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Beer From 1886 Shipwreck May Yield New Brew

Composite photo Dave Lucas / Public Domain

A beer 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, killing all 852 people on board.

Last year, an Australian brewer produced beer from yeast recovered from a 220-year-old shipwreck.

(C) Copyright 2019 Associated Press

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Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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