Membership questions? Log in issues? Email info@brewersassociation.org

Author Topic: Tasting a 137 year old beer !  (Read 10508 times)

Offline mrbowenz

  • Assistant Brewer
  • ***
  • Posts: 100
Tasting a 137 year old beer !
« on: January 16, 2012, 08:10:01 am »
I thought I would put this here in the General Discussion section since it wasn't really a commercially available beer. :-\


I finally decided that 2012, would be the year I would taste a most remarkable bottle of a beer. A beer so special it was brewed for Sir George Nares( a British naval captain) who in 1875 set off to reach the North Pole.

By the later half of the 19th century, Samuel Allsopp's and Son, had already become one of the largest breweries in England and only second in size to Bass Ale in Burton on Trent. In 1852, on a rescue mission to discover the whereabouts of Sir John Franklin( another British explorer) , who had set off in search of the fabled Northwest Passage, Samuel Allsopp had created a monster of an ale called "Arctic Ale". This ale was brewed to 1.130 OG, and was thought to contain some special "Antiscorbutic" properties( containing vitamin C) to prevent scurvy, which was the fatal downfall of long voyages at sea.

Allsopp's Arctic Ale , was brewed only three times in all of the 19th century, once in 1852, again in 1857 , and finally in 1875. Since special brewings like this are so rare, it would be almost impossible to obtain a sample in the day, yet alone 160 years later. To date, only 3 noted beer writers have even sampled tastings and wrote about this beer, Alfred Barnard in 1889, William Henry Beable in 1926 and CAMRA's Roger Protz 2010 ( for which I arranged a bottle for Roger to drink and write about).
Of the 3 brewings of this extreme 19th century beer, there exists only 2 bottles of the 1852 batch, I own one, and the other was the subject of a great Ebay story, back in 2007. The 1857 batch, I own the only known bottle left, and of the 1875 batch, there are only about a dozen left, I own 2, and the rest are in the National Brewery Centre Museum in England. I found the dozen bottles while in Burton giving a talk to members of CAMRA on the history of Allsopp's brewery.
In 2010, the old Allsopp's brewery was in bad shape and about to become apartment flats, it had been abandoned since the 1980's and workers where throwing many items away. I was lucky enough to take one "last" tour of the building, and it was deep inside the basement, tucked away in a cage, that I found the last remaining bottles of Arctic Ale. The 1875 version was the only ale bottled in a Champagne style bottle the brewery ever produced, there is even an article in the British Archives mentioning the bottles and how many where left in 1886. Further verification came from an old retired brewery archivist, whom confirmed their existence and authenticity.
The basement find:



The Old Allsopp's Brewery 1856 :






In March of 2011, I had been contacted by beer author Roger Protz to accompany him in a tasting of the Arctic Ale, with head brewmaster Steve Wellington ( Worthington Museum Brewery) and some senior members of CAMRA whom I am friends with.


Along side the 1875 version, where a bottle of 1902 Bass& Co. "king's ale" , brewed in conjunction with King Edward the VII, and also a Arctic Global Warmer style Barleywine (15% abv) from the "North Cotswolds" brewery.


Here's some shots from the day:
Steve Wellington and his assistant






Roger Protz, beer author and CAMRA mega star:







Tasting glass from 1902, 1875 and 2006:







1875 Arctic Ale - not my hand BTW





Here are Roger's notes on the ale:

"It was dark amber in color and had an astonishingly complex aroma of dry chocolate, cocoa powder, molasses and vinous fruit. The palate offered creamy malt, sweet fruit and further chocolate and cocoa hints, followed by a bittersweet finish with dark fruit, rich malt and light hops."


I have been a vintage beer collector, brewing re-creator and beer historian for almost 7 years now and have been lucky enough to own some of the rarest beers in the world. I also own a few of the Bass corkers, like Ratcliff Ale 1869, Prince's Ale, Princess Ale, and Bass #1 Barleywine, as well as several 1902 King's Ales.

So, a recently decided to share a bottle of the 1875 brewing with some very good friends on a very cold winter's night, with visions of steering a Victorian ship right up to the North Pole with Arctic Ale in hand !

Of course no good ale goes without a finely prepared meal and we chose a menu fit for the occasion.

Rib Roast !






Yorkshire Pudding !




Roasted Potato's and Asparagus:





Then it was time for desert !

The time to taste had arrived !






