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36-582: Bass Brewery ( / ˈ b æ s / ) 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 annual output of one million barrels. Its pale ale was exported throughout the British Empire , and the company's red triangle became

72-589: A London publican who ran the Red Lion Inn close to the London depot. They chose Burton-upon-Trent as their home because it was midway between Manchester and London, was a growing industrial-commercial centre, and was ideally positioned on the new Trunk canal , continuing his business there as a carrier of beer , his chief client being Benjamin Printon. By 1777, aged 60, he had saved some money, and, seeing

108-629: A brewery, William Bass transported ale for brewer Benjamin Printon. Bass sold this carrier business to the Pickford family, using the funds to establish Bass & Co Brewery in 1777 as one of the first breweries in Burton-upon-Trent . Early in the company's history, Bass was exporting bottled beer around the world, serving the Baltic region through the port of Hull . Growing demand led his son Michael Thomas Bass (1760–1827) , to build

144-451: A brewing town. In the mid-1870s, Bass, Ratcliff and Gretton accounted for one-third of Burton's output. A strong export business allowed Bass to boast that their product was available "in every country in the globe". By 1877, Bass was the largest brewery in the world, with an annual output of one million barrels. In the 1880s the brewery received unwanted publicity through the lifestyle of Frederick Gretton, son of John Gretton. Having worked for

180-428: A high alcohol content, it is, in some jurisdictions, taxed at a higher rate than other beers. Thus, barley wines tend to suffer a further price premium compared with other beers. Similarly, many jurisdictions have different regulations regarding where beers and wines can be sold, leading to confusion regarding in which category barley wines fall, thus limiting access. A variation on the barley wine style involves adding

216-421: A private company. The brewer became a public limited company in 1888. Bass' No. 1 Ale was the first beer to be marketed as barley wine , around 1870. Early in the 20th century, a declining market closed many Burton breweries, 20 in 1900 falling to eight in 1928. Bass took over Walkers in 1923, and Worthington in 1927. Also in 1927, they acquired, for over £1,000,000, Thomas Salt , which was founded in 1774 as

252-619: A second brewery in Burton in 1799 in partnership with John Ratcliff. The water from local boreholes became popular with brewers, with 30 operating there by the mid-19th century. His son, Michael Thomas Bass (1799–1884) , succeeded on his father's death in 1827, renewed the Ratcliff partnership, brought in John Gretton, and created 'Bass, Ratcliff and Gretton'. The opening of a railway through Burton in 1839 redoubled Burton's pre-eminence as

288-579: A white can was also available. Introduced in 1972, it was made by Britvic . It was discontinued in 2018. Bass Pale Ale has been brewed under licence in Belgium since the Interbrew takeover. It is typically sold in 25cl bottles at 5.2% ABV. Draught Bass has been exported to America since at least 1966. In 2001, 66,500,000 litres of Bass were sold in the United States . However Bass suffered under

324-502: Is 1.062. Martyn Cornell was quoted as saying, "no historically meaningful difference exists between barley wines and old ales ". He later clarified, "I don’t believe there is actually any such meaningful style as 'barley wine'". Barley wines, such as Thomas Hardy's Ale , are sometimes labelled with a production date, as they are intended to be aged, sometimes extensively. Many jurisdictions have different taxing schemes for potables based upon alcohol content . Since barley wine has

360-510: Is brewed by Marston's in Burton in Yorkshire Squares using English hops and dry hopping and is described as "a classic ale with a malty, fruity, nutty aroma and a complex, satisfying flavour". Bottled Bass is not bottle conditioned, and is brewed at Samlesbury , Lancashire, by AB InBev. An ale brewed for export, usually to around 5% ABV. A 1.2% (later 0.5% ABV) shandy made with Bass beer and lemonade. A Pilsner variant in

396-841: The Clay Brewery by Joseph Clay, who sold it to Salt, his maltster, just before the introduction by Napoleon of the Continental System that stopped all trade between Britain and Europe. Bass was one of the original London Stock Exchange FT 30 companies when the listing was established in 1935. Over the next half-century, Bass maintained its UK dominance by acquiring such brewers as Mitchells & Butlers (1961), Charringtons (1967), Bents-Gartsides (1967), John Joule & Sons (1968), William Stones Ltd (1968), and Grimsby 's Hewitt Brothers Ltd (1969), being variously known as Bass, Mitchells and Butlers or Bass Charrington . Draught Bass ale and Worthingon "E" were merged to become

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432-717: The Competition Commission) released a report entitled "The Supply of Beer: A Report on the Supply of Beer for Retail Sale in the United Kingdom", investigating the nature of the beer industry. The report made recommendations to break up a "complex monopoly " among beer brewing and sales between the UK's "Big Six" ( Allied , Bass, Courage , Grand Metropolitan , Scottish & Newcastle , and Whitbread ), which at that time accounted for "75% of beer production, 74% of

