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| Address | The Ministry of Ale, 9 Trafalgar Street, Burnley, Lancashire BB11 1TQ |
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Please Scroll down for more details |
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| Telephone | 01282 830909 |
| meet@ministryofale.co.uk | |
| Monday | Closed for maintenance (open on Bank holidays) |
| Tuesday | Closed for maintenance, opens 4pm to 8pm on Claret Match days at Turf Moor |
| Wednesday | Opens to public from 5pm until 11pm, Usual brew day from morning onwards, |
| Thursday | Opens from 5pm until 11pm, very popular quiz night from 9pm, limited seating |
| Friday | Opens from 12 noon until 11pm, busy in evenings, quiet in day |
| Saturday | Opens from 12 noon until 11pm, busy in evening, quiet in day |
| Sunday | Opens from 12 noon until 11pm |
| Bank Holidays | Opens 12 noon until 11pm |
| Brewery | 2.5brl Brewery visible from public drinking area, entry under supervision, time permitting |
| Handpumps | 4 in use, usually 2 Moonstone beers and 2 guest beers from other small brewers |
| Keg Dispense | Imported lagers, UK brewed lagers, cider, stout*, fruit beers. |
| Nitrokeg | None* |
| Bottle Beers etc | Wide range of Belgium beers, eg Chimay, Kriek, bottled cocktails (eg WKD etc), |
| Wine | Red, white and sparkling wines, attractive deals on bottle purchase |
| Carry outs | Real ale in 2 pint carry out cartons available, also canned and bottled beers, 25L polypins by prior order |
| Food | Cheese and onion, salt and vinegar, gourmet crisps, dry roasted, quavers special |
| Music | Quiet popular music and local radio |
| Television | Can be received in Lancashire |
| Conversation | Noted for this feature (GBG 2004) |
| Friendliness | High (see staff) |
| Big Hill | Pendle |
| Witches | Sometimes, late October |
| Staff | Grumpy |
| Fighting | not allowed |
| Bad Language | you'd better not |
| Can I go in on my own | Yes |
| Exhibitions | always on, traditional and contemporary art, local artists, local history, poetry evenings |
| Beers Brewed | Black Star, Tiger's Eye, Moonstone Darkish, Craggy's wobble, White Sapphire, MPA, Trafalgar Stout, Trumpington Bitter, Sunstone, Onyx, Red Jasper, not all on sale at any one time |
| Railway | Manchester Rd Railway station is 100m away, Preston to Leeds service |
| Boat | The Leeds-Liverpool Canal is approx 100m away |
| Bus | Express services x43 and x44, to and from Manchester, Chorlton St Bus Station. The Witchway |
| Motorway | Take Junction 10 on M65, follow signs to Turf Moor football ground, signs will take you past the building (on LHS) |
| Walking | Easy access from all pavements |
| Airports | Nearest is Manchester International Airport, also Leeds, Liverpool, Blackpool |
| Languages | English and some Yorkshire |
| Hotels and B&B | Eg, Travelodge, Sparrowhawk, Oaks etc. www.tripadvisor.com |
| Dogs | with permission, under supervision |
| Children | Subject to Restrictions, please telephone first |
| Football | Friendly crowds only, link to review |
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History, the cultural web and stories behind this project need to be preserved and remembered, if you know of any other information to add, please contact the author, in particular history of "The Nelson" prior to 1999. |
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| Built | 1865 as part of the weavers triangle textile mill complex, forward thinking in its time, leisure facility, houses were opposite. |
| Heating | Originally the building had a wood or coal burning stove in the corner of the front room, with a large chimney climbing up the front of the building, the remains of the securing brackets can still be seen. Picture tba |
| Conservation Area | Last pub still open, on the once notorious Trafalgar Street run |
| Extension | Stone kitchen extension built to rear of building c 1966 |
| Closed | Approx 1996, had been a bass house many years previously, possibly acquired from Massey's estate |
| Viewing | Property internally viewed by GM 17th June 1999 |
| Magistrates Court | GM and MJ attended Reedly court and were granted a license for the premises after a presentation and hearing., 17th August 1999 |
| MossBrew | Freehold was acquired by Graham Moss, Master Brewer, in March 2000 |
