How does a 200 year old bottle of beer grab you?
Aged in 32 degrees Farenheit and no light this beer sounds like it has been very well handled.
Actually, it hasn't been handled at all. It has been lying quietly at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. More accurately, in a shipwreck found near Foglo in the archipelago south of the Island of Aland. Divers date the wreck between 1800 and 1830. The ship was most likely on its way from Denmark to Russia.
Denmark has always been a highly competitive producer of beer. It often rivaled in production with Germany in the early 1500's. Going back further, the first mention of hops in Sweden 1249 in a Cistercian monastary in Finland.
Sveds were hopping their beer long before the English were. Richard W. Unger in his book Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance mentions that the difference between beer and ale had more to do with the addition of hops versus gruit. For decades hops were not even permitted to be used in the production of beer until it became popular due to its preservative qualities and its ability to provide balance.
Historical records strongly connect the region with beer brewing. It should be no suprise that any ship did not carry any beer whatso ever, s it was almost mandatory as a beverage for the sailors.
Currently the beer is being evaluated for aroma, appearance,flavor and mouthfeel. Overall impression of the 200 year old beer will be posted by the judging panel. No date is set as to when the results will be available.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/09/03/baltic.sea.beer/?hpt=T2
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