As carefully as I could, I tried to remove it in one piece, but then again this is a 137 year old bottle ......






Mush....soft cork !





With a little care ( and a knife !) , I was able to remove a core in the center and the ale started flowing !, oh the smell of old beer !








Amazing aroma's of leather, cedar wood , smokey dark fruit , raisins and slight musk. I took nearly 10 minutes simply smelling and enjoying the various aromas that where set off as I swirled the glass, this was history in a bottle !






A proper cheers and the light of candles made the experience delightful !





1875 Arctic Ale - Samuel Allsopp's and Sons

Type/Style: - English Strong Ale/Barleywine /Burton Ale
Bottle : 750 ML , natural cork, full fill , no label


Aroma;
Leather, cedar wood ( wet) , dark fruit, raisins, musk, Sherry, almost no hop aromas

Appearance :
Clear, but not brilliant, deep Mahogany Brown with ruby highlights and hues on the glasses edge...


Flavor:
Strong malt and sherry flavors, fully and across the whole tongue, finishes smooth without any unpleasantness or sourness. Licorice and maybe even old taffy.


Mouthfeel :
Completely still , no detectable carbonation , not slick or creamy , simply like sherry or brandy , no cloying whatsoever despite it's high residual saccharine content an finishing gravity.

Overall Impression : An amazing experience of drinking a bit of history, this ale was extremely drinkable 137 years after bottling, other than the musty and oxidized nature ( which is typical) of such an old ale, this ranks up there with the best of them. I have had 15 year old ales that where in much worse shape, for this age, it was simply amazing to experience !
Brewing up history

Offline morticaixavier

  • I must live here
  • **********
  • Posts: 7781
  • Underhill VT
    • The Best Artist in the WORLD!!!!!
Re: Tasting a 137 year old beer !
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2012, 08:22:15 am »
That is simply amazing! I brew alot of barley wines, in fact my current recipe is based on the 1839 barclay perkins recipe from ShutUpAboutBarclayPerkins blog. except I use munich instead of mild malt and I split the hop schedule in half and do half at 120 minutes and the other half at 30 minutes. I have dreamed of sharing this beer with my son when he is old enough (he is just over 1 year now) and your experience reassures me that 16-20 years is not at all too long for one of these amazing brews.

just so it's totally clear I am so jealous of you that I could spit. but I won't cause I am at work. and indoors.

Enjoy your amazing beer collection for many years sir!
"Creativity is the residue of wasted time"
-A Einstein

"errors are [...] the portals of discovery"
- J Joyce

Offline denny

  • Administrator
  • Retired with too much time on my hands
  • *****
  • Posts: 27070
  • Noti OR [1991.4, 287.6deg] AR
    • Dennybrew
Re: Tasting a 137 year old beer !
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2012, 08:58:11 am »
Wow...just wow.....
Life begins at 60.....1.060, that is!

www.dennybrew.com

The best, sharpest, funniest, weirdest and most knowledgable minds in home brewing contribute on the AHA forum. - Alewyfe

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell

Offline The Professor

  • Brewmaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 863
  • "In the next life, you're on your own"
Re: Tasting a 137 year old beer !
« Reply #3 on: January 16, 2012, 09:16:22 am »
I'm in awe...
Thanks for such a great and detailed account of the proceedings!
AL
New Brunswick, NJ
[499.6, 101.2] Apparent Rennerian
Homebrewer since July 1971

Offline Kit B

  • Brewmaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 607
Re: Tasting a 137 year old beer !
« Reply #4 on: January 16, 2012, 10:06:36 am »
Such an amazing post!
Thank you for telling the story & adding photos.
That had to be a spell-binding evening.
...So very, very cool!

Offline tomsawyer

  • Senior Brewmaster
  • ******
  • Posts: 1694
Re: Tasting a 137 year old beer !
« Reply #5 on: January 16, 2012, 10:08:36 am »
Yes excellent post.  The meal looked wonderful.

I suppose the beers were carbonated when first produced?  And what volume were the bottles?  Save any for a chemical analysis?
Lennie
Hannibal, MO

Offline tonyp

  • Brewmaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 656
  • If it ain't broke you aren't trying hard enough...
Re: Tasting a 137 year old beer !
« Reply #6 on: January 16, 2012, 10:10:07 am »
so incredibly awesome, thanks so much for sharing! and grats on being part of it!
« Last Edit: January 16, 2012, 10:27:00 am by tonyp »
Live from the Jersey Shore!

