A miracle discovery led to a brew 150 years in the making. And it's only available in Cincinnati.

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WEBVTT 100 YEARS. WLWT’S ALLISON ROGERS HAS MORE ON THE DISCOVERY OF THE MIRACLE YEAST. ALLISON: IF THERE’S ONE THING CINCINNATI KNOWS HOW TO MAKE, AND MAKE WELL, IT’S BEER. IT’S A TRADE WE’VE CRAFTED FOR CENTURIES. >> IN THE 1800'S, WE EXPORTED OUR BEER TO GERMANY. ALLISON: AT ONE TIME IN 1860, THE QUEEN CITY HAD 36 BREWERIES. >> THE MOST RECENT COUNT OF LOCAL BREWERIES NOW IN THE REGION IS 58, AND THAT’S ASTOUNDING. ALLISON: MAKING A STANDOUT BEER MAY SOUND DIFFICULT IN THAT KIND OF MARKET, BUT URBAN ARTIFACT IS BREWING SOMETHING UNPRECEDENTED. >> WE KIND OF STRUCK THE LOTTERY. ALLISON: A REMODELING PROJECT IN OVER THE RHINE REVEALED SOMETHING THAT BEER HISTORIAN MIKE MORGAN SAYS IS A CINCINNATI THING. >> WHAT HAPPENS HERE IN CINCINNATI IS, PERIODICALLY, SOMEBODY WILL FIND A LAGERING CELLAR. AND IT’S THE ONLY CITY AMERICA I’M AWARE OF, WHERE THAT CAN HAPPEN. IT OCCURRED IN THIS BUILDING WHERE I KNEW THERE USED TO BE A BREWERY, ORIGINALLY. ALLISON: MORGAN SAYS THAT BREWERY DATES BACK TO THE 1850'S. WE’RE STANDING IN FRONT OF THE BUILDING WHERE THEY FOUND THOSE LAGERING CELLARS, AND INSIDE THOSE CELLARS, A FERMENTING TANK. >> THIS TANK WAS INTACT. YOU COULD KNOCK ON IT. IT WAS HARD. THE WHOLE THING WAS THERE, BASICALLY JUST AS IT LOOKED 150 YEARS AGO. ALLISON: THE CONDITION ALONE, REMARKABLE. >> THESE ARE VERY HUMID SPACES. THEY’RE VERY DAMP. SO I HAVE SEEN REMNANTS OF BARRELS AND TANKS IN SOME OF THESE CELLARS. BUT THAT MEANS THEY’RE ALL JUST GOO. ALLISON: BREWERS WONDERED IF THERE WAS VIABLE YEAST THAT COULD STILL BE USED TO BREW BEER. THAT’S WHERE BRET KOLLMANN BAKER FROM URBAN ARTIFACT BREWERY CAME IN. >> BRET SAID IT WAS HIGHLY UNLIKELY, BUT IT WAS POSSIBLE. >> IT’S A YEAST THAT WE CAUGHT IN AN ENVIRONMENT AND IN A CONDITION THAT SHOULDN’T HAVE LIVABLE YEAST PRESENT STILL. ALLISON: BAKER SAYS THEY TOOK 50 SAMPLES FROM THE TANK. AGAINST THE ODDS, ONE TURNED OUT TO BE A BREWER’S YEAST, WHICH WAS GROWN INTO THIS. >> THIS IS THE ONE "MIRACLE YEAST" THAT MADE IT ALL THE WAY. ALLISON: NOW IT’S BEING BREWED INTO A BEER SO UNCOMMON YOU LIKELY WON’T FIND ANYTHING ELSE LIKE IT. >> TO MY KNOWLEDGE, NOBODY HAS DONE THIS, AT LEAST NOT IN THE UNITED STATES, EVER. IT’S ONE THING TO RESURRECT THE CITY’S BREWING HISTORY THROUGH NAMES AND STORIES AND RESEARCH, BUT THIS IS ACTUALLY 19TH CENTURY CINCINNATI BEER LITERALLY COMING TO LI

Advertisement Miracle discovery: Cincinnati beer made from 150-year-old yeast A miracle discovery led to a brew 150 years in the making. And it's only available in Cincinnati. Share Shares Copy Link Copy

If there's one thing Cincinnati knows how to make, and make well, it's beer. It's a trade Cincinnatians have practiced for centuries. "In the 1800s, we exported our beer to Germany," said Mike Morgan, the president of Queen City History.At one time in 1860, the Queen City had 36 breweries. "The most recent count of local breweries now in the region is 58, and that's astounding," Morgan said.Making a standout beer in that kind of market may sound difficult, but Urban Artifact is brewing something unprecedented. A remodeling project in Over-the-Rhine revealed something that Morgan said is a truly Cincinnati thing. "What happens here in Cincinnati is, periodically, somebody will find a lagering cellar. And it's the only city in America I'm aware of where that can happen," he said. "It occurred in this building where I knew there used to be a brewery, originally."The brewery dates back to the 1850s, according to Morgan. Inside the cellars underneath the building was a fermenting tank. "This tank was intact. I mean, you could knock on it. It was hard. The whole thing was there, basically just as it looked 150 years ago," said Morgan. The tank's condition, alone, was remarkable. "These are very humid spaces. They're very damp. So I have seen remnants of barrels and tanks in some of these cellars. But, that means they're all just goo," said Morgan.Brewers wondered if there was viable yeast in the tank that could still be used to make beer. That's where Bret Kollmann Baker, from Urban Artifact, came in. Morgan said Baker had his doubts, but said it was possible."It's a yeast that we caught in an environment and in a condition that shouldn't have livable yeast present still," said Baker.He said they took 50 samples from the tank. Against the odds, one turned out to be a brewer's yeast. Morgan believes the yeast strain is around 150-years-old. The yeast is being brewed into something so uncommon, it's likely the only beer of its kind. "It's one thing to resurrect the city's brewing history through names and stories and research, but this is actually 19th-century Cincinnati beer literally coming to life," Morgan said. The beer will be available while it lasts, beginning Nov. 9, at Urban Artifact.