This film is part of Free
Whitbread Trophy 'shakespeare' 'a'
A pint of Whitbread Trophy makes the actor Brian Glover wax lyrical about its Shakespearean properties.
Overview
“Only a genius could find words to describe how Trophy’s tight, creamy head rises to accommodate that characterful body”, opines Brian Glover before downing a pint of the aforementioned beer. The references to Shakespeare are clearly intended to suggest that Whitbread Trophy has been gushing forth from Olde English wellsprings for centuries, and that it was undoubtedly the Bard’s choice of keg bitter, despite not being introduced under that name until around four centuries after his birth.
Along with Watney’s Red Barrel, Whitbread Trophy was one of the big names in British beer in the 1970s. It was a curious experiment in branding, a blanket name for a whole series of keg bitters made by small local breweries that had been bought up by Whitbread after the war, the “Trophy” label facilitating national advertising and intending to suggest an overall badge of quality. But since this wasn’t often matched in the glass, Whitbread Trophy became a regular target of activists in the Campaign for Real Ale, who used it as shorthand for everything that they abhorred about the industry.
Related
Victorian Pub Victorian Pub
News 1974 6 mins Location: Aston
Music hall ghosts haunt the Bartons Arms pub in Birmingham; a temple to drink and a rare survivor in a city that has destroyed much of its Victorian architecture.
Bellamy on Beer Bellamy on Beer
Promotional 1982 9 mins Location: Hartlepool
David Bellamy puts his head into hops, then into a fermenting tank, watches it mash into wort and has a pint – all grist to our engaging presenter.
Mild & Bitter: Portsmouth & Plymouth Mild & Bitter: Portsmouth & Plymouth
Amateur film 1963 15 mins Silent Location: Plymouth
A polemical film where two men in a pub compare and contrast the post-war resurrection of both Portsmouth and Plymouth after their pummelling by the Luftwaffe.
Tour of the Inns Tour of the Inns
Amateur film 1938 6 mins Silent Location: Newark
Join this pub crawl and tread in the ghostly footsteps of innkeepers, smugglers, authors and bargemen of old.
Pub Donkey Pub Donkey
News 1975 4 mins Location: Gotherington
Jim is a particularly obstinate customer at the Shutter Inn at Gotherington, drinking five gallons a day from a bucket - he doesn't even pay!
Teenage Mocktailers Teenage Mocktailers
Current affairs 1980 2 mins Location: Burnham-on-Sea
A non-alcohol-serving pub offers somewhere to go and something to do for teenagers in Burnham-on-Sea.
New Perspectives: La Haine New Perspectives: La Haine
Short documentary 2025 4 mins
Charlie Hammersley, a student from Northumbria University, explains how Mathieu Kassovitz's 1995 film holds up a mirror to society.
Dreamers Q&A Dreamers Q&A
Inside Film 2025 30 mins
The film-makers behind a haunting tale of love and community within a UK immigration detention centre visited the BFI Southbank to discuss their film.
Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 50 mins
Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation at BFI Southbank, discussing the making of One Battle After Another.
Laura Mulvey in Conversation Laura Mulvey in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 76 mins
Laura Mulvey in conversation, following her BFI Fellowship Award.
George Clooney in Conversation George Clooney in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 74 mins
George Clooney visited BFI Southbank to look back on his life and career.
Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 65 mins
The Oscar®- winning director of Nomadland discusses her unique approach to filmmaking and the inspiration behind the adaptation of Hamnet.