A bitter battle was underway back in November 1978 as the Campaign for Real Ale fought to save Joules beer after brewing giant Bass pulled the plug.
Ale fans from the Burton branch of CAMRA held a procession around the town before holding a memorial service for the beer outside the offices of Bass Worthington – the company behind the discontinuation of the beer.
The group felt the brewery's scrapping of the beer in September 1978 was another nail in the coffin for small local brewers.
Stan Ashton, the chairman of the Burton CAMRA group said: "Our complaint is that another local brew has disappeared from the scene.
"It is just another step towards the takeover of the giant monopolies brewing a standard beer.
"When Bass took Joules over, they promised to keep it going and they have broken that promise. Evidently, Bass’s promises are worthless."
But Maurice Lovatt, the Bass spokesman, disagreed.
Mr Lovatt said: "That is absolute nonsense. We are the biggest producers of traditional beer in the world.
"We have local brews of various kinds in areas throughout the country."
Mr Lovatt was also keen to point out that Joules had not been discontinued altogether, although sales had altered.
Speaking in 1978 he said: "The demand for the cask version has fallen but the keg beer is selling well and we are still brewing this in Burton."
We're only here for the beer!
Mr Lovatt said Bass did not plan to replace the Joules cask version with a keg beer; instead they were giving Joules pubs the option of stocking draught Worthington, draught Bass or Springfield ales.
But to pile more misery on Bass, the move caused upset with landlords.
Derek Anning, landlord of the Vaults pub in Uttoxeter Market Place, had sold Joules beers and the change left his customers unhappy 39 years ago.
Mr Anning said: "We now have Springfield ales but it is nowhere near the same and my customers are not pleased about this."
Joules was first brewed under a different name in 1785 at a brewery in Stone. In 1808 it became Joules and in 1970, Bass took over the brewery.
But Joules drinkers first became concerned when the brewing of the beer was transferred to Burton in 1974.
In September 1978, news emerged that the cask version was being discontinued.
The Joules brand lay dormant for almost 36 years until land featuring the same water source which fed the original brewery was found in Market Drayton in 2001.
Enthusiasts approached Molson Coors – who by then owned Bass – to acquire the name, the yeast and the brewing notes.
Finally, in 2010, Joules beer from a newly built brewery re-emerged.
While Bass registered the world’s first trademark with its triangle, Joules came a close sixth with its red cross symbol.
