When a young upstart beermaker like 135-year-old Coors messes with the heritage of England’s 231-year-old Bass ale, trouble is brewing.
Coors is closing the Coors Visitor Centre, formerly known as the Bass Museum, in central England’s Burton-upon-Trent.
Affairs of the royal family scarcely have generated as much heated reaction. Words such as “outraged,” “shocked” and “devastated” are being thrown around like so many darts in a pub.
The Brits take their beer seriously. Nowhere is this so true as in Burton-upon-Trent.
Its history dates to 1002, when the monks of Burton Abbey discovered that the region’s hard water from gypsum-bearing rocks was ideal for brewing ale.
The Financial Times of London has described the Midlands city as “one of the greatest brewing towns the world has ever seen.”
Coors bills the visitors center as the United Kingdom’s “premier museum dedicated to brewing.”
But barring an act of Parliament or similarly weighty intervention, the visitors center and museum will close in June, a victim of high operating costs.
Coors Brewers Ltd., the British arm of Molson Coors Brewing Co., said it can’t sustain the center’s $2 million annual costs.
“This is a hard decision not only for our employees, but for our commitment to the local community,” said Keith Donald, a Coors executive in England. “The U.K. beer market is extremely tough — for all brewers, not just Coors.”
Coors acquired the England- and Wales-based Bass Brewers and the museum, as part of a $1.7 billion deal in 2002.
In addition to the museum, the visitors center has the Brewery Tap pub, a gift shop, meeting rooms and the White Shield microbrewery. Everything but the microbrewery will close. The complex employs 34 workers and 55 volunteers.
A local newspaper, the Burton Daily Mail, has launched a campaign to seek ways to reverse the decision, such as petitioning the government to give the center charitable status and converting it to a national museum.
City officials also have jumped into the fray, including a ward councillor who is organizing a march by citizens.
“Whatever happens, we do not want to lose it without a fight,” Michael Rodgers, a ward councillor, told the newspaper.
Donald said he’s not surprised by the public response.
“The CVC has been an important part of this community for some time,” he said. ” Our decision to close it was extremely difficult. We are open to working with anyone who has a viable solution for keeping the museum open.”
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to a reporting errors, it erroneously said Coors Brewers Ltd. is a unit of Coors Brewing Co. It is a unit of Molson Coors Brewing Co. The article also erroneously reported that Coors owns Bass beer. Although Coors purchased Bass Brewing in 2002, Coors retained ownership of Bass’ Carling brand but not the Bass brand
