Skip to main content

Scientists tap into the mysterious past of lager beer

lager-yeast-beer

As any wizened beer-drinker knows, lager beers were first created in Bavaria in the early 1400s. Since that time, scientists and other researchers have been unable to discover the origin of the specific kind of yeast that is essential to brewing lagers. Until now.

An international team of researchers, led by University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Todd Hittinger and Diego Libkind of the Argentinean National Council for Scientific and Technical Researcher in Bariloche, Argentina, have discovered that the missing ancestor to lager yeast actually came from the forests of Patagonia, in South America — about 7,000 miles from Bavaria, the location of modern-day Germany.

“Our collaborators sampled strains on five continents, and this was the one clear match,” said Hittinger. “They’re extremely prevalent in the beech forests of Patagonia, but we haven’t found them elsewhere.”

The yeast used to brew lagers — a type of beer that’s brewed and stored cold — is known by the scientific name Saccharomyces pastorianus. A hybrid yeast, S. pastorianus comes from two parent yeasts: The first, which scientists discovered in the 1980s, is called Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and is itself often used for brewing and baking. The second parent to S. pastorianus is the newfound Patagonian yeast, which Hittinger and team have dubbed Saccharomyces eubayanus.

The S. eubayanus yeast was discovered by Libkind in galls, a structure that forms as a result of fungal infections, on the surface of Patagonia beech trees. The forests of Patagonia are quite chilly, only about 39° to 48° Fahrenheit, which helps explain why it’s possible to brew lager beer at colder temperatures than other alcoholic beverages, which are generally brewed and stored at between 59° and 77° F.

What remains a mystery — and will likely always remain a mystery — is how the yeast arrived in Bavaria from Patagonia. Bavarian brewers began making the crisp-tasting lager well before Christopher Columbus traveled across the Atlantic. And a variety of experts agree that it’s unlikely the S. eubayanus strain of yeast arrived on a boat.

“We all know that in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue,” said geneticist Gavin Sherlock, of Stanford University, who spoke with the Los Angeles Times. “Lager was invented in the 1400s. It’s not really clear how that progenitor would have gotten from South America to Europe.”

Of course, there’s always the possibility that the study is wrong, and that the origin of lager yeast actually came from Europe, but has since gone extinct.

“It certainly could have existed somewhere else,” says Hittinger. “Just because somebody hasn’t found it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”

[Image via Roman Sigaev/Shutterstock]

Editors' Recommendations

Andrew Couts
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…
If friends say you can't cook, treat them to a beer cooler sous vide steak
beer cooler sous vide steak  done

Christian Winkler, the Austrian "Cook with Meat" chef, shared his newest way to make sous vide steak. Rather than use an official sous vide cooking appliance, Winkler decided to try a different method for his beer cooler do-it-yourself sous vide steak recipe. We have tweaked his idea just a bit. We called it Two Cooler Steak, for what we think are obvious reasons, but it's still his recipe and we didn't change his recipe or instructions.

"Sous vide" means "under vacuum." When cooking sous vide style you put meat in a plastic bag, remove the air, and then slowly cook it in temperature-controlled hot water. The advantage is the meat is cooked evenly. Most people who cook sous vide use designed-to-task sous vide water immersion heaters that usually cost $100 to $200.

Read more
PicoBrew’s newest beer-making machine is easier to use and costs under $300
picobrew pico model c

Nobody said brewing your own beer is easy, but PicoBrew has tried to automate the process with its beer makers. With each succession, the appliances have gotten smaller and easier to use, and its newest device, the Pico Model C, is the most user-friendly version yet.

Physically, the device isn’t noticeably smaller than the original Pico, but to help lower the cost, it utilizes a black powder-coated body instead of a stainless steel one, and the OLED display is two lines, so it won’t display the same graphics as the Pico. The bigger differences lie in the keg, which loses the ball-locks that some users found confusing.

Read more
Enjoy beer the way it was meant to be with Growler Chill, the at-home tap system
growler chill home beer tap screen shot 2017 02 01 at 1 51 54 pm

Why go to a bar when you can just pour a perfect pint at home? You'll be sure to be the host(ess) with the most(ess) with the Growler Chill, a neat kitchen addition that does exactly what you think it does: Keeps your growlers of beer cold and fresh (and ready for the party). The household counter tap allows beer enthusiasts everywhere to recreate their favorite craft beer scene in the comfort of their kitchen. As the Growler Chill team notes on its Kickstarter campaign, "Our mission is to ensure craft beer enthusiasts can get the most out of their own personal discovery and exploration of fresh, flavorful brews that taste just as the brewer intended." And that means, tasting those beers cold.

Capable of keeping an impressive three growlers cold, fresh, and on tap, the Growler Chill holds standard glass growlers and promises to extend your beer's life for weeks after you first crack a growler open. This is achieved by recreating keg conditions, which is to say cold, dark, and free from oxygen.

Read more