The Duke’s love in a special brew
THE OLD COTTAGE BREWERY BREATHED NEW LIFE INTO THE OLD ALE IN 2015
IT’S been widely reported over the years that Prince Philip’s favourite tipple was the Burtonbrewed ale Double Diamond.
According to Princess Diana’s former butler, Paul Burrell, the Duke of Edinburgh used to enjoy drinking a bottle of the Ind Coope brewed beer each night.
What the Duke did after the mid-1990s is unknown as Carlsberg – the owners of the brewery at the time – started to gradually phase out the beer, which was famous for its advertising slogan “A Double Diamond works wonders”.
After a hiatus of more than 20 years, former brewery workers started to gather ideas on how to recreate the famous brand.
With the full history of Burton’s Ind Coope Burton Brewery being documented in a book by author Ian Webster, there was no better opportunity than to set to work creating a replica limited-edition ale.
The ale was ready in time for the book’s official launch before an audience of former brewery workers who were the first to sample the tipple and compare old with new.
The brew, labelled “Dual Diamond” had been expertly crafted by former Ind Coope employees Mick Machin and Kev Slater from the town’s Old Cottage Brewery.
After months of conditioning, a very limited number of 52 bottles was created – two of which were sent to Buckingham Palace for the Duke of Edinburgh.
Speaking in January 2016, Ian Webster said: “A finished copy of the book was sent to Prince Philip and I offered him some of the Dual Diamond as we’ve decided to do a limited number of bottles.
“Unsurprisingly, he said yes. It’s not every day you get to buy royalty a beer.”
Prince Philip visited the home of Double Diamond at the Ind Coope and Samuel Allsopp brewhouse during a royal visit to Burton in December 1995.