Thornbridge Brewery X The Kernel Brewery - Burton Ale

Thornbridge / Kernel Burton Ale, 5.5%

We brewed this beer first of all in summer 2011, on the original Thornbridge 10bbl kit which is sequestered away in an outhouse or former stable in the grounds of Thornbridge Hall, and name it ‘Coalition’.  The inspiration for this beer sprang from discussions between Dominic at Thornbridge and Evin at Kernel around making beer along historic lines in styles unknown to us.  So brewing a Burton Ale was decided upon with some aid from the beer historian Ron Pattinson, who helpfully provided templates and recipes and contexts from his archives.  We used something approximating a 1922/3 Courage KKK recipe (Old Burton Ale would have been how it was known).  We held fast to the use of Goldings hops, keeping the bitterness high to balance the alcohol (the 2011 batch was 7.3%).  Invert #3 sugar was also present and key to achieving the intended flavour, and capturing the spirit of a period in time, across a base of Maris Otter malted barley and some crystal malts for body and sweetness, with a touch of dark malt for colour.   The beer was a dark ruby red, all red fruits and hedgerows leading to caramel tones and darker fruits, malt depths and a firm bitterness.  

13 years later, we have brewed it again, with a very specific difference.  Earlier this year Thornbridge acquired a Burton Union Set  - Marston’s Brewery retired theirs, and Thornbridge took over a set to help preserve this particular and unique system of fermentation.  It was immediately clear to us that we should revisit the Burton Ale of 2011, this time fermented on the Burton Union Set that Thornbridge had installed.   It is a huge privilege to be able to produce this historical recipe on this historical piece of equipment, and to be part of showing that these histories are still alive. And we are really excited to see what changes the Union System brings to the finished beer.