From Pills to Pilsener

The other day I was out with a friend in Burslem, when the heavens opened. So, brolly-less and dripping we dashed into the nearest shop for cover. Isn't it strange how happenstance can step in to liven up an otherwise unremarkable afternoon? The shop in question was The Beer Emporium. I was greeted by the smiling face of Yvonne Davies - one half of a wife and husband partnership. We exchanged platitudes about the capricious weather and August monsoon before I began to take in my new surroundings. From ground to ceiling were stacked gaily labelled bottles of lager and beer from all over Europe and beyond. As I moved around, the floor had that reassuring well-trodden creak and I could smell just a hint of beeswax coming from the tiers of 19^th century oak shelving.

            This was a traditional pub without a bar. Not the wretched themed variety festooned with rusting farm implements suspended from the roof by 'invisible' fishing wires or 'just-stitched' Victorian swags and tassels coated in drifts of fresh plaster. No, this was the real McCoy. I half expected the owner to say "What'll it be stranger? I aint seen you round these parts before."  Well, she might have asked me that if I was starring as a cowboy in a Wild West movie. As it was she sold me a bottle of blackcurrant flavoured 'lady lager' for my wife and a medal winning Weiss bier (wheat beer) called Erdinger for yours truly. After a couple of minutes her husband appeared with his aged Golden Labrador in tow and the whole Beer Emporium saga unfolded.

            Serendipity it seems is contagious. Steve Davies told me how he had passed the shop less than five months ago on the way to watch Port Vale play at home. He and his wife were looking for a place in South Cheshire to showcase rare bottled ales and lagers. They had never even considered Burslem as a location, but were intrigued by the half-hidden period charm of the property with its artex covered arches and abandoned wooden cases. Steve telephoned the landlord straight away who happened to live in Alsager, a stone’s throw from their own home. He quickly put in an offer which was duly accepted.

            The couple's appreciation of unusual beers and lagers stems from a lifelong love of walking when they and their three daughters would embark on countywide treks gathering elderberries, sloes and blackberries to use in homemade wines. Backroom brewed stouts and Elderflower wines 'blupp-blupped' into life in huge glass Demijohns stowed beneath towels in the family's airing cupboard. This was far removed from their previous job as employees in a clothing distribution centre in Chesterton where logistics and profit margins were the order of the day.

            Once Steve and Yvonne had 'gutted' the interior of the shop they   slowly began to reveal its business lineage. Apparently, in the early nineteenth century it was a large chemist, until the late 1960's when high-heeled fashion teetered onto the scene, in the name of 'Jeanette's boutique'. Shortly afterwards it ditched the stilettos in favour of  locally  produced 'Wade Pottery 'who took over before its  eventual demise in the late seventies, whereupon the place was boarded up and left to sleep awhile. To compliment the oak-clad interior the couple installed genuine cider apple crates and wooden egg boxes which they inverted and used as shelving.

            The original apothecary's display cabinet holds some of the Beer Emporiums headline acts, such as 'Samichlaus Bier', an Austrian brew which tops the bill at a stupefying 14% and is claimed to be the strongest lager in the world. Although the shop sells predominantly Belgian and Austrian varieties there are also examples from little known micro-breweries such as ' Goose Island ' and 'Brooklyn Pale Ale' in the USA . They even stock a fiery 6% ginger beer brewed by the Marble Brewery in Manchester .  Because of the owners fair trade considerations all of the regions local breweries share equal shelf space. 'Titanic', and 'Leek' beers sit side by side near the business end of the shop, as does the prestigious 'Slater's' ale from Stafford which is consumed at Westminster.  'Beowulf' brewery produces 'Dragon Smoke Stout' complete with fire breathing beast and sword-touting hero emblazoned on the label.

To celebrate Burslem's history three special beers were commissioned for the shop. These are Mother Town Cream Stout - a dark and complex brew,  Bursley Bitter - a wonderfully light and hoppy thirst quencher, and Molly's Tipple which is a 4.8% malty Ruby Ale commemorating the legend of Burslem's only witch, Molly Lee who was laid to rest in the nearby churchyard.

            When Steve and Yvonne aren't researching up-and-coming varieties on the net they're out and about scouting for new talent. They know only too well the perils of operating in a niche market and with this in mind they feel they need to offer the public little known Marques such as the Blythe Brewery in South Staffordshire.  This is a small family run outfit that eschewed the advances of a major supermarket because they felt they would lose their regular client base and end up operating in a fickle price-squeezed marketplace.

According to Steve "Instead of preserving our important buildings the local urban regeneration scheme seems to work on a bulldoze and start again principle". Yvonne wonders if the Beer Emporium is "a bit too niche for Burslem". I would argue that its Victorian black and white facade is by neighbouring standards a little anonymous and, if they wish to attract more customers they need to be a bit more creative in their marketing and promotion. Burslem isn't a particular wealthy area with new businesses coming and going like salesmen overnighting at a B&B. Beer doesn't have the glamorous image as say wine, although if you believe the effusive tasting notes on the back of some none-vintage plonk you'd think the vineyard had discovered the elixir of life.

            The Davies's have a dream that Burslem should one day return to its halcyon days when it was an important commercial and cultural centre. For this resurrection to take place they need more like-minded people, preferably with significant financial clout to push for cultural preservation and not urban decimation. For now, they are content to fly the local flag - albeit with a little extra help from their friends. Only Last week Steve telephoned a couple of associates Paul & Carol who were enjoying their caravanning holiday in Bridport with a plea to bring back a couple of cases from 'Palmers Brewery' nearby. They duly obliged and it was on the shelves the following week. This kind of 'low-carbon-footprint-free-trade initiative' has to be admired in a time when major distributors are slicing up the ozone every day. So, if like me you'd prefer to speak to a  couple of real enthusiasts and sample the complex brandy-like smoothness of a Trappist brew then pop into the Beer Emporium and drink in the ambience - oh, and tell them I sent you.