Alsopp's Arctic Ale bottle (1852 - still sealed)

$503,300 (!!)

As with old unopened bottles of wine, there is something special about an old unopened bottle of beer. Clearly the contents have deteriorated and are no longer drinkable. Having the the container and label in such good condition contributes to it's value as an old bottle, but old stale beer?.

I'm at a loss as to why having the old beer inside is important...but it apparently is because someone twice the median price of a house for one bottle of beer!!!

The great thing is the seller bought it previously on ebay for $304:

And here's a news article about the sale and the seller:

Anyone heard whether the money has actually gone thru? - at that price there's got to be a risk of a spoof bid, no? cheers MikeMcG

An outlandish price for a bottle of beer and the subsequent release of the purchase history makes me suspect that this is yet another person looking for his moment in Ebay history. If it is a concocted story, the seller sure went to a lot of effort creating those bidders, most of whom have a separate history of bidding.

On the other hand wine collectors are known for paying outrageous prices for bottles of old undrinkable wine.

And just to move beer topics to the top of the growing list of non- beer messages I'll post a response.