The first drop of what was to be Allsopp’s
beer was brewed around 294 years ago.
It was made by Benjamin Wilson in Burton
on Trent, the then brewing capital
of the world. To help drive demand
for the beer, the brewery bought
the Blue Stoops pub in the town. It
was rumoured to be so old that no
one ever knew when it was built!
Demand for Allsopp’s beer grew,
not just in Britain, but even in Imperial
Russia surviving the 2000 mile journey to
St. Petersburg where it was enjoyed in the
Tsar’s court.
In 1778 James Allsopp marries into the
Wilson family business and starts to shape
the future. He wastes no time in putting his
stamp on the company and renaming it
after himself! The Napoleonic wars put a bit
of a spanner in the works as export options
were very limited.
Not one to be downhearted, Samuel
helped create India Pale Ale and with
help from the mighty East India Company,
he was shipping his beers from Burton to
Madras and Calcutta throughout
the mid 1800s. Around this time,
the red hand logo was registered
to indicate the beer was in good
condition.
Fast forward to the present day and
Jamie Allsopp, the great-greatgreat-
great-great grandson of Samuel had
a plan to relaunch the famous brand. By
keeping the recipes as close as possible to
the originals, He has recreated a piece of
brewing history.
