A team of divers has discovered a 162-year-old bottle of Guinness Extra Stout London in the wreckage of a shipwreck in the English Channel. The find, made last year in the remains of the barque Mindoro, which sank in 1864, has sparked intrigue regarding the stout's potential drinkability.
Stefan Panis, an underwater photographer and one of the divers, described the moment of discovery. "I resurfaced and the top of the bottle was super clear, and I was really amazed to see ‘Guinness Extra Stout London,’" Panis told Inc. The bottle was located in the ship's cargo.
Panis and fellow diver Eddie Huzzie have sent samples from the 19th-century bottle to microbiologists at KU Leuven, a research university in Belgium. The analysis aims to determine if the stout is still drinkable and if its DNA can be recovered for a potential re-creation of the original 1860s brew.
"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 told the BBC. He expressed cautious optimism about the drinkability, noting that the condition of the cork seal is crucial. "If not, most likely the beer will still be drinkable," he said, adding that he would taste it if given the go-ahead.
The Mindoro sank approximately three miles off the coast of Dover, England, on November 27, 1864, after a collision with another sailing ship. Panis suspects that more bottles of Guinness may be present in the wreckage. "Seeing the size of the case, I think it is definitely a case of 24 bottles," he told the BBC. "But there might be more cases."
Diageo, the company that produces Guinness, has been contacted about the discovery. A spokesperson stated, "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."