The last of its kind (Marston's Pedigree)

Name: grahamt

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Product:	Marston's Pedigree
Date:	21/10/01 (149 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A typicaol example of its style

Disadvantages: Unbalanced

Pedigree is a unique beer, made by a method once widespread in the breweries of Burton-on-Trent. Indeed, once-upon-a-time the classic Bass was made this way. Marston’s alone now uses the union method of brewing and only for their Pedigree brand and even this is at risk.

Marston’s is no longer an independent brewer. In 1999 it was gobbled up by the increasingly acquisitive Wolverhampton & Dudley Group. W&D itself has recently been under attack. A takeover attempt by failed by only a small percentage of votes.

For the moment, Marston’s seems to have a reasonably secure future but the record over the years of acquired breweries is not good. The policy of almost inevitable closure is more the norm than the exception.

So what would this mean for Marston’s and in particular Pedigree?

The union method of brewing is relatively expensive compared with modern brewing techniques. In an industry increasingly governed by the demands of company accountants rather than those of the brewmaster, cheaper is equated with better but better mostly for the shareholders, not the consumers.

In most breweries, the fermentation process that converts raw mashed malt liquor into finished beer takes place in large fermentation vessels.

In Yorkshire, traditionally these vessels are large shallow square containers, often made of slate. In recent years these containers have been changed to stainless steel, mostly for reasons driven by Health and Safety requirements relating to hygiene. Now even these vessels are under threat due to their open-topped nature and the natural release of carbon dioxide. H&S demands for enclosed versions with gas extraction plant have upped-the-ante for brewers using this method and the economics may result in the abandonment of open fermentation vessels entirely.

The other traditional method is by the use of deep enclosed fermentation vessels. These are often seen on
TV and typify the traditional brewery in such programmes as “Morse”.

However, modern day breweries almost exclusively use the conical fermenter. These gigantic vessels stand as much as one hundred feet tall. They are relatively narrow and have a conical bottom, in which settles the “spent” yeast and other sediment from the fermentation process, from where it can be easily extracted without stopping the brewing process. This enables a “continuous brewing” method to be used, essential to meet the profitability targets of accountants. The beer is produced down to a standard that enables it to be made as cheaply as possible and so sold as profitably as possible in a highly competitive market.

The union method goes about the brewing process a completely different way. When you enter a union room what you see is barrels. A union set consists of a metal frame, which holds in place dozens of barrels in lines on both sides. From the top of each barrel emerges a pipe with a swan-neck top end. This swan neck dips into a trough, which runs around the entire frame above the barrels.

This trough contains fermenting beer but more importantly, yeast. A barrel is filled with raw malt liquor and picks up its charge of yeast from the trough. The fermentation process inevitably generates carbon dioxide and this bubbling or “fobbing” forces some of the beer and, as it naturally rises to the top, the yeast back up the pipe into the trough.

The end result is an enormous consistency in the beer as the same yeast constantly circulates through all of the barrels.

It is, however, a risky approach to brewing as any infection may also ruin all the beer in the set and potentially, through air-borne cross-infection, all the beer in the union room, which may contain many union sets. This is the accountant’s nightmare and has been one of the reasons why they are inherently opposed to this m
ethod.

Marston’s Pedigree is a beer typical of the Burton style of “Pale Ale”, 4.5% abv and of a clear copper colour. As such it is typical of the sort of strength found in these beers, stronger than a session beer but not as strong as a “Special Bitter”.

In my opinion, Pedigree is not a well-balanced beer. It has a distinct long-lasting bitterness but it is very light by way of malt flavour. The aroma is one of an initial sulphur “snatch” due to the unique character of the Burton water used in the brewing process, followed by a hoppiness of stunning dryness as the sulphur aroma wears off.

Certainly the bottled version produces a good long-lasting head. Indeed, I feel that the bottled version may actually be over-gassed. The acid tang inevitable in a beer that contains too much carbon dioxide takes a long time to recede. It is this gassiness that I find so unpleasant in run-of-the-mill keg beers and lagers so popular with the majority of younger drinkers.

Overall I find Pedigree to be a somewhat average beer, not deserving of the reputation it has acquired. Nevertheless it is not a bad beer and certainly not one that I would reject. It’s just that there is so much better to be had.

At its normal price it offers only average value for money. However, our local supermarket (Shaws) has it currently on offer - "buy one, get one free". At that price it offers good value.

Summary: