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Divers found a 162-year-old Guinness bottle in a shipwreck off the coast of Dover that may contain the original recipe
Divers have found a 162-year-old bottle of Guinness Extra Stout in a shipwreck off the coast of Dover, and scientists are hopeful it can help them recreate the original formula for the iconic stout.
According to reports, the ancient Guinness bottle was from the year 1864 and was discovered by divers Stefan Panis and Eddie Huzzey off the coast of Dover among the wreckage of a ship that sank off the English coast.
Divers found a 162-year-old Guinness bottle in a shipwreck off the coast of Dover that may contain the original recipe
Samples from the bottle were sent to microbiologists at KU Leuven University in Belgium for analysis, who are hopeful they can extract enough genetic material from the surviving yeast to recreate the original Guinness recipe from the 1860s.
“There is always a chance that we can recover the complete DNA, and then we can do a small re-brew of the exact beer that was found in the 1860s,” Panis said.
The bottle was found upside down, leading researchers to believe the contents may have been preserved because of an air bubble that was trapped inside.
Not only do the researchers believe it can be used to reverse engineer the original Guinness formula, but they also think the bottle itself could still be drinkable.
“There is a possibility that it’s still drinkable. The question is if the seawater has come into the bottles through the corks. If not, most likely the beer would still be drinkable,” Panis, a Belgian underwater photographer, told the BBC.
The pair believe that there are more bottles to be found among the shipwreck, with Panis suggesting there could be a 24-case down there.
The Guinness Archive team is working with the divers on the discovery, according to a Diageo (the beverage conglomerate that owns Guinness) spokesperson.
“Discoveries like this provide a fascinating window into our past and help build a deeper understanding of our heritage. Currently, our Guinness Archive team is liaising with the divers to gather more information and evaluate the find,” the spokesperson said.
Guinness’s recipe has evolved significantly over the past 160 years, with the original Extra Stout from the 1860s having a notably different taste compared to what’s sold and served across the world today.