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Iconic ’70s beer makes a comeback
A cult beer, which was discontinued in 2003, has returned to select pubs across the UK on tap. But what is it, and where can you get your hands on a pint?
A beer that hasn’t been seen inside British pubs for 30 years is about to make a reappearance to the hand pumps, but it won’t be around forever.
First brewed in 1876 as an Indian Pale Ale (IPA), Double Diamond was a smash hit, regularly selling more than 50million pints in a year. It was one of the UK’s biggest selling pints throughout the 1950s through to the 1970s, but the pale ale fell out of favour in the 1980s and by the 2000s had largely been discontinued in pubs, being scrapped for good in 2003.
Now Allsopp’s Brewery is reintroducing it, with a tweaked recipe. The new version takes inspiration from the original 1922 release but has a new recipe that uses Citra, Columbus and Mosaic hops, and with an ABV of 3.8%.
“This sessionable Pale Ale is the next iteration of Double Diamond and we hope will find a place in the affections of new drinkers, as well as those that haven’t tasted it in 30 years,” said James Allsopp, who after finding a ledger containing original Allsopp recipes believed these beers should not be consigned to history books.
“Double Diamond is our A-list star, a beer so popular it was up in lights on Piccadilly Circus, so famous the government considered nationalising it, a beer that worked such wonders it sold 50 million pints a year,” added Allsopp.
Its popular TV slogans included: “Double Diamond works wonders” and “You’re only here for the beer”.
Consumer response to the return of Double Diamond has been varied, with comments made on db’s website following the initial publication of this story ranging from the delighted to the vitriolic.
“Unless Double Diamond has fundamentally changed i.e. it is entirely different from the stuff they used to sell (try to at least) in the 70s, I’m afraid its efforts are in vain. Double Diamond was never ‘iconic’, it was universally loathed,” wrote Richard Platts. “Personally, I thought it was a disgusting drink. Artificial, sickly sweet, full of caramel and sticky. If a few drops had run down the side of the glass you needed wash your hands. And the taste….b***dy awful!!!”
Bill Barson was also not a fan. “Piss off! Double Diamond was along with Watneys Red Barrel and ‘a brew’ called Kingpin the worst shite that us teenagers were only offered in the 1960’s by heavy marketing campaigns!” he commented.
Others such as Eric Wood are intrigued by the prospect of the new recipe. “I loved the Double Diamond ‘old taste’ before it was taken off the market,” he wrote. “I don’t think that this new version is going to be as good but I shall sample and see. The old one & Bass were very good tasting beers.”
Stephen Penman added: “Used to drink DD in the 70s, it was a great beer in the Manchester pubs. Hope you expand the sales to us up north and not just the south.”
Where to drink a pint of Double Diamond
Will your local be stocking it? For a full list of where you can get your hands on a pint of Double Diamond now, see below. Allsopp’s has revealed it will be expanding the ale’s distribution, and db will be updating the list as and when new stockists are announced.
London
The Duke of York, Fitzrovia
The King & Queen, Fitzrovia
The Blue Stoops, Kensington
The Hole in the Wall, Waterloo
The Last Judgment, Holborn
The Lucky Saint, Marylebone
The Princess Royal, Notting Hill
The Barley Mow, Mayfair
The Alfred Tennyson, Belgravia
Cubitt House Group restaurants
Burton-upon-Trent (home to Allsopp’s original brewery)
The Last Heretic
Beeropolis
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They used to sell it in a pub in dewsbury west York it was lovely in 80
Great news can’t wait to try it
I was in my early twenties when I started on DD.
I’m excited to hear this news and can’t wait to get my hands on it.
I had my first ever pint of beer in 1968 and it was a Double Diamond. I drank nothing else for years.
According to my friend Gary aka the Beerman, it was the best beer ever. We’d be glad to enjoy that beer in Quebec soon again!
Replying from Down Under New Zealand I’d loved Bass beers when it was available in the 70s and Indian Pale Ales were readily available in our bars and restaurants but not now anymore.
Craft beers are the norm here but they’re are getting expensive nowadays.
Would loved to try Double Diamond beer if imported to N.Z.