Ind Coope’s Double Diamond has returned as Dual Diamond, but how much do you know about the original beer? It has a longer history than you may think.

Before the actual name Double Diamond was used, Ind Coope & Co. used a double interlocking diamond mark on casks prior to the 1870s. The beer can trace its roots back to 1822 when Samuel Allsopp and Job Goodhead allegedly brewed an IPA in a teapot. The double diamond trademark was registered in 1876. Following the 1934 merger to form Ind Coope & Allsopp Ltd., the Allsopp Pale Ale was renamed and the words “Double Diamond” first appeared on bottle labels. By 1938 it was called “Ind Coope’s Double Diamond.”In 1948 Ind Coope & Allsopp Ltd. opened their new bottling stores on Curzon Street to meet the demand for bottled Double Diamond. By 1958 it was the country’s best selling bottled beer. Draught Double Diamond appeared as a keg beer in the early 1960s, this was weaker than the bottled version. “A Double Diamond works wonders!” was once its popular strapline. Between 1966 and 1971 sales rose astronomically, by 1974 it was selling an incredible 50 million pints per annum! In 1971 CAMRA formed as a pressure group against keg beers such as Double Diamond, Watney’s Red Barrel etc. and the market for keg began to slowly decline in favour of cask ales. An amusing badge proclaiming “DD is K9P” was sold at CAMRA Beer Festivals. The identity of the person who did the taste comparison remains a mystery. HRH The Duke of Edinburgh is Double Diamond’s most famous drinker. The last brew of Double Diamond at Ind Coope was in 1996 by Kevin Slater in the Samuel Allsopp’s Brewing Company which produced limited runs of beers. A firkin appeared in The Roebuck and it was supped in one dinnertime session. Dual Diamond first appeared in 2015 as a one off brew to mark the publication of “Ind Coope & Samuel Allsopp Breweries: The History of the Hand.” This was produced by Old Cottage Brewery. In April 2018 Dual Diamond was brewed once more …