What if you could taste a piece of history in a glass of beer? That’s the idea behind Deep Ascent, it's our new beer and it's only available at the Saint James Brewery on Long Island. Deep Ascent is made with yeast from a shipwreck that sank in 1886, giving it a unique flavor and character.
Read on to learn more about the story of Deep Ascent Ale.
The Inspiration
The shipwreck is the SS Oregon, a luxury transatlantic liner traveling from Liverpool to New York when it collided with a schooner and went down off Fire Island. The SS Oregon is now resting 135 feet deep in an underwater graveyard known as Wreck Valley.
The brewer of Saint James Brewery, Jamie Adams, is also a scuba diver who loves exploring shipwrecks. He had the idea to make a beer with yeast from the SS Oregon after he learned that some bottles of beer were still intact inside the ship. Jamie also enlisted a team of divers to search for the bottles, but it took them two years to find them after storms shifted the sands and made the first-class dining room accessible.
The Discovery
Jamie Adams managed to salvage 26 bottles of beer from the shipwreck, and then he cultured the yeast in test tubes with the help of a microbiologist friend. He discovered that the yeast was descended from the lineage used by Bass Brewers in England to make a brand called King’s Ale, which is no longer produced.
King’s Ale was a special brew that was made only for royalty and nobility in the 19th century. It was aged for up to 10 years in oak barrels and had a high alcohol content of 10%. It was considered one of the finest beers in the world at that time. Now, you can try the direct descendant of King's Ale in the form of Deep Ascent when you visit our tasting room in Saint James.
The Taste
The result is Deep Ascent Pale Ale, a beer with a slightly fruity taste and a hoppy finish. It has an amber color and a medium body, with an alcohol content of 6%. It's a beer that celebrates the history and mystery of shipwrecks, and the adventurous spirit of scuba diving and brewing.
Many people who have tried Deep Ascent ale have praised its taste and story. One of them is Peter Bowe, a beer enthusiast from Schenectady, who sampled it at a craft beer festival. Schenectady said: “Just the concept that they could bring a beer bottle up from the bottom of the ocean … then be able to extract the yeast from it, that kind of chemistry is fascinating. And the beer is fantastic.”
With a backstory and rich history like that, it's hard to beat the story and flavor of Deep Ascent ale.
The Context
Deep Ascent ale is not the first beer to be made with yeast from a shipwreck. Shipwrecks have long held a special fascination for craft brewers eager to recreate a taste of history. In 1991, a British brewer used yeast salvaged from a barge that sank in 1825 in the English Channel to create Original Flag Porter. Last summer, Australian craft brewer James Squire released The Wreck-Preservation Ale, crafted using yeast from the merchant ship Sydney Cove, which ran aground in Tasmania in 1797.
These beers are examples of how brewers can use ancient yeast to create new flavors and stories. They are also examples of how shipwrecks can preserve biological material for centuries, offering a glimpse into the past.
The Availability
If you’re interested in trying Deep Ascent, you can find it at our Saint James tasting room or some craft beer festivals in New York. You can also learn more about the SS Oregon and other shipwrecks at Wreck Valley, a website dedicated to underwater exploration and preservation.
Have a Beer with Us Today!
If you’re looking for a unique and exciting beer experience, why not visit our tasting room in Saint James, New York?
You’ll get to sample our beers, including our Deep Ascent ale, which is made with yeast from a 131-year-old shipwreck. You’ll also get to learn more about our brewing process, our history, and our passion for scuba diving and shipwrecks.
Our tasting room is open 7 days a week. You can find us at 430-13 North Country Road, Saint James, NY 11780. We can’t wait to see you there!