A Scottish brewer has opened one of the world’s rarest beers to create a modern take on the historic ale.
Dougal Gunn Sharp, founder and master brewer of Edinburgh-based Innis & Gunn, on Thursday opened a 150-year-old bottle of Allsopp’s Arctic Ale at the firm’s Perth brewery.
He was joined by Jamie Allsopp, director and descendant of the original Allsopp brewing family who created the ale.
The ale was opened, tasted by the two brewers and members of the media and then poured into a new mix that aims to taste and look almost identical to its predecessor.
The original ale was brewed with a high alcohol and sugar content to withstand temperatures of around minus 40C while sailors explored the Arctic.
The bottle is one of five still in existence which were brewed in Burton-upon-Trent for the 1875 expedition of Sir George Nares, whose team set out to reach the North Pole.
Innis & Gunn acquired the original recipe from the Allsopp family, meaning it can accurately recreate the ale.
Bottles of the Allsopp’s Arctic Ale are some of the rarest beers anywhere in the world.
Mr Allsopp said: “It’s a really exciting day because it was first brewed 150 years ago and here we are, trying it today.
“It was designed to stave off scurvy so it had not only winter-warmer attributes, it was calorific, and it was life-sustaining.”
On adding the ale to the new mix, he said: “These are very expensive bottles of beer, and to pour one of these bottles into a new brew is an act of madness, but Innis & Gunn have done it.
“I think it’s a fantastic thing to have done as it’s a physical bridge between the old beer and the new beer.
“I’ve tasted the 1875 beer and it really was far better than I expected it to be.
“It was a delicious, round, lovely, chocolatey, sherry-like beer. I can’t wait to see what the new beer will taste like.
“I think it’s such an exciting beer. It’s one of the most famous beers in the world. It is, as I said, a physical bridge to the history of expedition. I think it’s one of the oldest beers in the country.”
Mr Sharp said the new beer will be very similar to the original.
He said: “Because we’ve teamed up with the family Allsopp, we were able to find the recipe, the different materials, the hops, the original yeast they used, so we’ve been able to very faithfully replicate the original recipe.”
He said he bought the bottle when a friend told him it was coming up for auction, after it was found in a garage in Shropshire more than 10 years ago.
He put in a bid for £3,000 and won.
“I thought, ‘oh my God, I need to have this’,” he said.
“The bottle arrived and the minute I unpacked it, I knew it was something very special because it connected with the past.
“I’ve been a brewer for over 40 years now, and it’s just something incredibly exciting when you take a look back into the history of something that you’re passionate about.
“Eventually, I felt that with the 150th anniversary we just had to do something.
“I think the public will react to this beer in the same way that I have, with a sort of sense of awe and excitement and enthusiasm about what this is, what it tastes like and what it actually represents.”
In the spirit of the Arctic explorers who originally drank the beer, Innis & Gunn’s successor will launch at the Edinburgh Ice Bar in December.
