Have Divers Found the World’s Oldest Drinkable Beer?

September 2nd, 2010

Someone get Sam Calagione on this case immediately. It looks like some divers searching for buried treasure..er…champagne off the coast of Sweden in the Baltic Sea have unearthed what could be the world’s oldest drinkable beer, dating to somewhere around the early 1800s. That sounds great, but too bad the beer is clearly bad by now and undrinkable. What’s that? Someone tried it?

Bjorn Haggblom, a spokesman for the researchers, says they found a handful of beer bottles this week while salvaging champagne discovered near the Aland Islands in July.

He said researchers who tried drops of the dark, foamy liquid liked the taste of it.

Swedish beer expert Goran Winbergh questioned whether it would still be drinkable because beer is perishable.

Um, so who’s waiting for the “Divers Die After Trying Beer from Ancient Shipwreck” headline that will show up in the newspapers in a few more hours? This is why we need Sam. Get him over there; have him test it; and have him replicate it. We can even go ahead and just call it something badass like Pirate’s Blood. There, we already have a name. You have your assignment, Sam.

The Associated Press — Recovering bubbly in Baltic Sea, divers find beer

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Matt

Matt is a freelance journalist, fiction, and nonfiction writer. He recently graduated from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with a degree in English and a subconcentration in creative writing. Matt enjoys watching Arsenal soccer games, Michigan football, and all things beer—especially stouts and anything imperial. He can be reached at mbemery@gmail.com.

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