If you’ve ever cracked open a can of lager that’s been at the back of a cupboard for a couple of years, you’ll know it’s a bad idea to take a sip.

But what if that beer was specially brewed for explorers on an Arctic expedition? And what if it hadn’t just been sitting around for a few years, but more than a century and a half?

In that case, it might present a valuable business opportunity.

Just ask Dougal Gunn Sharp, the booze kingpin who founded Edinburgh brewery Innis & Gunn.

He got his hands on an 1875 bottle of Allsopp’s legendary Arctic Ale at an auction for more than £3,000 more than a decade ago – and he’s finally decided what to do with it.

The tipple was created in the mid-nineteenth century for souls venturing into the frozen north, who required strong beer to keep their ins

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