以色列科学家复活5000年前的古代啤酒，还喝了

Israeli researchers have unveiled a "breakthrough" beer made from ancient yeast up to 5,000 years old.

以色列研究人员推出了一款“突破性”啤酒，而这款啤酒是用5000多年前的古老酵母制成的。

Researchers from the Antiquities Authority and three Israeli universities extracted six strains of the yeast from old pottery discovered in the Holy Land.

古物管理局以及三所以色列大学的研究人员从圣地发现的旧陶器中提取出六株酵母菌。

It is believed to be similar to beverages enjoyed by the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt.

人们认为，这款啤酒与古埃及法老享用的饮料相似。

The team said it hoped to make the drink available in shops one day.

该团队表示，希望有朝一日可以在商店里买到这种饮料。

"I remember that when we first brought out the beer we sat around the table and drank... and I said either we'll be good or we'll all be dead in five minutes," said Aren Maeir, an archaeologist with Bar-Ilan University. "We lived to tell the story".

“我记得，当我们第一次产出啤酒来，我们坐在桌子周围喝酒……我说，五分钟之后，我们也许都好好的，也许都死了，”以色列巴伊兰大学的考古学家艾伦·梅埃尔说道。“我们活下来了，来给大家讲这个故事。”

In the region's past, beer was a basic commodity - like bread - enjoyed by the entire population, regardless of status or age. Since there was always a risk of contamination with water, fermented beer and wine were considered much safer to drink.

在过去，啤酒是这个地区的基本商品，就像面包一样，不论地位或年龄，所有人都可以享用。因为水源总是有被污染的风险，所以人们觉得发酵过的啤酒和葡萄酒饮用起来要安全得多。

The beers were usually made from a mix of grains and water, baked and left to ferment in the sun. Fruit concentrates may also have been added for flavour.

啤酒通常是用谷物和水制成的，把谷物和水混合在一起，烘烤一下，然后放在阳光下发酵。为了获得独特的风味，也许还会加点水果浓缩汁。

Ronen Hazan and Michael Klutstein, two biologists at Hebrew University, came up with the idea to create this latest batch using antique yeast.

希伯来大学的两位生物学家罗恩·哈赞以及迈克尔·克鲁特斯顿提出了这个用古代酵母制作这种新款啤酒的想法。

With the help of beer expert Itai Gutman, the team used modern techniques to create a drink similar to wheat beer, with 6% alcohol content, and a mead with 14% strength.

在啤酒专家伊塔·古特曼的帮助下，该团队用现代技术创造了一款类似于小麦啤酒的饮料，其酒精度为6度，含糖量为14%。

Mr Gutman previously recreated a beer used a genetically modified strain of wheat dating from 10,000 years ago. However researchers say this is the first time alcohol has been created from ancient yeast.

古特曼先生先前曾用始于一万年前的一种转基因小麦重制了一款啤酒。然而，研究人员表示，这是第一次用古代酵母制出酒来。

"The greatest wonder here is that the yeast colonies survived within the vessel for thousands of years - just waiting to be excavated and grown," Dr Hazan told reporters.

“这里最大的奇迹就是容器中的酵母菌落存活了数千年，就是为了等待被发掘与培养，”哈赞博士告诉记者。

The team says it hopes to brew more beer using ancient techniques instead, and is looking for investors to explore commercial production.

该团队表示，希望用古代技术酿造出更多的啤酒，他们期待着投资者探讨商业生产的可能性。

"Aside from the gimmick of drinking beer from the time of King Pharaoh, this research is extremely important to the field of experimental archaeology," said Dr Hazan.

“除了喝到了法老王时期的啤酒这一噱头，这项研究对实验考古学领域也有非常重要的意义。”

"By the way, the beer isn't bad."

“顺便说一句，这款啤酒还不错。”