Ecuadoran scientist Javier Carvajal shows vials containing the resurrected strain of yeast from Latin America's oldest beer. Photo: Rodrigo BUENDIA / AFPSource: AFPInside an old oak barrel, Ecuadoran bioengineer Javier Carvajal found the fungus of fortune: a 400-year-old yeast specimen that he has since managed to resurrect and use to reproduce what is believed to be Latin America's oldest beer. Carvajal, who already had experience recovering other yeasts, found out about the ancient Franciscan brewery in Quito while reading specialist beer magazines. "It is a work of beer archeology within the microbial archeology" he had to carry out to rescue the yeast, which generates the majority of the drink's flavor. Carvajal compares his work, centuries after the Franciscans domesticated the yeast, to intensive care on a molecular scale.

Source: The Star August 04, 2022 05:34 UTC