London, May 12: Scientists may recreate the world’s oldest beer from a shipwreck off the coast of Finland, believed to have sunk in the 1840s.
Finnish researchers say they may be able to recreate beer from the 1840s after finding living bacteria in beer from the sunken ship near Aland Islands in the Baltic Sea.
The 2010 discovery of the ship also included the world’s oldest champagne considered drinkable, which has since been auctioned off.
During the summer of 2010 divers discovered unique bottles of champagne in a shipwreck in the Aland archipelago.
The discovery consisted of the world’s oldest champagne of the labels Veuve Clicquot, Juglar and Heidsieck. A total of 145 bottles of champagne were salvaged.
The bottle of shipwrecked Veuve Clicquot sold for 43,630 dollars, surpassing the world auction record.
Researchers analysed two bottles of beer, which they admitted ‘had not stood the test of time well’ but retained a pale golden colour and could originally have had hints of rose, almond and cloves.
“Based on the chemical analysis we made of the beer and with help from a master brewer it would be possible to try to make beer that would resemble it as much as possible,” the Daily Mail quoted Annika Wilhelmson from VTT technical research centre of Finland, as saying.
The wreck lies off Aland, an autonomous part of Finland.
The name of the sunken vessel is still unknown, as is its destination.
It has been speculated that the cargo was bound for the Russian Tsar’s court in St Petersburg.
When it was unearthed, officials stated they believed the beer was the oldest in the world.
“We believe these are by far the world’s oldest bottles of beer,” Rainer Juslin, a spokesman for the local government of Aaland, said in a statement on September 3, 2010.
The enviable haul was found intact on the seabed at a depth of 50 metres.
“The constant temperature and light levels have provided optimal conditions for storage, and the pressure in the bottles has prevented any seawater from seeping in through the corks,” the statement said. (ANI)