This via Appellation beer.
The Coors Visitor Centre, aka the Bass Museum, in Burton on Trent, is to close in June 2008. Apparently it costs £1m a year to run, and visitor numbers are falling, despite a revamp. Full story here.
We’ve moaned about the lack of any museum celebrating London’s brewing heritage in the past, and it seems sad that there is no appetite for this kind of thing even in Burton. Not that we’ve ever been — perhaps there’s a good reason for the decline in visitor numbers…
Anyway, we’ll definitely be making the effort to get there before June – it’s been on our list for a while.
The Coors Visitor Centre site is here. They make no mention of the closure, so perhaps it’s not true.
7 replies on “Bass museum to shut”
One hopes that the Museum Brewery doesn’t go the same way!
For the moment they are keeping the White Shield Brewery open, but who honestly thinks that will last. The Visitors Centre is worth a trip for the bar alone, but Coors never had any intention of keeping it open long term. Yes, numbers have fallen, but Coors spent even less than Bass promoting it. Call me a cynic but I think it’s just been a matter of time.
Why don’t the big breweries understand that with Euro-fizz sales declining that they need to be putting their effort into the rising real ale market?
Oh pooh, I just spent ages designing a weekend tour to Burton with a visit to the nuseum included!
I have been. It is a good place and a shame it will close.
sign the online petition to keep the museum open
http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/burtonmail/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=302226
The above website has changed.
Please sign the petition at
http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/burtonmail-news-saveourheritage/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=299832