BACK in 1976 a Teignmouth publican George Rowe was given a two gallon boltle of champagne - but he had no idea who had sent the gift.

It was delivered to his pub – the now long gone Lifeboat Inn – by a transport firm, but there was no clue to the identity of the sender.

The huge bottle of bubbly stood about three feet high and was the second largest size made by the French company concerned, and the biggest imported into the UK.

Called a salamanzar it contained about two gallons of champagne and was worth about £70 (more than £500 in today’s money).

‘On the label it says it is a limited edition produced for the American bicentennial anniversary.

‘A representative told me that the bottle alone costs about £20 to make and it is all a bit of a mystery,’ said Mr Rowe.

His hostelry is well known for its collection of of bottle beers from all parts of the world, and Mr Rowe thinks the champagne was sent by a holidaymaker who went in for a drink during the summer.

‘I remember one man who asked if I would like a large bottle for the collection that would be too large to put on the shelf. I always say yes please to these offers, and I think it must have come from him.

‘It came from a bonding company in London but there was no covering note I have no plans to open it for some time, and it will take pride of place in the collection on a special shelf of its own.’

Mr Rowe now has about 400 beers in his collection and the total grows almost weekly.

None of the bottles is opened and just about every country in the world must be represented. They are brought in by local merchant seamen, regulars who go on holiday to different parts of the world, and summer visitors.

Two recent acquisitions are bottled beers from the Republic of China, and they are thought to be extremely rare in this country.

‘This summer a holidaymaker popped in and said here is a bottle of beer I promised you a few years ago.

‘I had forgotten all about it, but obviously he had not and he came specially on his way back from Cornwall’

A well known character in his native Teignmouth, Mr Rowe has been at The Lifeboat – his one and only inn – for 27 years.  

He used to work in the Morgan Giles shipyard a few yards away as a joiner, and when the previous landlord, who was also his foreman, retired he asked to be allowed to take over, and was given the job.