Beer

09.02.2010

Remember our excitement back in July about a discovery of the world’s oldest champagne in a shipwreck in the Baltic Sea? Well, that excitement is back, as divers have just recently found what is believed to be the world’s oldest surviving beer in that same shipwreck.

The style? Well baltic porter would certainly be fitting, but that information hasn’t been released yet. However, researchers did try drops of the “dark, foamy liquid” and, according to a spokesperson for the researchers, “liked the taste of it.”

Believed to be from the early 19th century, Swedish beer expert Goran Wingbergh said that, prior to this discovery, the beer previously believed to be the oldest drinkable beer dated from 1869.

As with the champagne previously found at this shipwreck, the sea floor environment was perfect for aging the beer with a combination of zero light and UV rays, lack of oxygen, and cool and constant temperatures.

This discovery also follows the recent uncovering of a rare vintage of 100 year old scotch, encompassed and well-preserved in ice underneath the floorboards of a hut in Antarctica.

It makes you wonder just how much undiscovered treasure is hidden all throughout the world, doesn’t it? Anyone up for a fine beverage treasure hunting expedition?