Harpoon Arctic Ale Coming Soon

From Harpoon:

Drawing inspiration from the curious and intrepid voyagers of the 1800’s, Harpoon Brewer Scott Shirley created a rich, deep-flavored ale – that clocks in at 13% ABV – for our limited release Imperial Series. Arctic Ale is delicious and masterly crafted, but equally interesting is the history of the beer that is both fascinating and overlain by tragedy. We caught up with Scott to get the full scoop…

History lovers rejoice! In 1845, Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin led an expedition to the Canadian Arctic in an attempt to chart and navigate the North West Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The mission failed. The ships foundered and were lost, and the crew died. Franklin became a national hero and Queen Victoria demanded that efforts be made to find any remains of the ships or the crew. Along with the Admiralty, the queen asked brewers in Burton, famous for their strong beers exported round the world, to create a "life sustaining ale" – vitamin B helps prevent scurvy – to supply five ships commanded by Sir Edward Belcher. He led an expedition in 1851 to find any clues to what had happened to the Franklin mission.

Belcher failed to find any remains of the Franklin expedition. In 1857 the beer was again brewed for a second search for Franklin led by Sir Leopold McClintock. He was also unsuccessful and, as far as anyone knows, no bottles of beer from that year exist today. But Arctic Ale was brewed once more in 1875 for Sir George Nares’s expedition to locate the North Pole – and a treasure trove of bottles of that brew was found in Burton late last year.

You hopefully aren’t in need of fighting off scurvy, but this hearty ale can be enjoyed today or aged for years. Whatever you decide, my advice is to grab a 22oz bomber and invite 22 of your best friends over to enjoy!

Arctic Ale is rolling out the brewery now and will be will be available on draft and in 22oz bottles for a limited time. Find it near you!