Go Old School ("Prehistoric Style") With Your Brewsky!

As one of the most essential components in beer, brewer's yeast or "Saccharomyces" works in tandem with water, hops and barley to impart flavor and character to one of humanity's most beloved libations. You can't create beer without that simple foursome and the innate chemical process that occurs when yeast gobbles up sugar, releasing carbon dioxide and alcohol. Purists might say that it is the yeast that takes center stage, making the whole show happen. Fortunately, today's beer makers have access to copious amounts of modern day yeast, but there is something intriguing about going retro with our brewsky. Our culture has long gone batty for any throwback to eras past that plays into our "everything old is new again" philosophy. Naturally, it stands to reason that we would go postively prehistoric for 45 million year old yeast-turned Fossil Fuel Brew.

Yes, this is the real deal...not just a confounded movie plot. We're talking about a single-celled fungus that, with a steady diet of sugar, can become a teeming population within 90 minutes flat. Of course, the catch is that it first must be revived from its deep prehistoric slumber in a piece of positively ancient Burmese amber thanks to the handywork of dedicated Cal Poly scientist Raul Cano. Somehow, the Eocene Epocha Era Saccharomyces got trapped in sticky tree resin and Cano, via his company Ambergene, became obsessed with the notion of reanimating it, or any other microbe he could get his eager scientific hands on.  Through a great deal of trial and error spanning well over fourteen years, he hit the jackpot with multiple yeast colony successes, but he could never really come up with a commercial application.

Then in 2006, Cano's colleague, microbiologist Chip Lambert, met Northern California pub owner/brewer Peter Hackett (of Stumptown Brewery fame) and urged him to craft a trial batch of beer using the 45 million year old regenerated yeast. After much skepticism and extensive experimentation, the brewmaster surprised even himself by refining two recipes that are now branded under the Fossil Fuels Brewing Company label with both Hackett and Lambert as principles. Their Fossil Fuels Wheat Beer and Fossil Fuels Ancient Ale have benefitted from the ancient mother of modern yeast and its unique assimilation of sugar since flavors and characteristics such as ginger, banana, and cloves have been imparted. Hackett is poised to launch his ancient ales into consumer consciousness this September, both via bottle and widespread California drinking and eating establishments.  Even Manteca, California based Kelley Brothers Brewing Company is getting in on the action -- they've already begun brewing with the yeast on a commercial scale.