‘Arguably there’s no more important beer in brewing history’: Man behind revival of Britain's forgotten brewing giant returns to original 200-year-old IPA his family made famous

• Launch of new India Pale Ale from originators of the famous style marks the biggest milestone yet in the revival of one of Britain's most influential breweries, Allsopp’s

• Fresh interpretation of the beer that helped establish Burton-upon-Trent as the world's brewing capital and made possible by the discovery of the only surviving Allsopp’s brewing ledger containing more than 100 original recipes

• Jamie Allsopp, a descendant of founder Samuel Allsopp, says launch completes the first chapter in bringing one of British brewing's greatest names back to life

ONE of the great lost names of British brewing is returning to the beer that made its fortune more than 200 years ago – with a new IPA made possible by the extraordinary discovery of a brewing ledger described as the missing link between one of the world's most popular modern beer styles and its historic Burton roots.

More than half a century after the brewery that helped popularise IPA around the world disappeared from Britain's pubs, Allsopp’s – the modern incarnation of Samuel Allsopp & Sons – has unveiled The Famous Original, a new 4.4% IPA and the culmination of Jamie Allsopp's five-year mission to revive one of Britain's most influential brewing names.

Containing more than 100 handwritten recipes – including IPA, Pale Ale, Double Diamond, Stout, Arctic Ale and dozens of forgotten brews – the ledger was discovered in an attic in Leeds after Jamie had spent almost two years searching for original records from the family brewery and has become the historical foundation for its modern revival.

Jamie, a direct descendant of brewery founder and seventh time grandfather Samuel Allsop, says the new IPA represents far more than another addition to the range – but rather the return of the beer at the heart of his family's brewing story.

“Arguably there is no more important beer in brewing history, Jamie said. “And as an Allsopp the story of IPA has a very particular resonance.”

"This is the moment I've been building towards since the day we decided to bring Allsopp's back," he explained. "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."

In 1822, the lucrative trade in beer to India was dominated by London brewer George Hodgson, pale ale had become unreliable and unable to make the journey unspoiled. But the relationship had soured and Hodgson wasn’t delivering, leaving the Company looking for an alternative supplier capable of producing a beer that could survive the long voyage to India.

Its director, Campbell Marjoribanks, turned to Samuel Allsopp in Burton-upon-Trent, handing him a bottle of Hodgson's beer and challenging him to create something better. Samuel and his head maltster, Job Goodhead, set to work, famously using a teapot as a miniature brewing vessel as they experimented with the recipe. The answer was a paler, heavily hopped beer whose higher alcohol and hop content helped it withstand months at sea – and which proved ideally suited to Burton's naturally gypsum-rich water. As predicted by Allsopp the six month journey by sea mellowed the beer making it delicious on arrival.

“Marjoribanks told Allsopp, ‘If you can make it work, then riches will be yours’,’”Jamie said. “And he did. He essentially bet the business on the first two shiploads. When news arrived a year later it had been a success, his fortunes turned round and the gamble paid off!

The resulting beer proved a sensation and helped establish the style that became known around the world as India Pale Ale. Within decades, Allsopp's had become one of Britain's brewing powerhouses, exporting beer around the globe and helping cement Burton-upon-Trent's reputation as the brewing capital of the world.

But after reaching extraordinary heights, Allsopp’s fortunes began to turn. Costly expansion and a series of poor commercial decisions weakened what had become one of Britain's great brewing empires, with the family eventually losing control of the business in the 1930s. The Allsopp’s name subsequently passed through a succession of owners before disappearing from Britain’s pubs altogether. For decades, one of the country's most celebrated brewing names survived largely in history books and collectors’ memorabilia.

Jamie, who has been infatuated by his family’s brewing history for as long as he could remember, began seriously plotting its return around 2016, planning to retire from a successful career in finance to revive the famous brewery. He recovered the rights to the name from Carlsberg, a descendent of Allied Breweries which bought them in the mid 20th century, but one question remained unanswered – how could he faithfully recreate beers whose recipes appeared to have been lost?

For almost two years he meticulously searched archives, contacted historians, brewers and collectors, hoping that somewhere an original brewing book had survived – yet nothing emerged.

"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,” Jamie said.

"But I'd almost given up," he admitted. "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. It had to be the real deal – with the right malts, hops, and style that could make our beer revered once again."

Then came the breakthrough – a call from renowned brewer, brewing historian, and collector Steve Holt, of Kirkstall Brewery. Holt revealed what Jamie had begun to fear no longer existed, he had found what is thought to be the only surviving Allsopp’s brewing ledger in an attic in Leeds.

Containing more than 100 original recipes – including IPA, Pale Ale, Double Diamond, Stout, Arctic Ale and dozens of forgotten brews – the ledger has become the cornerstone of the modern revival. Jamie describes opening it as one of the defining moments of the entire project.

