World's 'oldest beer' found in shipwreck

[BrewTech]

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-03/world/baltic.sea.beer_1_beer-champagne-bottles?_s=PM:WORLD


First there was the discovery of dozens of bottles of 200-year-old champagne, but now salvage divers have recovered what they believe to be the world's oldest beer, taking advertisers' notion of 'drinkability' to another level.

Though the effort to lift the reserve of champagne had just ended, researchers uncovered a small collection of bottled beer on Wednesday from the same shipwreck south of the autonomous Aland Islands in the Baltic Sea.

"At the moment, we believe that these are by far the world's oldest bottles of beer," Rainer Juslin, permanent secretary of the island's ministry of education, science and culture, told CNN on Friday via telephone from Mariehamn, the capital of the Aland Islands.

*rest of story at link*

I'd give someone else's left nut for the yeast out of that beer!

[Neuro]

Does the yeast improve with ageing? Or was there better yeast 200 years ago? Would the yeast still be recoverable (spores remaining?)?

[Twisted Titan]

The marketing potential has not gone unoticed


The big beer houses are not just letting this one pass buy( if they are smart)


They could make a knockoff and the sheep would buy it thinking its a "Real Mans Drink"


T

[madfranks]

http://wapedia.mobi/en/Dogfish_Head_Brewery#2.

2. 2. Ancient Ales

In the late 90s, Dogfish Head started a unique "Ancient Ales" series, in which beer recipes were created based upon the chemical analysis of residue found on pottery and drinking vessels from various archaeological sites. As of 2009, only three such brews have been crafted, and only one (Midas Touch) is produced year round. The others are produced on a limited basis.

* Midas Touch Golden Elixir (first released in 1999). A strong ale based on residue found on drinking vessels from the tomb of King Midas, dating back to the 8th century BC. Defining ingredients include Muscat grapes, honey, and saffron. (See section below for more information.)

* Chateau Jiahu (first released in 2006). A spiced strong ale based on residue from pottery found in the Neolithic village of Jiahu, dating to the 7th millennium BC. Some defining ingredients include rice flakes, wildflower honey, hawthorn fruit, and Chrysanthemum flowers. As of 2009, this is the oldest known beer recipe to be brewed in the modern age. [7]

* Theobroma (first released in 2008). A chocolate beer based on residue found on pottery discovered in Honduras dating to approximately 1200 BC. Some defining ingredients include Aztec cocoa powder, honey, and annatto.

[BrewTech]

Does the yeast improve with ageing? Or was there better yeast 200 years ago? Would the yeast still be recoverable (spores remaining?)?


The yeast don't improve... but if they are still viable it would be possible to make a beer from that era with a yeast strain that no longer exists, and I think that would be pretty cool. It's like a beer time machine...