Jurassic Beer
A scientist searching inside amber for substances with pharmaceutical potential instead found a strain of 45 million-year-old yeast, and the first batches of beer brewed with it were released recently.
The ancient yeast, found by Dr. Paul Cano of Cal Polytech in the (SQUEAMISH PEOPLE: TURN AWAY NOW) gut of a weevil trapped in amber, is different from contemporary yeasts because it digests just a narrow band of the carbohydrate spectrum. The Washington Post and Oakland Tribune are among the tasters who use the word "spicy" to describe the beer's finish. So far the Fossil Fuels brewery is producing a pale ale and a German wheat beer in partnership with Kelley Brothers brewing and Stumptown Brewery.
The beer may be slow in achieving widespread distribution, but if you're visiting northern California (insert Schwarzenegger accent here), you may find it at a brew pub. Especially if you find yourself in the bergs of Manteca or Guerneville. If you find some, be sure to raise the first toast to the invention of the microscope.
There's a longer-term plan to offer the yeast to brewers when the genetic markers are documented and the patents in place. Brewers, bookmark the Fossil Fuels Brewery site and be sure to invite Bites to the uncorking.
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