Coopers Tavern, Burton On Trent Town, Burton on Trent

I've been to Burton quite a few times over the last forty years but don't recall ever visiting this one before. It stands in the shadow of the Mouldy Corpse chemical plant and brazenly sticks two fingers up at it. It's been so well described below I can't add much other than the fact that it seems Hardy & Hanson took the place on from Bass in the 1990s and it then became a free house before Joules brewery took it on. I found a seat in the tap room where I tried the Kinver Half Centurion and the Joules Koltaka (both £3.20). Both were excellent. Other beers noted were Joules Slumbering Monk, Pale & Stones Number One, Sarah Hughes Mild, Nene Valley Jim Irvine Pale and Froth Blowers Gollop With Zest. The Sarah Hughes seemed to be the flavour of the month with the locals. I thought this was a superb pub. I decided that with the pouring rain outside I would give the Weighbridge micropub a miss to give me an excuse to return.

Nothing to add to the descriptions and comments except the layout at the back is a bit odd meaning you need to form an orderly queue if there's more than a couple waiting, other than that minor grouch this pub is a delight and should on no account be missed if in Burton.

This is an excellent pub and is well described below. Visited here twice during our recent trip to Burton for the CAMRA Champion Beer Of Britain lunch and all but one of the pints I tried were top notch. The exception was Thornbridge Chiron which was advertised in the pub as "Real Ale served cooler", so I had a pint, it was keg. So that loses you a point and ruins the track record of all 10's. I was also served Thornbridge Jaipur in a Youngs glass which shouldn't be happening either. Either of those things will lose you points in the CAMRA Pub Of The Year awards, which explains why it's in the CAMRA GBG2014 but isn't up for the major awards. It is a brilliant pub though and a must visit when in Burton.