A fine 1875 vintage… never opened… so what did this bottle of wine sell for?
Er, no. We are actually talking about
beer. And a very interesting bottle of beer at that. Shropshire
auctioneers Trevanion & Dean have sold a brew produced for the
British Arctic Expedition sent to reach the North Pole in 1875.
After attracting international interest,
internet and phone bidders battled it out at the Shropshire saleroom on
June 13 until the bottle was eventually secured by a UK phone bidder
for £3300 (plus 17.5% buyer's premium).
It was discovered in a box in a garage
in Gobowen, Shropshire, by Aaron Dean, auctioneer and partner at the
firm. He says: "I noticed the bottle poking out of the top of a box in
the garage. The shape of the bottle is unusual and so immediately my
mind started whirring. It wasn't until I got up close to it that I
realised how historically significant it is.
"After extensive research I found
another example which sold in 2004 for £1200. The market has changed
dramatically and so I was conservative with an auction estimate of
£400-600."
The sealed bottle top is marked Arctic Expedition 1875.
The 1875 voyage by HMS Alert and HMS Discovery,
under the leadership of Vice-Admiral Sir George Nares (1831-1915),
failed to reach the North Pole but succeeded in mapping the coast lines
of Greenland and Ellesmere Island. Dean says: "This may explain why the
ale remained undrunk - if their mission had been successful and
celebrations were had, we may not be looking at the piece today."
Will the buyer be drinking the ale?
"I doubt it; part of the appeal of the
piece is that it has remained unopened for so long, although some have
been drunk and tasters report that it was 'sweet tasting with a hint of
tobacco'."
Nares, in taking both ships successfully
north through the channel between both land masses, became the first
explorer to do so and the stretch was named 'Nares Strait' in his
honour.
The Story of Arctic Ale
In a 2011 online article, beer writer
Roger Protz shed light on the origins of Allsopp's Arctic Ale, "brewed
not by Bass but by its major 19th century rival in Burton, Samuel
Allsopp".
• After the Franklin expedition to find
the Northwest Passage disappeared in 1845, various search parties were
sent out to find out what happened, urged on by Queen Victoria. Protz
said: "Along with the Admiralty, the queen asked brewers in Burton,
famous for their strong beers exported round the world, to create a
'life-sustaining ale' - vitamin B helps prevent scurvy - to supply five
ships commanded by Sir Edward Belcher. He led an expedition in 1851 to
find any clues to what had happened to the Franklin mission. Bass, Salt,
Truman and Worthington competed to produce the beer but the contract
was awarded to Allsopp's."
• Four of Belcher's ships ended up
trapped in the ice and he had to abandon the expedition. "Two bottles of
Arctic Ale from 1851 exist but are in the US," Protz added. "In 1857
Allsopp's again brewed Arctic Ale for a second search for Franklin led
by Sir Leopold McClintock. He was also unsuccessful and, as far as
anyone knows, no bottles of beer from that year exist." Arctic Ale was
brewed again for that 1875 North Pole expedition.
• "Allsopp's merged in 1935 with the
neighbouring Ind Coope brewery, which later became part of the Allied
Breweries group. When Allied left brewing, the former Allsopp's brewery
was turned into the offices of Punch Taverns and passed to the Spirit
Group. When the cellars were inspected last year [2010], dozens of
bottles of old beer were discovered, including some samples of Arctic
Ale from 1875."
• Protz opened one of the bottles. What
does a 140-year-old Arctic Ale taste like? He said: "It was dark amber
in colour 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."
Source: Antiquestradegazette.com