"It genuinely felt like I was holding my family's history in my hands," he said. "That ledger is our equivalent of the bottle of Hodgson's that Campbell Marjoribanks handed Samuel Allsopp more than 200 years ago. It's the physical bridge between today's brewery and the beers my ancestors actually brewed. Without finding that ledger, I wouldn't have started brewing.

“We’re the only ones that have the ledger – everybody else is guessing, but we have the brewing bible.”

Rather than attempting to produce a museum-piece recreation of a nineteenth-century beer, Jamie and the brewing team at Kirkstall Brewery have drawn on the historic recipes and Allsopp's brewing heritage to create the IPA they believe the brewery would be making today.

The resulting 4.4% Famous Original IPA is brewed with UK Golden Promise malted barley and Challenger hops, producing a dark copper IPA with herbal, spicy and resinous notes, rounded bitterness and a sweet, malty backbone.

“"My seven times great grandfather Samuel perfected his IPA for the drinkers of his generation, and we've tried to approach it with exactly the same spirit more than 200 years later,” Jamie said. “It has the malt character, balance and bitterness that are part of our brewing heritage, but it's unmistakably a modern beer. For me, it's what Allsopp's should be brewing in 2026 – and what I believe we'd still be brewing had the original brewery endured.”

The revival has also excited the wider Allsopp family, with Jamie saying his relatives have become an informal tasting panel, regularly helping to test new brews before they go into production. Among them is his cousin, television presenter Kirstie Allsopp, who, alongside other members of the family, has played a hands-on role in refining the beers as the historic brewery has returned to life.

“Kirstie and the rest of the family are never shy about telling me what they think of a new beer,” Jamie said, “So they've become a very useful tasting panel! It's nice to think that, more than 200 years after Samuel Allsopp began brewing, his descendants are still sitting around together helping decide what goes into the next pint."

The new IPA represents the latest chapter in the remarkable revival of Samuel Allsopp & Sons. Since re-establishing the brewery in 2021, Jamie has recovered the family's trademarks, reopened the Blue Stoops in London – named after the brewery’s historic Burton home – revived beers including Pale Ale, Stout, and Double Diamond, and brought legendary brews such as Arctic Ale – originally brewed to help sailors survive perilous Victorian arctic expeditions – back to life. He insists, every one of those projects has been building towards this moment.

"I've never seen this as bringing back an old brewery," he said. "It's more about restoring one of the great names in British brewing and making it relevant again. We've learned from our family's successes – and from its failures – but IPA was always the beer I wanted to get to.

“This is the clearest statement yet that Allsopp's is back. I can't wait for people to drink it.”

The new IPA will be unveiled at the Leeds International Beer Festival at the beginning of September, and speaking ahead of Cask Ale Week, Jamie revealed his ambition for the modern incarnation of Allsopp’s to be at the heart of cask’s continued revival across the UK.

"People often talk about cask as though it's in decline, but I think there's much more nuance than that," he said. "Poor cask is struggling, but great cask beer is growing because younger drinkers are discovering naturally fermented beer brewed by people who genuinely care about what they're doing.

"I'd love Allsopp's IPA to become one of the beers that leads that movement. If we can persuade more people to fall in love with cask again, then we've achieved something far bigger than simply bringing back one historic beer."

The new Allsopp’s IPA is available in pubs across England and the UK from Friday, October 16. For more on Allsopp’s, visit allsopps.com.

NOTES TO EDITORS

The Allsopp’s Family

• Allsopp’s IPA – 4.4% ABV: A dark copper cask IPA brewed with UK Golden Promise malted barley and Challenger hops. Herbal, spicy and resinous on the nose, with rounded bitterness and a sweet, robust malt backbone.

• Pale Ale: Inspired by the pale ale that helped build Allsopp’s and establish Burton’s brewing reputation. Pale gold and bright, with bready, cereal and citrus aromas, juicy hops, a biscuit body and a dry finish.

• Best Bitter: A traditional amber bitter brewed with East Kent Goldings, delivering forest-fruit character and thirst-quenching bitterness.

• Arctic Ale: Based on the high-strength beer Allsopp’s brewed for Admiralty expeditions from 1851. Deep mahogany in colour, with treacle, dark fruit and raisin flavours, port-like warmth and a long, sweet finish.

• Lager: A delicate lager with malt, bread and mild honey flavours balanced by clean Hallertau Hersbrucker bitterness.

• Stout: Inspired by Allsopp’s history of brewing Porter from 1807 and Special Stout for the Great Exhibition of 1851. Malt-forward, with cocoa and coffee notes, a soft nitro head and a clean, dry finish.

• Double Diamond: A modern interpretation of the beer first brewed by Allsopp’s in 1934 before becoming one of Britain’s best-known brands. A session pale ale with extra-pale malt, crisp carbonation and a fruity hop character.

For further information, visit allsopps.com.

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