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watch season 1 now: www.vimeo.com/ondemand/beertastic

episode 2

TOURIST INFORMATION
For at least one century – from the 1720’s to the
www.visitoruk.com/Burton-upon-Trent
1830’s porter beers dominated the English-speaking
beer scene – porterhouses and pubs became more
important than coffeehouses (and for those who s ll
THINGS TO DO WHEN YOU LIKE BEER... prefer coffee, there is a coffee-porter). But new

The Na onal Brewery Centre mal ng technologies enabled Bri sh brewers to
Horninglow Street, Burton upon Trent, DE14 1NG produce paler malts than those used in porter beers,
www.na onalbrewerycentre.co.uk and new, cheap glassware helped promote these
paler ales. Burton upon Trent brewers realized that
they could brew a rela vely pale ale using malts that
were substan ally lighter in color than the then-
the uk and beer common roasty stuff used in other parts of England
The ques on of which town could be declared the (and indeed in most countries). The high sulfate
“brewing capital of the world” has long been levels in Burton waters (up to 800 ppm) gave Burton
disputed – but for the 18th century, the answer an addi onal advantage over their compe tors: They
would undoubtedly be London, England. London was bring a hard, dry mineral edge to the bi erness of
the capital city of the Bri sh Empire and home to the beers brewed from it, which makes the water ideal
world’s largest port. There was a thirsty workforce, for the produc on of pale ales. For a few decades –
and there was a beer that would quench that thirst: un l brewing scien sts learned to add gypsum to
Porter. Originally a blend of slightly sour “stale ale” water to “burtonize” it – Burton became the brewing
and a lively fresh dark ale porter became a style of its capital of the world. Even brewing companies from
own – nowadays, the style guidelines for the World London moved here to brew what the Bri sh know as
Beer Cup list six different interpreta ons of the style. “Bi er”, and the rest of the world calls “Pale Ale”.