Deep Ascent Beer: Where To Buy And Enjoy It

Deep Ascent is a unique beer with an intriguing backstory. Debuting in 2019, this ale is the brainchild of Saint James Brewery in Holbrook, New York, and was first served at the New York State Brewers Association Craft Beer Festival in Albany. What sets Deep Ascent apart is its yeast, sourced from a 133-year-old shipwreck, the SS Oregon, which sank off Fire Island in 1886. Diver and brewer Jamie Adams, the owner of Saint James Brewery, salvaged bottles of English ale from the wreck and cultured the yeast within to create a modern pale ale with a historical twist. So, where can you buy this ale with a taste of the Gilded Age?

Deep Ascent beer is available at Saint James Brewery in Holbrook, Long Island, New York

Jamie Adams, a trained technical diver and the brewer at Saint James Brewery, was able to access the shipwreck and recover the bottles. He then set about the challenging task of reinvigorating the yeast found within, eventually succeeding in creating a viable yeast culture for brewing. The result is Deep Ascent, a beer that offers drinkers a taste of history and a connection to the Gilded Age.

Deep Ascent is a pale ale with a rich malt flavor, moderate fruity aromas, and a hint of hoppy goodness. It has a 7% ABV and is described as having a "dynamic" yeast that showcases the longevity and durability of a single cell, Saccharomyces Cerevisiae. The beer is also naturally carbonated.

Saint James Brewery, founded in 2012, is a New York State-certified Farm Brewery. The brewery is deeply committed to the farm-to-pint initiative, celebrating the link between local farmers and craft beer enthusiasts. This commitment is evident in their use of state-grown ingredients, with Deep Ascent being a testament to their creativity and dedication to brewing unique and historical beers.

It debuted at the New York State Brewers Association Craft Beer Festival in Albany

Deep Ascent beer debuted at the New York State Brewers Association Craft Beer Festival in Albany on March 9, 2019. The festival, which took place at the Desmond Hotel (Crowne Plaza) in Albany, New York, brought together over 50 breweries from across the state.

Deep Ascent beer is a unique creation by Saint James Brewery in Holbrook, Long Island. The beer is fermented entirely from yeast sourced from a 133-year-old shipwreck, the SS Oregon, which sank off Fire Island in 1886. The yeast, Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, showcases the longevity and durability of a single cell, offering a taste of history and a window into the Gilded Age.

The idea for Deep Ascent was conceived by Jamie Adams, a trained technical diver and the owner of Saint James Brewery. Adams, a former Wall Street trader, turned to brewing and diving after the events of 9/11. In 2017, he embarked on a mission to find intact beer bottles from the shipwreck and create a beer using the ancient yeast. The result is Deep Ascent, an English-Style Pale Ale with a rich malt flavor, moderate fruity aromas, and a hint of hoppy goodness.

The New York State Brewers Association Craft Beer Festival provided the perfect platform for Deep Ascent's debut, allowing enthusiasts to relish unique and award-winning beers from across New York State. The festival, organized by the New York State Brewers Association, is an annual event that showcases the diverse beer culture of the state, from lagers to sours, IPAs to stouts. It offers something for every palate and provides a truly authentic craft beer experience.

It is also available at the New York Craft Brewers Festival in Albany

Deep Ascent beer is available at the New York Craft Brewers Festival in Albany. This festival is a great opportunity for Saint James Brewery to showcase its unique beer and reach a broader audience, as the brewery typically specialises in Belgian-inspired ales served in high-end restaurants and bars.

The festival took place on 9 March 2019, ahead of the tasting room opening in June of the same year. This event marked the debut of Deep Ascent, a highly anticipated beer that had been years in the making.

Deep Ascent is a pale ale with a rich malt flavour, moderate fruity aromas, and a hint of hoppy goodness. It is brewed with yeast sourced from a 133-year-old shipwreck, the SS Oregon, which sank off Fire Island in 1886. The yeast was reinvigorated by diver and brewer Jamie Adams of Saint James Brewery, who is passionate about recovering and recreating historical flavours.

The New York Craft Brewers Festival in Albany is an excellent venue to sample this special beer, which offers a taste of history and a unique brewing experience.

The beer is served at the Saint James Brewery taproom

Deep Ascent is a unique beer with an intriguing story. The result of an ambitious project by brewer and diver Jamie Adams, owner of Saint James Brewery in Holbrook, Long Island, New York, Deep Ascent is a modern pale ale with a twist—its yeast was salvaged from bottles recovered from the SS Oregon, a shipwreck off Long Island dating back to 1886.

Adams, a former Wall Street trader, took up brewing and diving after 9/11. The SS Oregon is a well-known transatlantic luxury liner that holds a special interest for Long Island scuba divers. In 2017, Adams and his team of divers set out to find intact beer bottles from the shipwreck and use the yeast to create a unique beer. The area around the first-class dining room became accessible, and they were able to recover bottles with viable yeast cultures.

The result of this endeavour is Deep Ascent, a single yeast fermentation ale using only the "dynamo" shipwreck yeast procured from the SS Oregon. The beer was recently served at the New York State Brewers Association Craft Beer Festival in Albany and the New York Craft Brewers Festival, marking its debut to the public.

Divers recovered bottles from the SS Oregon shipwreck off Long Island's southern coast

The SS Oregon was a record-breaking British passenger liner that won the Blue Riband for the Guion Line as the fastest liner on the Atlantic in 1884. After a few voyages, she was sold to the Cunard Line and continued to improve her passage times for her new owner. In March 1886, while sailing from Liverpool to New York, the SS Oregon collided with another ship, probably the schooner Charles R Morse, and sank. There were no casualties, as virtually all persons on board were rescued before the Oregon sank. The wreck remains a popular diving site, 18 miles south of Long Island.

In the summer of 2017, Long Island Divers recovered various bottles from the shipwreck just off Long Island's southern coast. The divers were exploring the Oregon, a well-known Transatlantic luxury liner that sank in 1886. Diver and brewer Jamie Adams of Saint James Brewery in Holbrook, Long Island, set about reinvigorating the nearly 130-year-old beer yeast culture, found at the bottom of the hand-blown glass bottles, into viable yeast cultures able to make beer. The result of his extensive efforts is Deep Ascent New York Pale Ale.

Deep Ascent is a beer fermented entirely from yeast sourced from the SS Oregon shipwreck. Adams, a trained technical diver, explained that the yeast represents "a true miracle of evolution, evidenced through the longevity and durability of one single cell, Saccharomyces Cerevisiae." He added that the yeast "represents a window into the Gilded Age and a taste of life for a transatlantic passenger during the 1880s."

Adams and his team had to dig about 10 feet down to enter the ship at the seafloor, and then dig down another five feet to find the bottles. The yeast did not die but instead spored, shedding one half of its helix ladder. Using their proprietary yeast strain, they were able to reproduce those cells, and these haploid chromosomes came together to form a new diploid. In an off-site lab, they plated the strain and then propagated a clean colony on another dish.

Deep Ascent made its debut at the New York State Brewers Association Craft Beer Festival in Albany.

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