162-Year-Old Guinness Found in Shipwreck May Be Drinkable
Diver Stefan Panis unearthed a bottle of Guinness Extra Stout, perfectly sealed, at the site of the Mindoro wreck, a British sailing barque that sank in the English Channel on November 27, 1864. This 162-year-old artifact was located near Dover, England, and Panis shared the find with fellow diver Pawel Truszynski, who described it as a "flawlessly sealed time capsule." They are assessing its safety for drinking, sending samples to microbiologist Kevin Verstrepen at KU Leuven. The bottle's upside-down position may have prevented seawater contamination. They intend to launch Project Jurassic Beer to analyze yeast DNA and recreate the beer. The divers have reached out to the Guinness Archive and Diageo and plan to recover additional bottles later this month.
Key facts
- Diver Stefan Panis found a sealed bottle of Guinness Extra Stout at the wreck of the Mindoro in the English Channel.
- The Mindoro sank on November 27, 1864, making the bottle roughly 162 years old.
- The bottle was found last year and is labeled 'Guinness Extra Stout, London.'
- Panis shared the discovery with fellow diver and researcher Pawel Truszynski.
- Samples were sent to microbiologist Kevin Verstrepen at KU Leuven in Belgium for analysis.
- The bottle was packed upside down, creating a hydraulic seal that may have kept seawater out.
- The divers are planning Project Jurassic Beer to sequence DNA from the yeast and recreate the brew.
- Guinness was founded in Ireland in 1759; the shipment was likely exported to London.
- The Mindoro collided with the Khersonese on November 27, 1864; no crew died.
- Later this month, divers will return to recover more bottles, sending two to Guinness and two to Verstrepen's lab.
- Panis is storing the bottle in his garage, submerged in water and kept in darkness.
- In 2024, Truszynski and Marek Cacaj discovered a shipwreck off Sweden with over 100 bottles of Champagne.
Entities
Artists
- Stefan Panis
- Pawel Truszynski
- Kevin Verstrepen
- Marek Cacaj
Institutions
- Guinness Archive
- Diageo
- KU Leuven
- Smithsonian magazine
- BBC News
- Washington Post
- Irish Times
- Inc. magazine
Locations
- English Channel
- Dover
- Belgium
- Sweden
- London
- Ireland