End of an Era!

The announcement by Carlsberg Britvic that Marston’s famous brewery in Burton-on-Trent is to close in 2027 marks the true end of one of Britain’s most iconic beer brands.

If Burton-on-Trent is/was Britain’s brewing capital, it was brands like Bass Pale Ale, Worthington Green Shield and Marston’s Pedigree that made it so.

As a raw recruit into the barley trade in 1963, I well remember week after week, handwriting invoices for consignments of Proctor malting barley made out to ‘Messrs Marston’s, Thompson & Evershed Ltd., all destined for their Shobnall Road Maltings in Burton-on-Trent.

Then 30 years later in 1995, repeating the same exercise, but for consignments of Maris Otter malting barley, destined to most of the remaining ‘floor maltings’ dotted around the country, including our very own Warminster Maltings.

 Marston’s, in those days, were really passionate about brewing, buying the cream of the barley crop, malting it all the traditional way on germination floors, and then brewing with the famous Burton Union Sets which helped to produce a rounder, softer, and more complex beer style. This brewing practice was, amazingly, maintained until 2024. Since then Britvic Carlsberg claim that cask ale consumption has halved. Could there be a link?

 The flip side to this is what a great opportunity this represents for our Craft Breweries! They might struggle with the creation and installation of a Burton Union Set, but everything else they can more than match. At Warminster we are here to do everything we can to help.

Countryfile…again

Not for the first time, BBC’s Countryfile paid us a visit to get some footage of the traditional floor malting process in action. It’s to be used in an episode featuring Stroud Brewery and follows the journey of a locally brewed beer from field to glass.

We believe the episode aired on Sunday, 1st November…did you spot us!

Fantastic Fundraising

Our 2026 fundraising events have come to an end, and what a great end it is!

Between Teas in the Garden and our Heritage Open Days, we’re delighted to have raised £1,062 for our charity partner, Warminster Action Group.

A huge thanks to our wonderful bakers, Pat, Judy and Jane and to everyone who came along and supported the events, making them such a success. We’re incredibly grateful to you all.

We love welcoming people to Warminster Maltings and sharing some of our history, and being able to combine that with raising money for a worthy local cause makes it all the more special.

A huge thank you to everyone who played a part.

Now, can we beat that total in 2027?!

The Malt Men!

Warminster Town FC, aka The Red & Blacks, aka The Malt Men, had been storming up the league table, unbeaten for 7 games!! Unfortunately, that run of success was interrupted by losses in their next 2 games, leaving them ninth place in the league.

Their first 3 games in November are all home games so if you live locally why not make your way up to Weymouth Street on a Saturday afternoon and support our footballers.

You can treat yourself to a pint (or two) of our lovely Maltings Gold lager while you’re there!

Robin Appel & Lisa Conduit