Shipwreck Divers Discovered a 162-Year-Old Bottle of Guinness Brewed During the Reign of Queen Victoria—and They Want to Take a Swig

Divers exploring the shipwreck off the coast of Dover have discovered a 162-year-old bottle of Guinness that was brewed during the reign of Queen Victoria. The vessel, a British sailing barque named Mindoro, sank in November 1864. The divers, Stefan Panis and Pawel Truszynski, found the sealed bottle while exploring the site, which is located roughly three miles off the coast.

When they examined the bottle, they noticed its distinctive label reading "Guinness Extra Stout, London." The divers are eager to taste the ancient stout, but first, they must determine if the beer has been properly preserved at the bottom of the English Channel, where it has been since the 19th century. If experts confirm that no seawater has contaminated the bottle, the Guinness may be safe to drink.

To analyze the beer, samples from the bottle will be sent to KU Leuven, a university in Belgium, where microbiologist Kevin Verstrepen will examine them in his lab. If the Guinness is deemed safe to consume, Truszynski will be among the first to sample it. Additionally, the divers are interested in recreating the medieval beer by sequencing the DNA from the yeast used in its production.

This project, dubbed Project Jurassic Beer, could offer insights into the yeast's genetic lineage, potentially allowing scientists to identify modern-day yeast relatives. Guinness, founded in Ireland in 1759, was likely transported from London to the Mindoro before the shipwreck occurred. The divers will return to the wreck site in the coming months to recover more bottles for further study.

They plan to send two of the recovered bottles to Guinness and another two to Verstrepen's lab for further analysis.