Allsopp’s, the modern version of Samuel Allsopp & Sons, has brought back The Famous Original, a 4.4% IPA based on recipes from a 200-year-old ledger found in an attic in Leeds. The ledger has been described as the ‘missing link’ between one of the world’s most popular modern beer styles and its historic roots in Staffordshire.
Jamie Allsopp, a descendant of founder Samuel, has spent five years trying to revive the drink using the ledger recipes. The original beer helped launch Burton-upon-Trent as the world’s brewing capital.
Ledger holds more than 100 recipes
Jamie Allsopp said: “Arguably there is no more important beer in brewing history.” He added: “This is the moment I’ve been building towards since the day we decided to bring Allsopp’s back. IPA was the beer that transformed Allsopp’s from a regional Burton brewery into one of the most famous brewing companies in the world. Everything we’ve done over the past five years has been leading here.”
The only surviving Allsopp’s brewing ledger contains more than 100 original recipes, including IPA, Pale Ale, Double Diamond, Stout, Arctic Ale and dozens of forgotten brews.
Revival nearly abandoned
Jamie Allsopp said: “I’ve been surrounded by Allsopp’s memorabilia for as long as I can remember. I never wanted the history of the brewery to be forgotten, so all of my energy had gone into putting Allsopp’s back where I believe it belongs – at the heart of British brewing.”
He added: “But I’d almost given up. Without the recipes I wasn’t interested in producing guesswork. There are plenty of breweries making historical interpretations of IPA, but that wasn’t what I wanted to sit at the heart of Allsopp’s revival.”
The news follows a separate report that pubs enjoyed an Indian summer of booze sales, helped by climate change. Unseasonably warm weather in September drew people to their locals, with sales up 3% year-on-year, according to data from The Oxford Partnership and Vianet. Draft beer and cider sales rose 1.3% year-on-year, and the average spend per person on drinks increased 1.5% to £21.12, while spending on pub food rose 5% to £32.54 per head.
