Posted on 05/04/2023 2:24:45 PM PDT by nickcarraway
But maybe don't drink it.
In the mid-1930s, British beermaker Greene King brewed and bottled a special ale to commemorate the coronation of King Edward VIII. The only problem? That king was never crowned. In 1936, Edward surrendered his chance to wear the crown, abdicating the throne only 325 days into his unofficial reign so that he could marry American socialite Wallis Simpson.
His coronation — which had been scheduled for May 1937 — was called off, his younger brother George VI became king, and all 2,000 bottles of that Coronation Ale were put into storage. Remarkably, that beer stash wasn’t discovered until 2011, when workers doing some renovation work stumbled upon it in Green King’s cellars.
And now, more than 86 years since it was brewed, those bottles of Coronation Ale are going to be auctioned off by Greene King on May 5. (Yes, that’s the day before King Charles’ coronation). In addition to giving bidders a chance to get their hands on a unique piece of Royal history, the auction will also raise money for The Prince’s Trust, a charity that provides opportunities for disadvantaged youth.
Let Them Eat Quiche: King Charles Releases Official Coronation Recipe “This really would have been a fantastic beer in its day,” Greene King’s then-head brewer John Bexon said in 2012. “It was 12% when it was brewed so is quite strong and has kept really well. The rich fruit flavor still stands out.”
Whoever ends up buying the beer will have to take Bexon’s word for it: Greene King said that the brew is “no longer drinkable,” and the bottles are being sold purely as collector’s items. According to The Telegraph, Greene King does have an updated version of Coronation Ale, which has been brewed for King Charles’ crowning next month; it will be available to buy in pubs and online.
“It is absolutely fascinating that these beers have been lying in the cellar for 86 years,” Royal historian and author Professor Kate Williams told The Telegraph. “The elaborate Coronation preparations took over a year to arrange, but by the time the event came around he had already abdicated, leaving the ceremony, and these celebratory beers, redundant.”
Greene King’s brewery is over 200 years old, so Bexon hinted that there could be some other surprising finds hidden in its vast cellars. “[T]here could be more vintage beers just waiting to be re-discovered,” he said at the time the Coronation Ale was unearthed. That would be great – but we’d prefer not to have to wait 86 more years for the next batch.
Will Bud Lite brew something for King Charles?
I am watching THE CROWN. What a mean little scoundrel that guy was. This series is NOT kind to him. I love it! They showed the actual photos of him with Hitler.
They don’t happen to have any cake 🎂 from a poorly-ventilated English basement do they?
How’s about some Entenmann’s?
Do they have a castle 🏯🏰 in Windsor?
They have a case at the end of the aisle
Do they have a castle 🏯🏰 in Windsor?
NO
They have a case at the end of the aisle
I thought Dylan Mulvaney was King Charles illegitimate baby girl.
> They showed the actual photos of him with Hitler. <
Yeah, that whole thing is really odd. It might make a bit of (treasonous) sense if Edward were some minor noble. And he hoped to rise to high position in a future German UK puppet government.
But Edward was the Prince of Wales at the time. He knew he would someday be king. So why mess around with a foreign dictator? I dunno. Was Edward a rabid anti-Semitic? Or was he just mesmerized by all those nifty Nazi uniforms?
All of the above
I’m pretty sure it was Wallis Simpson who was the one fascinated with/enamored of/mesmerized by Hitler and the Nazis.
Yeah. He and wife were pieces of work.
Apparently she used to sleep around with SS officers.
Well, they did wear those snappy Hugo Boss outfits.
Interesting investment, but keep Elaine away from it.
A bottle of that ale would make a great souvenir. I’m sure it’s going to be EXPENSIVE….
I had a can of Billy Beer up to 1992 when I moved to New Mexico. If I’d only kept it until the internet came along.
I’m at the age where I can’t remember where I just put my car keys. It’s a mystery. But by golly, I can remember every scene in every ‘Seinfeld’ episode.
Coronation Ale
Would they notice if I replaced it with Corona?
Damn, was NOT in before the Elaine in Seinfeld reference!
About the same thing happened at Inglenook Winery in NAPA years ago. In the late 1800’s part of the cave they store their wines in collapsed and a number of red wines stored on the racks were buried. No effort to recover those wines as they didn’t think they could survive and the winery forgot where all the storage areas were. So no one looked.
It was uncovered in the middle 1980’s when they expanded the caves by accident, and many of the bottles and racks were still intact. A large part was not hit by the falling soil and remained on the racks. They were so old that the glue holding the labels had hardened and the labels had fallen off. Those bottles went to auction when Inglenook closed in 1989 and started at $2000 a bottle.
wy69
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