Posted on 03/04/2015 10:20:58 AM PST by Red Badger
Some breweries have taken to resurrecting the flavors of ages past. Adventurous beer makers are extrapolating recipes from clues that archeologists have uncovered from old and even ancient brews found at historical sites. Now scientists have analyzed some of the oldest preserved beer samples from an 1840s' shipwreck to try to provide insight into how they were made. They report their findings in ACS' Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry.
Brian Gibson and colleagues explain that in 2010, divers discovered an old schooner at the bottom of the Baltic Sea near Finland. Archeological evidence suggested the ship went down about 170 years ago. It was loaded with goods including bottles of champagne and beer. The beer was diluted with salt water, but it contained enough of the original ingredients for the researchers at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd. and the Technical University of Munich to analyze and get an idea of the initial recipe.
When the researchers took a sip, they weren't able to discern the beers' intended flavors. High levels of organic acids, produced by bacteria growing in the bottles for years, gave the samples vinegary, "goaty" and soured milk flavors that overpowered the original fruity, malt or hop profiles. However, analytical testing created a picture of what the beer may once have been composed of. For example, they determined that samples from two bottles were different beers based on their hop content. They also found that yeast-derived flavor compounds were similar to those of modern beers, though with a higher than usual content of rose-like phenylethanol.
Explore further: The chemistry of beer and coffee
More information: Analysis of Beers from an 1840s' Shipwreck, J. Agric. Food Chem., Article ASAP. DOI: 10.1021/jf5052943
Abstract Two bottles of beer from an about 170-year-old shipwreck (M1 Fö 403.3) near the Åland Islands in the Baltic Sea were analyzed. Hop components and their degradation compounds showed that the bottles contained two different beers, one more strongly hopped than the other. The hops used contained higher levels of β-acids than modern varieties and were added before the worts were boiled, converting α-acids to iso-α-acids and β-acids to hulupones. High levels of organic acids, carbonyl compounds, and glucose indicated extensive bacterial and enzyme activity during aging. However, concentrations of yeast-derived flavor compounds were similar to those of modern beers, except that 3-methylbutyl acetate was unusually low in both beers and 2-phenylethanol and possibly 2-phenylethyl acetate were unusually high in one beer. Concentrations of phenolic compounds were similar to those in modern lagers and ales.
Provided by American Chemical Society
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-03-recipes-world-oldest-beers.html#jCp
Back in the ‘60s, Rainier made an ale that was addictive. It came in a green quart bottle and when tipped over, beautiful, amber-colored nectar flowed into your glass. Sure, it smelled like swamp water but it thrilled the palate.
The people in Washington called it “Green Death” and they were not far off. (I read where it was one of two ales that came closest to a Medieval brew and won some kind of award.)
I used to take the RV with wife and kids, go down to the boat landing in Oceanside, CA, park it and turn the kids loose without a worry. I’d break out the lawn chair, keep two quarts handy and, ever so gently, slip into a drunken stupor while the fresh ocean breezes wafted over me. A few hours later I’d wake up feeling like I was reborn.
There is much to be said for that kind of therapy.
Alas, either the formula was changed or I was, but the stuff started giving me nasty headaches and I had to bid a sorrowful farewell.
Nowadays, they apply that name to a malt liquor. How the mighty hath fallen.
Great brand name, regardless. ;’)
Have you tried any of the craft beers that have been oaked in used whiskey barrels? What are they thinking?
Indeed, it is.
Say what you will about 'malt liquor', the name has become a pejorative in recent years due to it's association with the 'gangsta' culture, but there are some really good tasting ones nowadays and they do have a 'kick'.
I'm kinda fond of this one...................
They are thinking they can save money on used barrels...............
You might try making some from those recipes.
In the early to mid 1800’s, BEER was the number one breakfast drink in America........................
That was no accident. It was on purpose.......................
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