Scientists have tracked the elusive lineage of lager yeast. Molecular geneticists have known what yeast was in lager beer, but they didn’t know where it came from. But a team of three scientists, on three continents, incidentally ran into the strand through their research in finding other new yeasts. So the hunt began.
The discovery
They started in Europe, but eventually discovered it in Patagonia. The scientists speculate that the trip the yeast made from South America to the caves and monasteries of Bavaria could have happened through the stomach of a fruit fly, but admit that they really don’t know. Doesn’t sound like a big deal? Apparently it is. “People have been hunting for this thing for decades,” explains Chris Todd Hittinger, a member of the Colorado team. What does this mean for the future of the craft beer world? Probably nothing … But you can take a look at the full news release and see where the craze all started from.