The National Brewery Centre (formerly the Bass Museum of Brewing and later the Coors Visitor Center) was a museum and tourist attraction adjacent to the

Bass Brewery Bass Brewery () was founded in 1777 by William Bass in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The main brand was Bass Pale Ale, once the highest-selling beer in the UK. By 1877, Bass had become the largest brewery in the world, with an an ...

Burton upon Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, England. The centre celebrated the

brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...

heritage of Burton and featured exhibits showcasing the history of brewing techniques. The centre also housed a bar and cafe, a history of the town, a collection of historic vehicles, a working steam engine, a

micro brewery Craft beer is beer manufactured by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer than larger "macro" breweries and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, ne ...

and a

shire horse The Shire is a breed of draft horse, draught horse originally from England. The Shire has a great capacity for weight-pulling; it was used for agriculture, farm work, to tow barges at a time when the Canals of the United Kingdom, canal system ...

collection.

Closure, reopening and second closure

On 18 March 2008, Coors announced that it was to close the Visitor Centre which the company was subsidising at a cost of £1 million a year. The museum closed on 30 June 2008 but the attractions were mothballed in the hope that the museum could be reopened at a later date. A steering group was established to investigate reopening the museum. The museum reopened as the National Brewery Centre on 1 May 2010 and was officially reopened by

The Princess Royal Princess Royal is a title customarily (but not automatically) awarded by British monarchs to their eldest daughters. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family. There have been ...

on 21 September 2010. The Centre finally closed on 31 October 2022 after Coors decided to move its UK headquarters to the site. This was prompted by

East Staffordshire Borough Council East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

who gambled on winning money to secure Bass House in Burton to house a new museum. However, this money, part of the Government's levelling up funding, was not forthcoming. The exhibits are due to be put into storage.

Future plans

The centre's collection will be housed on the ground floor of Bass House on Burton High Street if funding is secured. The building is owned by East Staffordshire Borough Council.

References

External links

The National Brewery Centre website
{{coord, 52.8074, -1.6323, type:landmark_region:GB-STS, display=title Museums established in 2010 Museums in Staffordshire Tourist attractions in Staffordshire Food museums in the United Kingdom Beer museums 2010 establishments in England