Divers discover 162-year-old Guinness bottle in shipwreck off Dover
Belgian underwater photographer Stefan Panis found a bottle from 1864 in a shipwreck; scientists plan to analyze samples and potentially recreate the historic stout.
Conversation activity · last 2 days peak 4/hr
Summary, timeline and people extracted by Claude from 5 items across 2 sources · 8h ago. Quotes are verbatim.
Belgian underwater photographer Stefan Panis discovered a bottle of Guinness dating to 1864 buried in a shipwreck off the coast of Dover in 2025. Samples have been sent to researchers at KU Leuven University who hope to recover the beer's DNA and potentially recreate it as originally brewed, while also determining if the 162-year-old stout remains drinkable.
- A 162-year-old bottle of Guinness from 1864 was discovered in a shipwreck off Dover by Belgian underwater photographer Stefan Panis in 2025.
- Researchers at KU Leuven University are analyzing samples with the goal of recovering the beer's DNA and potentially recreating the historic 1864 formula.
- Panis believes dozens more bottles remain buried in the shipwreck and plans to recover them when conditions allow.
- Scientists are investigating whether the stout is still drinkable after 162 years at sea, contingent on whether seawater infiltrated the sealed bottles.
How it unfolded
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Report Discovery reported by major media outlets
BBC, Times of India, New York Sun, Washington Post and other outlets reported on the discovery of the 162-year-old Guinness bottle and plans to analyze and potentially recreate it.
- 83 weeks quiet
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Event Stefan Panis discovers Guinness bottle underwater
Belgian underwater photographer Stefan Panis, diving off the coast of Dover, found a bottle of Guinness buried in a shipwreck. After surfacing and rinsing the bottle, the Guinness branding became visible.
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Event Panis contacts Guinness and microbiologist
After the discovery, Panis contacted Guinness to share the find. His colleague Pawel Truszynski then reached out to a microbiologist specializing in beer at KU Leuven University in Belgium.
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Event Samples sent for analysis
Samples from the 162-year-old bottle were sent to researchers at KU Leuven University for microbiological analysis.
What people are saying verbatim
“We lifted the artefact, and then on the surface a quick rinse revealed 'Guinness'”
Stefan Panis, Underwater photographer · BBC News
“Seeing the size of the case, I think it is definitely a case of 24 bottles. But there might be more cases.”
Stefan Panis, Underwater photographer · BBC News
“There is always a chance that we can recover the complete DNA, and then we can do a small re-brew of the exact beer that was found in the 1860s”
Stefan Panis, Underwater photographer · BBC News
“There is a possibility that it's still drinkable. The question is if the sea water has come into the bottles through the corks. If not, most likely the beer would still be drinkable.”
Stefan Panis, Underwater photographer · BBC News
“I would try it even though I don't even like Guinness”
Katie White, Belfast resident · BBC News