The story of Porter and Witbier are well known. Traditional styles overtaken by the popularity of newer beer (in one case pale ale, the other pale lager). Brewers of the beer withered away until no one was left brewing it. Decades later, some enterprising craft brewer decides to try their hand at resurrecting the style and, viola!, a new-old style takes off.

In my latest Beer 101 column (which you can read here), I follow up on last month’s column on beer Darwinianism (see post here), by looking at beer that come back from the dead. No, not zombie beer, which are really just the un-dead. I like to describe them as beer coelacanths, after the fish that was long thought to be extinct only to be found thriving in deep water off the shores of South Africa (the curious among you can read about the elusive fish here).

The purpose of the column is two-fold, with a subliminal third message. First, it is to suggest that, thanks to the burgeoning craft beer movement around the world, we can expect to see other supposedly extinct styles brought back to commercial life. We are in the midst of witnessing a re-birth of sorts for both Gose and Stein Beer. The list of potential coelacanths is almost endless. As one example in the column I highlight Peeterman, a form of black witbier. I do so simply because I have brewed it, loved it, and think it has the potential to be a very popular beer should it be reproduced commercially in any consistent form.

Second, the column suggests that talking about “extinct” styles inaccurately reflects the cyclical and unexpected nature of brewing. In biology when a species disappears, it disappears forever as there is no way to recreate its DNA (hence we should all be concerned about human impact on natural habitat, but that is a topic for another website). However, beer leaves behind its DNA record. Even if no one uses it for hundreds of years, as long as it was recorded somewhere, it can always be sprung back to life. Maybe not in exactly the form it once was, but close enough to be classified as such.

Of course some beer really have become extinct, simply because no one ever wrote down the recipe and process. Those beer are like the invertebrates of paleontology; they leave no fossil record that we can re-create. Meaning we have no idea how to bring them back to life. Good thing most brewers were good at keeping records.

Finally there is a subtle third point to column. It tries to also be a gentle reminder to not get too rigid about the concept of “style”. I have discussed that issue before, but reading about new takes on Gose, or black wits reminds us that styles evolve and that the boundaries between them are fluid. It also reminds us that brewers for centuries have been style-bending by responding to local conditions or demand. The world of beer has always been thus.

So, tip a pint to the beer coelacanths, those determined, pesky beer styles that refuse to stay dead!