Ahoy, beer lovers: A bottle from a 133-year-old shipwreck may yield yeast for a new brew in upstate New York.
Biotechnology students at the State University of New York at Cobleskill uncorked a bottle from the shipwrecked SS Oregon on Thursday. Serious Brewing Company of Howes Cave plans to develop a new brew if the students successfully extract yeast.
Bill Felter, of Serious Brewing, acquired the beer from a customer who owns an assortment of artifacts recovered from the Oregon.
The ship was en route from Liverpool, England, to New York City on March 14, 1886, when it collided with a schooner near Fire Island, New York, and sank. All but one of the more than 800 people on board survived, according to reports at the time.
Last year, an Australian brewer produced beer from yeast recovered from a 220-year-old shipwreck.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly indicated everyone on board the SS Oregon perished in the 1886 shipwreck. In fact, all but one were rescued and survived. The story has been updated.
