A sensational cache of bottled beers dating back over 130 years has been discovered in Burton upon Trent, the home of Great British brewing. Found recently in the Worthington’s White Shield brewery vaults, many are still in fine condition with their corks and wax seals still in place.
The find includes many vintages, including Worthington’s White Shield, one of Britain’s oldest bottle conditioned ales and 2006 CAMRA Champion Bottle Conditioned Beer of Britain. Other commemorative ales brewed to celebrate royal marriages, visits or births were also found with the oldest being an 1869 Harry Ratcliff’s Ale – to mark the birth of a son into the Ratcliff family, brewers who eventually became part of the Bass, Ratcliff & Gretton empire in the late 19th century.
Burton upon Trent is synonymous with beer and some of those found date back to the golden age of British Ale brewing, when Burton beers travelled the globe and became famous for their high drinkability and consistent quality and taste.
Thanks to the traditional brewing methods first used in the 1820’s to craft Worthington’s White Shield, the modern day legacy of these historic, iconic brews lives on today. In order to preserve them for years to come, Head Brewer, Steve Wellington, and his team of skilled re-corkers have already embarked upon a comprehensive re-corking programme.
As a result of this fantastic discovery, Worthington White Shield has have launched a national search together with the Campaign for Real Ale to find Britain’s oldest bottle of beer – details can be found here. The owner of Britain’s oldest unopened bottle of beer will be invited to the White Shield Brewery in Burton upon Trent to brew their very own vintage.