Back in 2007, a bottle of Allsopp’s Arctic Ale from 1852 went up for auction twice on eBay. The first time the seller who placed the bottle up for auction misspelled Allsopp’s as “Allsop’s,” and the bottle did not garner much interest, ending up selling for a paltry $304. The buyer apparently knew he had a remarkable find, and turned around and sold it on eBay for a reported $500,300! Later it was discovered that the stated sale price of over half a million dollars was a joke played by a prankster bidder. And since there was no eBay stories blog back then, we have to believe the secondhand accounts about these sales but, we have to admit, it did pique our interest. The story also caught the attention of Chris Bowen, who relates how he became intrigued by the sale and the beer. He began his journey of discovery to find out as much as he could about this oddly-named ale, with the end goal of recreating the original recipe. Through a series of interesting events and unlikely coincidences, he wound up in possession of several bottles of Allsopp’s Arctic Ale, one of which he decided to put up for auction. Which brings us to today’s remarkable listing, the World’s oldest documented bottle of ale, Allsopp’s Arctic Ale 1852 England sealed: 
The listing goes on to describe the 160-year-old bottle of ale in detail:
"My bottle is in original condition , a three piece pontil "porter style" bottle, filled to approximately 80 percent of a fill line, on top, a full wax and possibly lead seal, with the breweries imprint, the wax is in reasonably good condition considering the age a small tear exists . Paper label , fair to poor condition, (strong colors and definition of what remain) relative to being 160 years old and cached in the arctic for an unknown number of years, then stored in Allsopp's vaults and museum."
The seller has obviously done his research about Allsopp’s Arctic Ale, including how it came to be brewed, and what it was used for, which he relates in its entirety on the listing description page. Suffice it to say that in 1851, a call went out to the brewers of England to create a beer worthy of being stocked on an expedition from England in search of the fabled Northwest Passage to Asia. The competition was fierce, but Allsopp’s won out with its Arctic Ale brew. Although it may seem odd to us that beer was a staple on ships at the time, the seller explains that “ale was a standard article of sea ration dating back to the 1300’s.” He notes that by the late 18th century, “beer had begun to be considered a food — a staple beverage and essential part of the sea diet; a luxury — helping to ameliorate the hardships and irregularities of sea life, and a medicine — conducive to health at sea. In particular, beer and its precursors, wort and malt, were administered with the aim of preventing and curing the deadly disease known as scurvy.” It strikes us that even today some people consider beer food, so it is not so surprising it was considered as such 160 years ago. The seller also lets on about some hidden treasures he still has in his possession: "Arctic Ale was produced for this 1852 mission, but also brewed in 1857 (for which I own the only known bottle) and also in 1875, for which I own a bottle and the rest are located in Burton on Trent at the National Brewery Centre Museum (they are on display)." Chris was inspired by that early eBay listing and story, and has gone on to craft a beer similar to that original Allsopp’s from over a century ago. He has documented his story in an upcoming film, which you can read about here. Finally, if you are interested in learning more about Chris’s story, take a look at his interview, below.
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