Angel's Share Fungus - An Ascomycete Alcoholic

This article appeared in a June issue of WIRED - it describes tracking down a mysterious fungus that causes black staining on a variety of substrates, particularly around breweries, distilleries, and bakeries. Baudoinia compniacensis is the culprit, a heavily melanized anamorphic fungus in the Capnodiales. The fungus uses volatile alcohol as a carbon source. Want to culture it in vitro? Just add a shot of Jack Daniels to the media...