468-693: The Red Triangle logo have occasionally appeared in art and literature, including Édouard Manet 's 1882 painting A Bar at the Folies-Bergère and in over 40 paintings by Picasso , mostly at the height of his Cubist period around 1914. In the "Oxen of the Sun" episode of James Joyce 's Ulysses , Bloom observes the Bass logo. Draught Bass is a 4.4% ABV cask conditioned beer. Most prevalent near its Burton upon Trent and Derbyshire heartlands, it

504-430: The UK's first registered trade mark . Bass took control of a number of other large breweries in the early 20th century. In the 1960s it merged with Charrington United Breweries to become the largest UK brewing company, Bass Charrington. The brewing operations of the company were bought by Interbrew (now Anheuser-Busch InBev ) in 2000, while the retail side (hotels and pubs) was renamed Six Continents plc . Because at

540-555: The UK, draught Bass (4.4% ABV ) has been brewed under contract in Burton by Marston's (formerly a relatively minor competitor) for AB-InBev since 2005, while bottled products are brewed at AB-InBev's own brewery in Samlesbury , Lancashire, for export. Bass is also brewed locally in the United States and Belgium. Bass Ale is a top ten premium canned ale in the UK, with 16,080 hectolitres sold in 2010. Before establishing

576-617: The US with a higher alcohol content are now produced there domestically by Anheuser-Busch at a Baldwinsville , New York, facility. From 2000 to 2005, Bass was produced under licence by Molson Coors in Burton, in the original Bass brewery. When Coors' licence to brew draught Bass came to an end in 2005, a new licence was awarded to Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries plc (later Marston's plc ), which transferred production of Bass to its own brewery, also in Burton. The former Bass brewery in Burton, under Molson Coors ownership, underwent renovations in

612-502: The brewer-owned retail estate, and 86% of loan ties ." Recommendations to limit the number of pubs a brewing company could own were enacted in legislation in 1989, commonly called " the Beer Orders ", with three years for brewers to dispose of excess pubs. Bass went from owning approximately 7,190 pubs in 1989 to about 2,077 in 2014 (by its successor company Mitchells & Butlers ). Following decades of closures, consolidation, and

648-471: The company when a young man, he drifted away and developed a stable of racehorses. His 'Sterling' and 'Isonomy' were stars of the Turf. But Fred, as he was known, was also a heavy drinker and took a mistress, the teenage Fanny Lucy Radmall. In later life she would become a household name as Lucy, Lady Houston . When Fred died of drink in 1883 he left her £6,000 a year, much to the disgust of his family. Following

684-804: The custodianship of InBev and later Anheuser-Busch InBev as it is undergoing heavy decline in American consumption, with 24,200,000 litres sold in the country in 2010. Molson Coors pledged funding to support the Bass brand in America, and since June 2012, Bass has been brewed in Merrimack, New Hampshire , at 5% ABV for the American market. In 1860, Bass was the first foreign beer to be sold in Japan. 52°48′25″N 1°37′55″W  /  52.807°N 1.632°W  / 52.807; -1.632 William Bass (brewer) The exact origins of William Bass,

720-639: The deal and instructed Interbrew to dispose of the Bass brewery facility in Burton along with the Carling and Worthington brands, which were all sold to Coors (later Molson Coors ). However, Interbrew was to retain the rights to the Bass Pale Ale brand. With only hotel and pub holdings left in the Bass company's portfolio, the company renamed itself Six Continents plc , which itself split into Mitchells & Butlers and InterContinental Hotels Group in 2003. Bottled and keg Bass formerly exported to

756-407: The death of the second Michael Thomas Bass in 1884, his son Michael Arthur Bass, later the 1st Baron Burton , took the reins. Both Michael Thomas Bass and his son Lord Burton were philanthropically inclined, making extensive charitable donations to the towns of Burton and Derby . The annual Bass excursions , laid on by the firm for its employees, were the largest operation of its type in the world by

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792-480: The domestic market, but in 1784 he started to export ale directly to Russia. Bass is buried in Burton. Bass married Mary Gibbons and the son was Michael Thomas Bass. Barley wine Barley wine is a strong ale from 6–12% alcohol by volume. The first beer to be marketed as barley wine was Bass No. 1 Ale, around 1870. The Anchor Brewing Company introduced the style to the United States in 1976 with its Old Foghorn Barleywine Style Ale. Old Foghorn

828-635: The early 21st century, and as of 2021 brews Carling and other beers for the UK and European market. In 2020, the historic Bass brewery site, adjacent to the contemporary brewery, was put on the market for redevelopment. Sited next to the brewery, the Bass Museum of Brewing (later renamed the Coors Visitor Centre & The Museum of Brewing), was Burton-upon-Trent's largest tourist attraction until closed by Coors in June 2008. A steering group

