A ‘knock-out’ new beer created using one of the world’s rarest and most valuable ales has been unveiled inside an ice sculpture in Edinburgh to celebrate 150 years since the legendary North Pole expedition it was originally brewed for.
Innis & Gunn 1875 Arctic Ale (ABV 9.5%), brewed in partnership with historic English brewer Allsopp’s, was revealed by Innis & Gunn founder and master brewer Dougal Gunn Sharp at a special unveiling event held to mark the 150th anniversary of Sir George Nares’ Arctic voyage in Edinburgh’s Polar Ice Bar at Edinburgh’s Christmas yesterday (Thursday, December 11).
The new beer is a faithful recreation of Allsopp’s original 1875 Arctic Ale – a strong, nourishing beer brewed in Burton-upon-Trent to sustain British sailors battling temperatures as low as -40°C. A surviving 150-year-old bottle of the original ale, bought by Sharp for £3,000 in 2015 and opened at Innis & Gunn’s Perth brewery earlier this year, was used to seed the new brew, giving the modern recreation a direct connection to the Victorian expedition, with every glass containing a drop of the original ale.
At the launch, the first bottles of Innis & Gunn 1875 Arctic Ale were revealed from within a specially commissioned block of crystal-clear ice, echoing the frozen seas the beer was first designed to endure. Special guests were invited to taste the beer at -10°C – drawn from the first cask to be tapped – experiencing it exactly as it would have been enjoyed by the sailors it once fuelled.
Sharp, one of Scotland’s most respected brewers and a self confessed student of brewing history, said: “This beer has been 150 years in the making, and I have to say it’s an absolute knock out. We’ve recreated Allsopp’s legendary Arctic Ale in celebration of the original brew and the extraordinary people it was made for, the explorers who carried it towards the North Pole.
“Opening that original bottle and using it to seed our new brew was one of the most nerve-racking but exciting moments of my brewing career. You never quite know how an experiment like this will turn out, but I genuinely believe we’ve done the skill that went into it justice. Innis & Gunn 1875 Arctic Ale is absolutely worth opening the bottle for – it’s one of the best beers we’ve ever made – and for those lucky enough to try it, it’s as close as you’ll ever get to tasting a piece of history.
“This project was about honouring Arctic Ale on its 150th anniversary and sharing an incredible story from brewing and maritime history with people today. We wanted to bring this lost beer back to life, not lock it away in a cupboard.”
This new 1875 Arctic Ale has been brewed using a recipe close to the original Allsopp’s brew and authentic period ingredients, resulting in a rich, robust beer in the spirit of the Victorian original. Like its predecessor, it is strong, warming and designed to be sipped and savoured.
Only a limited quantity has been produced, with thousands entering a ballot for the chance to buy one of just 250 bottles available for purchase at £25. For those who missed out, the beer will also be available on draught at Innis & Gunn Taprooms in Edinburgh and Glasgow from this weekend, and at The Blue Stoops in London, an Allsopp’s pub, in January.
Sharp paid tribute to brewing partner Jamie Allsopp, founder of the revived Allsopp’s Brewery and a direct descendant of the original Arctic Ale’s creators.
He said: “I have to thank Jamie and Allsopp’s for coming on this voyage with us, and hopefully it won’t be the last. Working with the family behind the original Arctic Ale has added real depth and authenticity to the project. Together we’ve created a fitting tribute to a beer that has fascinated brewers and collectors for generations.”
Allsopp’s Arctic Ale was first brewed in the mid-19th century as a ‘strong and nutritive’ beer to fuel British expeditions to the Arctic. With an alcohol strength of around 9% and around six times the calorie content of a modern beer, it was designed to resist freezing while nourishing crews in brutal conditions. Brewing records from the period describe it as thick, dark and ‘suggestive of old Madeira’, so dense it had to be lifted from the copper in buckets.
The beer accompanied several major Arctic missions, including the 1875 British Arctic Expedition led by Sir George Nares, which aimed to reach the North Pole. Though the voyages ended in hardship and retreat, the beer brewed for them gained almost mythical status among collectors. Only a handful of bottles are believed to survive.
Sharp acquired his 1875 bottle at auction more than a decade ago, after it was discovered in a Shropshire garage. Earlier this year, he opened it for the first time at Innis & Gunn’s Perth brewery alongside Jamie Allsopp. The beer, described at the time as ‘astonishingly well preserved’, was partially used to seed the new Innis & Gunn 1875 Arctic Ale, with the remainder kept for archive and research.
The launch at Edinburgh’s Polar Ice Bar, complete with sub-zero tasting, is the first time members of the public have been able to try the new beer. Those who did described it as rich, complex and unlike other beers, with deep malt character and a warming finish that nods to its origins as a beer brewed for survival in extreme cold.
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Sharp added: “To unveil 1875 Arctic Ale inside a block of ice and pour it at -10°C felt like the perfect way to honour its past. This beer was born in the cold, and tonight we brought it back there. I hope everyone who gets to taste it feels that same thrill of connection to the story behind it.”
Innis & Gunn 1875 Arctic Ale is available from today on draught at Innis & Gunn’s Taprooms across Edinburgh and Glasgow.
To find out more, visit innisandgunn.com