| Refurbishment | Pub underwent a refurbishment by GM and MJ which took 7 months |
| Notable Events | Internal wall demolished between old pool room and lounge, steel girder (approx 20ft) inserted into space to hold building up, approx 8 months to obtain planning consents |
| Notable Events | Living quarters made habitable, Old bar ripped out (old leaning rail became feature fireplace in living quarters), old bench seating removed, damp carpets removed, internal walls in old kitchen knocked down, hardwood internal cladding removed, 2 "new" windows discovered, entire north facing wall dry lined (stone work was damp from penetrating rain). Broken timber lintel was uncovered and replaced in steel as an emergency measure, a door frame had been holding the building up |
| Notable Events | Bar constructed, electrics reworked and re-routed, new gents toilet built, old gents toilet converted to food grade store room, central heating reworked and re-routed, 20 skips of rubble removed, chimney stones replaced, ladies toilet redecorate, fire precautions installed, exterior masonry painted, cellar fitted out, floors found to be on different level. Thousands of nails found in floorboards in old bar area, false ceiling inserts are flower pots (made in Padiham of all places!). |
| You can see a photograph at http://www.maps.google.co.uk, post code BB11 1TQ. Building is to left of the roundabout. It shows outbuildings in the rear yard (now gone), does anyone know what these were and when the image was taken? | |
| Signage | Original new name was going to be "No 9 Bar and Brewery", this was granted consent by local Magistrates and local enforcement agencies as per statutory requirement, approx 9 months in advance of opening. 1 week prior to opening one of the "regulators" objected, due to a rumour started by a local journalist, hence a quick re-think, and "The Ministry of Ale" was born. There was not very much time to give thought to signage, opening was imminent |
| Bar | The bar was carefully designed and constructed in order to promote a conversational environment and enables staff to fully supervise all public areas of the building, was built for 1 person operation |
| Beer | The first beer was on tap on friday 15th september, 2000, at 6pm, a milestone. It was keg, but it tasted good |
| Completion Certificate | The building satisfied all building, food, hygiene, fire and safety requirements and a completion certificate was issued in september 2000 |
| Opening Night | The Ministry of Ale first opened to the public at 8pm on Tuesday 24th October 2000, first cask beer sold was Newby Wyke White Squall, then Brysons Barrows Bitter, MJ put the first money in the till. On the night the building had not been heated for several years and it was bitterly cold, inside and out, but still a good crowd turned out in support. It took several weeks to warm the building up. |
| Advertising | The first advertisement for The Ministry of Ale appeared in "What's Brewing" February 2001 |
| Hanging Sign | This is a Hand-drawn chalk board, sealed in varnish. It was re hung outside on Thursday 22nd February 2001, the building got its badge of honour back! (Was drawn by our very friendly, and talented, Interbrew sales rep) |
| First Moonstone Brew | This was mashed by Graham Moss and old friend, Tim Gatenby (Simpsons Malt), Thursday, 29th March 2001, Moonstone Dark |
| Customs and Excise | Inspection took place 15th March, 2001 |
| Quiz Night | First Quiz night Thursday 16th Aug 2001 |
| Brewing Course | First held Sept 2002 |
| Black Star | This very popular beer was first brewed using an 18 gallon pilot brewery as a bit of fun. |
| Sold | Gem Taverns Ltd acquire freehold of "The Ministry of Ale", 28th February 2002, by purchase off Graham Moss |
| Art exhibition | Contemporary art show, March 2003 www.mrtranez.com/3d.html |
| Double Glazing | New windows installed to front of building, fire precaution compliant, dramatic reduction in noise from outside, March 2004 |
| Good Beer Guide | The MOA gains a full listing in the GBG for the first time in 2004 |
| Busy times | The bar gets very busy on weekends, it is not unknown for a complete firkin of beer to be sold in little more than an hour, so please be patient with the bar staff, you will get served. |
| Hop Garden | Work on a new hop garden at the rear, commenced autumn 2006 |