864-485: The effects of the Beer Orders, Bass was left by the end of the 20th century as one of only two large remaining breweries in Burton. The Bass company decided to focus on hospitality rather than brewing and Bass' brewing business was sold to the Belgian brewer Interbrew (later Anheuser-Busch InBev ) in June 2000. The UK government's Competition Commission again raised concerns about the monopoly implications arising from

900-649: The first in line to register a trade mark the next morning. As a result, Bass, Ratcliff & Gretton Limited received the first six registrations, the Bass Red Triangle for their pale ale and the Bass Red Diamond next for their strong ale (Numbers 3 to 6 have been abandoned). The trade marks are now owned by Brandbrew SA, an InBev subsidiary based in Luxembourg . In June 2013 InBev renamed Bass Pale Ale as Bass Trademark No.1. Bottles of Bass with

936-563: The founder of the brewery are not clear, but a scholarly account of the history of the Bass brewery shows that in the 1720s he was living with his parents, John and Ann Bass, and his two brothers, John and Thomas, in Hinckley , Leicestershire . His father, a plumber and glazier, died when William was 15, after which he carried on a carrier business with his older brother John in Hinckley. In 1756 William married Mary Gibbons, daughter of

972-674: The growing demand for Burton beer, he entered the brewing business. He bought a town house in the High Street, which contained a brewery and malthouse on adjoining land. Burton was already a thriving brewing town with several breweries exploiting the growing export beer trade via the Trent Navigation and Hull to the Baltic ports in Russia , mainly Saint Petersburg . He established the Bass Brewery and catered mainly for

1008-482: The introduction of an amber-coloured barley wine under the name Gold Label by the Sheffield brewery Tennant's in 1951 (later brewed by Whitbread ), British barley wines were always dark in colour. Beer writer Michael Jackson referred to a barley wine by Smithwick's thusly: "This is very distinctive, with an earthy hoppiness, a wineyness, lots of fruit and toffee flavours." He also noted that its original gravity

1044-541: The other major brewers which now dominated the industry, Bass were moving away from the production of traditional ales in favour of keg beer and particularly Carling lager at Warrington, ignoring opposition from CAMRA . In 1988, Bass acquired the rights to franchise the Holiday Inn name outside of North and South America and in 1989 went on purchase the Holiday Inn hotel chain from Holiday Corporation . During

1080-551: The prime ministership of Margaret Thatcher , beer production, distribution and retailing were vertically integrated, with the "Big Six" brewers (Bass among them) accounting for a large portion of UK beer production and sales. Most pubs were " tied houses ", owned by one of the brewers, and mostly selling its products. On the advice of the Director-General of Fair Trading , the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (later

1116-416: The red triangle from that date. The blue triangle was briefly revived after World War II for Pale Ale that was not bottle conditioned. The Bass Red Triangle was the first trade mark to be registered under the UK's Trade Marks Registration Act 1875 . The Act came into effect on 1 January 1876 and legend has it that a Bass employee queued overnight outside the registrar's office on New Year's Eve in order to be

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1152-597: The same product until Bass became preferred as the name of the cask beer and Worthington for keg, although some pubs resisted this distinction. Bass had been reliant on railways to distribute its beer from Burton, and owned the country's largest private rail network within the town linking its various premises. From the 1970s it followed the trend to abandon the use of rail freight, which had become notoriously unreliable. The switch to road haulage required local transport depots, and in many places small independent breweries were bought and repurposed as such. At that time, along with

1188-476: The time Interbrew controlled a large portion of the UK beer market, the Competition Commission instructed Interbrew to sell the Bass brewery along with certain brands to Coors (now Molson Coors ), while retaining the rights to the Bass brand. In 2010, it was widely reported that AB-InBev was attempting to sell the rights to the Bass brand in the UK for around £10 million to £15 million. In

1224-600: The word "wine" is due to its alcoholic strength similar to a wine , but since it is made from grain rather than fruit , it is a beer . Breweries in the United States typically release it once a year during the autumn or winter. The two primary styles of barley wine are the American, which tends to be hoppier and more bitter, with colours ranging from amber to light brown and the English style, which tends to be less bitter and may have little hop flavour, with more variety in colour ranging from red-gold to opaque black. Until

1260-529: Was established to investigate re-opening, and the museum was relaunched in May 2010 as the National Brewery Centre. It closed in 2022. Bass was a pioneer in international brand marketing . "Many years before 1855" Bass applied a red triangle to casks of its Pale Ale. After 1855 the triangles were red, white or blue depending on which of three breweries it came from, but all bottles of Pale Ale had

1296-420: Was styled as "barleywine" (one word) out of fear that occurrence of the word "wine" on a beer label would displease regulators. In 1983, Sierra Nevada Brewing released Bigfoot Barleywine, becoming the second barley wine label in the United States. Barley wine typically reaches an alcohol strength of 6 to 12% by volume and is brewed from specific gravities as high as 1.120; equal to 320g/L of sugars. Use of

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