“Killer Beer” uses a secret ingredient from a surprising source

It's incredible.

Science's latest and greatest breakthrough is the use of killer honey bees for a real beer recipe.

When microbiologists from Cardiff University in Wales traveled to Namibia for a project on sustainability, they encountered the insects – more specifically, the Africanized “killer” honey bee – and discovered that the insects contained a useful yeast for a craft beer.

“When we got back to Cardiff we used the isolated killer bee brewer's yeast along with yeast from Welsh honeybees to make several batches of beer,” Professor Les Baillie told the BBC, adding that it came from deceased bees that died naturally.

This is how “Killer Bee Beer” was born.

Now Baillie and the team are looking for a brewery to work with to help their beer take off.

Although it seems funny on the surface, it also draws attention to their local 'Pharmabees project', which monitors hives in the Cardiff area for pharmaceutical research – particularly to treat antibiotic resistance and, fittingly, superbugs.

Proceeds from the proposed beer would benefit research.

“Our 'Killer Bee Beer' is a fun side project to our larger Pharmabees studies,” Baillie said of the brew that would likely give the drinker a good kick.

“[It] also expands the understanding of bees on a microbiological level.”