Phrases for Creatives, #22:
"I'll try being nicer if you'll try being smarter."

Offline thebigbaker

  • Brewmaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 721
  • Denver, CO
Re: Tasting a 137 year old beer !
« Reply #7 on: January 16, 2012, 10:18:08 am »
Un-freakin-believable!  Awesome post and thanks for all the pics and background!
Jeremy Baker

"An escalator can never break: it can only become stairs. You should never see an Escalator Temporarily Out Of Order sign, just Escalator Temporarily Stairs. Sorry for the convenience." - Mitch Hedberg

Offline bluesman

  • I must live here
  • **********
  • Posts: 8825
  • Delaware
Re: Tasting a 137 year old beer !
« Reply #8 on: January 16, 2012, 10:38:09 am »
Thanks for sharing your story!

Simply amazing history.

Cheers
Ron Price

Offline dannyjed

  • Senior Brewmaster
  • ******
  • Posts: 1494
  • Toledo, OH
Re: Tasting a 137 year old beer !
« Reply #9 on: January 16, 2012, 10:50:41 am »
Very interesting and thanks for sharing!
Dan Chisholm

rabeb25

  • Guest
Re: Tasting a 137 year old beer !
« Reply #10 on: January 16, 2012, 11:03:57 am »
Such an amazing post!
Thank you for telling the story & adding photos.
That had to be a spell-binding evening.
...So very, very cool!

Ditto, very inspiring.

Offline punatic

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 4583
  • Puna District, Hawaii Island (UTC -10)
Re: Tasting a 137 year old beer !
« Reply #11 on: January 16, 2012, 12:36:56 pm »
What an unexpected pleasure!  I'm sitting at my desk, in my loft on a rainy day in windward Hawaii Island, when out of the blue you take me off to another place and time.  Thank you for that.

An excellent story about an amazing beer!  I enjoyed it very much.  I hope we will get to read about more of your adventures in the future.
There is only one success: to be able to spend your life in your own way.


AHA Life Member #33907

Offline tschmidlin

  • I must live here
  • **********
  • Posts: 8198
  • Redmond, WA
Re: Tasting a 137 year old beer !
« Reply #12 on: January 16, 2012, 12:45:55 pm »
Great story, sounds like an amazing experience!  Thanks for sharing.
Tom Schmidlin

Offline Pawtucket Patriot

  • Senior Brewmaster
  • ******
  • Posts: 1367
  • Rebelling against cheap swill since 2005
    • Bauhaus Brew Labs
Re: Tasting a 137 year old beer !
« Reply #13 on: January 16, 2012, 04:31:20 pm »
What an extraordinary story/experience!  Thanks for sharing! 

Out of curiosity, are beers that old typically still due to CO2 escaping through the cap over time? 
Matt Schwandt | Minneapolis, MN
AHA Member

Partial-Mash Pictorial
All-Grain Pictorial

Offline mrbowenz

  • Assistant Brewer
  • ***
  • Posts: 100
Re: Tasting a 137 year old beer !
« Reply #14 on: January 16, 2012, 06:26:58 pm »
That is simply amazing! I brew alot of barley wines, in fact my current recipe is based on the 1839 barclay perkins recipe from ShutUpAboutBarclayPerkins blog. except I use munich instead of mild malt and I split the hop schedule in half and do half at 120 minutes and the other half at 30 minutes. I have dreamed of sharing this beer with my son when he is old enough (he is just over 1 year now) and your experience reassures me that 16-20 years is not at all too long for one of these amazing brews.

just so it's totally clear I am so jealous of you that I could spit. but I won't cause I am at work. and indoors.

Enjoy your amazing beer collection for many years sir!

You can find me at Ron's site often, he helped me more than once in doing research for my historic brewings and for a film I am working on.
 
It was often typical for brewers to age special  beers for 21 years ( also called Majority Ales) for the birth of a child. I have 4 bottles of  a beer called "Ratcliff Ale by Bass Ratcliff and Gretton , it was brewed for a Ratcliff child in 1869 ( or at least bottled then, the records are not completely clear). Nonetheless, Martyn Cornell has written an excellent blog and here is a post on the very history of doing such a beer for a child at birth, I believe you should do this for your son ..with confidence it will be great:
http://zythophile.wordpress.com/2011/09/23/the-lost-art-of-extreme-aged-cask-ale/

Brewing up history