Mixing cutting-edge science, a little bit of Jurassic Park technology, and the love of alcohol has led to an amazing new type of beer. Raul Cano, a Biology professor at California Polytechnic State University, has successfully brewed a beer using 45 Million year old yeast discovered in Myanmar in the 1990s.
The yeast microorganisms were preserved in fossilized amber and through experiments with several collaborators, Cano was able to successfully extract the preserved yeast and cultivate it. This discovery shows that microorganisms are able to survive for extremely long lengths of time without air or nutrients. Similar technology was utilized in the movie Jurassic park, where fossilized mosquitoes were used as a source of dinosaur blood and therefore DNA. Of course, this discovery actually utilizes the preserved microorganisms themselves, still alive after millions of years.
The prehistoric yeast has been cultivated in northern California, filling an entire warehouse owned by the Fossil Fuels Brewing Co. – the company founded by Cano and Scott Bonzell. The company now produces beer primarily for northern California, focusing on a wheat beer. The brewery also produces a pale ale and are working on two more: an amber ale and an Oktoberfest.
The finished beer has been described as having a taste with lots of spice, particularly cloves, with threads of ginger and pineapple. The beer also exhibits a highly desired clear colour, rather than a cloudy appearance. This is due to the unique genetic makeup of the yeast and the particular way it breaks down sugars.
The beer is sold at Gennaro’s Grill and Garden, located in San Luis Obispo, California. Cano intends to expand the company, increasing production, marketing and promotion through investor support.
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