From the OUP's Oxford Academic, via SciTechDaily, April 28, 2023:
A recent study reveals that lager beer likely originated in Munich in
1602, at the court brewery of Maximilian the Great, Elector of Bavaria.
While ale was the predominant beer until the early 20th century, lager,
made with a new yeast species known as Saccharomyces pastorianus, now accounts for around 90% of beer consumed annually.
Researchers suggest that lager beer, which now makes up around 90% of beer consumption, originated from a hybrid yeast species in Munich in 1602. This yeast, Saccharomyces pastorianus, was created when Saccharomyces cerevisiae from a Schwarzach wheat brewery contaminated a batch of beer brewed with Saccharomyces eubayanus, leading to its spread across Europe and the world.
A new paper in FEMS Yeast Research, published by Oxford
University Press, reveals the possible origin story of lager beers.
Using historical records and contemporary phylogenomics research,
investigators here show where lagers likely first originated: at the
court brewery (Hofbräuhaus) of Maximilian the Great, elector of Bavaria,
in Munich in 1602.
Beer
has been made since ancient times. Recent archaeology shows evidence of
brewing in the eastern Mediterranean some 13,000 years ago. Although
from the origins of brewing until the early 20th century, ale was the typical beer produced, lager now accounts for approximately 90% of the beer consumed annually.
The beginnings of this shift from ale to yeast occurred when a new yeast species, Saccharomyces pastorianus
or “lager yeast,” appeared in Germany around the end of the middle
ages. This is a hybrid species that arose from mating the top-fermenting
ale yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the cold-tolerant Saccharomyces eubayanus around the start of the 17th century. But until now no one has figured out how the combination lager yeast S. pastorianus came about.....
....MUCH MORE
