Burton on Trent has recently featured in The Telegraph’s Pub Guide.   They said:
Burton upon Trent, once synonymous with British brewing, is dominated by what look like huge chemical plants that manufacture mass-produced lager. Our indigenous draught beers, meanwhile, are increasingly presented as quaint survivors of an antiquated craft like mead making, to be demonstrated in brewing museums while global corporations spread their bland beers around the land.

So where does a man go to find a watering hole that bucks the trend? He seeks sanctuary in the Burton Bridge Inn, the “tap” for the independent brewery of the same name.

The pub is an ideal showcase for the Burton beers that emerge from the back of a building that in parts is more than three centuries old. The skittle alley upstairs is lit by gas lamps, heated by roaring fires and imbued with a heady aroma of hops. Downstairs, the “Smoke Room” has a fine wooden floor, a black-leaded stove and walls that harbour nicotine shades from the days when smoking was allowed.

“This reminds me of the Dublin pubs I grew up in,” says a softly spoken Irishman at the bar. “Civilised conversation with no background music.” No Guinness, either, by the look of it. “But there’s draught porter,” he points out. And it’s impeccably kept, like the draught bitters. They’ve travelled all of 50 yards from where they were brewed. At 4.2 per cent alcohol, Bridge Bitter is a fine example of a medium-strength Burton ale. Golden Delicious is slightly weaker, but aptly named.

The nearest thing to a local delicacy on the lunchtime menu is Staffordshire oatcake stuffed with melted cheese. It has the look and texture of a pancake crossed with chamois leather. Not easy to swallow. “You really need something moist with it,” advises a kindly woman sitting with her husband near the open fire in the main bar. “Tomatoes, perhaps, or a runny egg.” In the absence of either, the best option would appear to be an English beer that shares its name with a French apple. One more Golden Delicious should do the trick.

The Telegraph

Return to InBurton.co.uk

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