Beer inspired from achaeological artifacts with a flavour of ancient China developed!

New Delhi: Beer is the world's most widely consumed alcoholic beverage, and its connoisseurs are always on the lookout for different variants of the beverage.

Well, here's good news for you beer lovers! Inspired by archaeological artifacts, scientists have developed a beer that recreates the fruity flavors of ancient Chinese alcohols.

Named QuingMing, after the Chinese festival that takes place in April and the famous 12th Century scroll by Zhang Zeduan, the beer is a modern recreation of Chang and a stronger, drier herbal version of Li, a low alcohol rice or millet-based beer with a flavor profile of peaches and lemon rind with aromas of tea, bubblegum, and sake followed by a complex fruit, herbal, and floral character.

The Chicago Field Museum displays a 17th Century reproduction of the scroll in its Cyrus Tang Hall of China along with many other Chinese artifacts.

Among the artefacts on display at the launch party includes a 18th Century bronze "pitch pot" from Beijing, a popular drinking game.

Researchers from the museum and Off Color Brewing – Chicago Brewery – were inspired by the fruits incorporated in making certain Chinese alcohols as well as the mold saccharification of rice, the state-run news agency 'Xinhua' reported.

"I have always been interested in mold-based saccharification. It is really fun for us as brewers coming from Western traditions where we use grain-based enzymatic degradation of starch and simple sugars," said John Laffler, from Off Color Brewing in the US.

The finish, as the alcohol evaporates off the tongue, leaves hints of nectar, honey, and perfumed rice.

(With PTI inputs)