140-YEAR-OLD BEER FOUND AT ENGLISH BREWERY

On December 11 at the Worthington White Shield brewery in Burton-on-Trent, workers found 250 vintage bottles of beer some almost 140 years old. The oldest found was an 1869 Harry Ratcliff's Ale - to mark the birth of a son into the Ratcliff brewing family that became part of the Bass, Ratcliff & Gretton empire in the late 19th century. A bottle of 1982 Prince's Ale mashed by the late Earl Spencer, Princess Diana's father, to commemorate the birth of Prince William was also among the find.

Then they drank some! According to the RealBeer article: George Philliskirk, Chief Executive of the Beer Academy, agreed. "This discovery is remarkable, especially as the oldest beer of all dates back to 1869 and tastes so fresh, and with such attractive ripe plum and honeyed flavors. This demonstrates the potential for vintage beers to be taken seriously - maybe even being worthy of a special section in wine lists at Britain's top restaurants."