The bottle of Lowenbrau beer that survived the crash of the Hindenburg, that I wrote about on Tuesday, was auctioned earlier today, fetching the sum of £9,400, but “with buyer’s premium, the bottle will cost the purchaser £10,810,” or around $18.034. This Is Wiltshire, like most accounts, is claiming “[t]he world record price for a bottle of beer was smashed in Devizes today when a bottle of Lowebrau lager sold for over £10,000. The previous highest price for a single bottle of beer is thought to be around £2,500 and auctioneer Alan Aldridge started bidding at £3,000.” But I continue to be perplexed by the August 2007 sale of a bottle Allsopp’s Arctic Ale that sold on eBay for $503,300. No one has mentioned it at all, though it was widely reported at the time.
The Lowenbrau bottle that sold today for £10,810.
UPDATE: Whew, finally an answer on the Allsopp eBay sale. It turns out to be a typo, according to New Life Auctions, who looked into the sale. That and a decidedly unfunny joke bid, by a person with “no intention of paying the seller.” And I always thought a winning bid was akin to a “legal contract.” Antique Week has a little more the incident. Thanks to an alert Bulletin reader named Michael for setting the record straight, once and for all.