Cardiff University comes up with Killer Bee Beer

A team of microbiologists at Cardiff University in Wales have developed a new way to get buzzed: beer made using extracts from killer bees.

Professor Les Baillie and his team of microbiologists from the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences visited Namibia to work together with University of Namibia scientists on sustainable environmental development projects, and while in the country they became interested in Africanized bees, also known as killer bees.

“Saccharomyces cerevisiae, commonly known as brewers yeast, is found in the gut microbiome of honeybees. When working on a project in Namibia, we isolated the brewers yeast from killer bees that died naturally,” Baillie said in a Cardiff University news release.

“When we got back to Cardiff, we used the isolated killer bee brewers yeast, along with yeast from Welsh honey bees, to make several batches of beer.”

Baillie said the Killer Bee Beer is a side-project for the team, whose main project, Pharmabees, is aimed at the development of new drugs.

The team is now seeking to collaborate with a brewer to release Killer Beer to the public. Baillie said proceeds from sales of the brew would go toward supporting the team’s research.

“Our Killer Bee Beer is a fun side project to our wider Pharmabees studies. Our research into bees is uncovering how honey, beeswax and other bee byproducts can play a role in solving some of the world’s biggest challenges — including tackling antibiotic resistance and superbugs,” Baillie said.