用5000年前的酵母酿制的啤酒，很“美味”

Beer brewed with 5,000-year-old yeast has proven itself as delicious today as it probably was a few millennia ago — and you may soon be able to try it for yourself.

用5000年前的酵母酿制的啤酒，如今已经证明了它和几千年前一样美味——而且你很快就可以自己品尝了。

When researchers from the University of Jerusalem unearthed two clay jugs at Israeli national park Tell es-Safi, they decided to test the limits of the prehistoric fungi.

当耶路撒冷大学的研究人员在以色列国家公园泰尔萨菲发掘出两个陶罐时，他们决定测试史前真菌的极限。

“Maybe yeast could survive within the nanopores of clay,” wondered microbiologist Ronen Hazan. “I thought, wow, that’s kind of a miracle that the yeast survived thousands of years in these pots. Amazing,” he told CNN Monday.

微生物学家Ronen Hazan周一接受CNN采访时说：“也许酵母可以在粘土的纳米孔中存活下来。”。“我想，哇，酵母在这些罐子里存活了几千年真是奇迹。太神奇了!”。

The pots look nothing like a frosty pint glass, according to the Times of Israel. Instead, they’re shaped like rounded pitchers, with a handle and short spout. The liquid inside would have poured out of a cluster of holes and through the spout, which would have functioned as a rudimentary filter for the yeast and protein sediment left over from the brewing process.

据《以色列时报》报道，这些罐子看起来根本不像一个冰镇的品脱玻璃杯。相反，它们的形状像圆形的瓶子，有把手和短的壶嘴。里面的液体会从一堆小孔里流出来，然后通过壶嘴流出来。壶嘴的作用是过滤酿酒过程中残留下来的酵母和蛋白质沉淀物。

Archaeologists also say the beer found in these clay vessels would have likely been produced from several grains, such as millet, corn, sorghum and wheat.

考古学家还说，在这些陶罐中发现的啤酒很可能是由谷子、玉米、高粱和小麦等几种谷物制成的。

Typically, beer spends a minimum of three days to three weeks fermenting, but their ancient brew was finished in about eight weeks — somewhat less time than expected considering the yeast had been dormant for thousands of years.

一般来说，啤酒发酵至少需要3天到3周，但是他们古老的酿造过程需要8周的时间——考虑到酵母已经休眠了数千年，这比预期的时间要短一些。

The ale held up, according to a couple of taste-testers in Israel, with one calling the flavor “really interesting” and “fruity like nut and bananas.” Another said it was “tasty” and “unique,” and went “down like oil.”

据以色列的几位品尝师说，这种啤酒味道不错，其中一位说这种味道“真的很有趣”，而且“像坚果和香蕉一样有水果味”。还有人说它“美味可口”、“独一无二”，而且“像油一样沉了下去”。

But according to Hazan, the flavor of today’s beer can’t compare to what the same yeast strain would have produced back in its heyday.

但是根据Hazan的说法，即便如此，今天的味道无法与相同的酵母株在其全盛时期所产生的味道相比。