Finnish Scientists To Re-Brew Beer From 19th Century Shipwreck

HELSINKI — Finnish scientists say they hope to re-brew an old ale after studying ancient beer found in a 19th century shipwreck at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

The VTT Technical Research Center of Finland says it aims to determine the recipe used in the brewing of what is "one of the world's oldest preserved beers."

Divers in July found five bottles of dark, foamy beer while salvaging champagne from the wreck near Finland's Aland Islands. The shipwreck is believed to be from the early 19th century.

VTT spokeswoman Annika Wilhelmson said Tuesday that researchers want to find out what kind of yeast was used because "the role of yeast in beer brewing was not yet fully understood in the early 1800s."

Comments

[Francois Bergeron]

04:03 AM on 02/18/2011

Finnish culture.

[Eruch Adams]

04:46 PM on 02/11/2011

It seems like a perfect temperature to preserve ale. Dark, cold, but not freezing. I wonder if they could actually culture the yeasts found within. I wonder if they drank any and what it was like.

[Ouaouaron]

12:45 PM on 02/11/2011

Applied Archaeology at its best!

[cookerman45]

12:33 AM on 02/11/2011

a load of crok i tell ya.

[mburgh]

12:14 PM on 02/10/2011

Much has been lost with the advent of commercial yeasts. We've sacrificed consistent performance for eccentric and idiosyncratic results. Wild yeasts are big fun, but a pain to work with. I would love to get a sample of what they find for my own cultures.

[crayola 08b]

05:31 PM on 02/09/2011

it starts innocently enough with the beer but next thing you know dinosaurs will be plundering and pillaging through central park. mark my words dagnabbit.

[gtoddyt5]

04:36 PM on 02/11/2011

Drunk dinosaurs!

[mrbeadle]

05:30 PM on 02/09/2011

Don't let Anheuser/Busch get a hold of it, they tend to pollute any beer they touch.

[giono]

04:29 PM on 02/09/2011

While I really like interesting beer.....these guys have too much time on their hands

[turfkiller]

09:52 AM on 02/10/2011

It's important to acquire and preserve the yeasts. Would be interesting to compare those with the more modern forms and see what the changes have occurred. Could be really important someday.

[Three-Cookies]

10:17 AM on 02/10/2011

Making beer is a time consuming process - they do need lot of time on their hands:)

[w84it]

03:59 PM on 02/09/2011

Um, the only detail I care about was not in the article. Which brewery will make it and when can I try some????

[audadvnc]

03:04 PM on 02/09/2011

Yeah, but what's it taste like?

[No stinking fans]

12:40 PM on 02/15/2011

Tastes just like flat Old Milwaukee like you get at a baseball game.

[ecotopian]

02:47 PM on 02/09/2011

I think they have found a porter type of brew. Porter started to be produced in the latter part of the 1700's, according to The Beer Advocatehttp://beeradvocate.com/articles/305. This might be what was known as a Baltic Porter which was shipped across the North Sea at that time.

[maslin]

02:25 PM on 02/09/2011

A company recently reproduced an ancient Egyptian beer whose recipe was found in a tomb.

I tried some and I can say that tastes have definitely changed.

[ecotopian]

02:42 PM on 02/09/2011

Dogfish makes a beer from a redo of a 2700 year old recipe. It's called Midas Touch. http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/the-brews/year-round-brews/midas-touch.htm

[maslin]

03:43 PM on 02/09/2011

I'm not sure, but I don't think that was it.

[gavrielle]

04:08 PM on 02/09/2011

Beer was really a meal in those days. Did you do it the old fashioned way and drink it through a long wooden straw?