Scientists Recreate Beer Found on a Shipwreck in 1797

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The discovery of a 220-year-old beer bottle recovered from the Sydney Cove, sunk in Australian waters near Tasmania, has inspired the creativity of a team of researchers.

Beer found on a shipwreck in 1797 — Beer on a shipwreck in 1797

Scientists used the beer yeast found inside the bottle to recreate this historic beverage and plan to invest the proceeds from its sale in conservation work for a local museum and key archaeological sites.

Rescuing Centuries-Old Yeast

According to Live Science, the scientists who recreated this ancient beer come from Australia, France, Germany and Belgium.

They used the yeast found inside an old unopened beer bottle and a traditional recipe of the era to produce a “mild-tasting beer.”

Working together, the scientists managed to revive five distinct species of yeast microbes from the ancient beer bottle.

Triply Hybrid Genetics

Project director David Thurrowgood, curator and chemist at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (QVMAG) in Launceston, Tasmania, told the Daily Mail:

It is an uncommon triply hybrid yeast, related to bread, beer and wine yeasts. It is genetically different from hundreds of yeast species we have compared it to, from Australia and around the world. Traditionally, beer was brewed in open barrels and this yeast fits with the brewing practices of the era.

The scientists also managed to find several species of bacteria inside the bottle that will provide valuable information about microorganisms in the human diet from a time before the Industrial Revolution in Europe, Thurrowgood explained.

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He added:

People talk about autoimmune diseases and other disorders related to the fact that we eat a fairly sterile diet these days, whereas in the past our diet was full of microbes.

Research Opportunity

This is one of the few opportunities we have to actually investigate those microbes, and find out what they really were.

The wreck of the Sydney Cove was explored by marine archaeologists in the 1990s. They found various bottles and beer barrels, as well as bottles of wine, brandy and gin, among other discoveries.

Although it has not yet been commercialized, the researchers believe there is potential for this beer to succeed.

It has quite a sweet flavor — some have described it as almost a cider-like or refreshing taste — which comes from the yeast.

Many of the objects recovered from the sunken vessel are on display at the QVMAG, and the museum’s website states that the Sydney Cove was the first merchant vessel to be wrecked in Australian waters.

Funds for Conservation

The researchers hope that the beer will allow them to raise funds that could help in the future to preserve the collection of artifacts from the Sydney Cove held by the museum, as well as the survivor camps from the wreck that are still preserved on Preservation Island.

Thurrowgood also commented on some of the possibilities for the future:

We could set up a small brewery in the museum’s historic buildings in Launceston, or create a craft beer based on the ancient yeast strain from the late eighteenth century.