Burton Bridge Brewery takes its name from the Burton Bridge over the River Trent at Burton-on-Trent. It is situated twenty yards from the end of the present bridge. Built in the late 17th Century as the Fox and Goose Inn, the old bridge finished just outside the front door. Remains of the first two arches are still there but buried under the road.
An even earlier bridge probably existed in Roman times, the connection being carried through to the present time by XL Bitter.          

  The pump clip shows a Roman senator holding up a glass of beer and gazing longingly at it.
     The beer has an OG of 1040 (XL in Roman Numerals). The bridge itself saw much military action in
      Edward Il’s reign but the brewers arrived in the early eighteenth century.

Benjamin Printon became the town’s first common brewer in 1708 with his brewery being built in Bridge Street. Indeed he was not alone for at sometime or other, John Thompson’s Brewery, Boddingtons Brewery, the Burton Brewery, Salt’s Brewery and Joseph Nunnelly’s all existed within a radius of 150 yards of the old Fox and Goose Inn. Some brewery buildings still exist of this golden period including a small floor maltings dated 1823 at the bottom of which is now the brewery yard.

In the early 19th Century the free-hold of the Fox and Goose was purchased by Mr Bass from the Marquis of Anglesey and it remained a Bass licensed house until it was closed and sold off by them in 1982. Again people came across the bridge from the south when Geoff Mumford and Bruce Wilkinson bought the old pub with a view to opening yet another commercial brewery. This was the start of the 201st. brewery company to have operated from Burton since Benjamin Printon’s day.

The Beginning

Whilst developing the liquor system at Ind Coope’s Romford brewery in 1979, Engineering Manager Geoff Mumford and Technical Manager, Bruce Wilkinson discovered a mutual interest in starting their own brewery. Information was shared and many small breweries visited. Both men quickly realised that a pub connected to a brewery could reap the benefits of beer in the very best condition, delivery and cask costs would be minimised. But neither had pub experience and were anxious that the tail (pub) should not wag the dog (brewery). The Midlands was decided as the location for such a venture as there were properties within their budget and their parents were within visiting range.

The Fox and Goose was advertised in the Morning Advertiser and a visit was made during the May bank holiday in 1981). The pub had been closed for some two years and had been sold (de-licensed) to a solicitor. There were no services (gas, electricity, water) and the building needed much maintenance to get it habitable, let alone trading as a brewery pub. The old pub had been on Bridge Street and the back building had been used for stabling in the days of the pub being a coaching station and since those days as a store for defunct furniture.

After much thought and talk it was decided to make an offer for the building subject to planning permission being granted to be able to brew on site. In October 1981), notice to leave was given to Ind Coope at Romford and various items of equipment were purchased from diverse sources. Brewing finally started on 25 May 1982 after 6 months of long, hard work with the help of 2 Y-O-P’s.