Bavarian researchers discover the origin of lager beer development.

new paper in FEMS Yeast Research It reveals a potential origin story for lager beer. Using historical records and contemporary genomics research, investigators here show where beer likely first originated: in the brewery (Hofbräuhaus) of Maximilian the Great, Elector of Bavaria, in Munich in 1602.

Beer has been made since ancient times. Modern archeology shows evidence of its fermentation in the eastern Mediterranean around 13,000 years ago. Although from its inception until the early 20th century, lagers were the typical beer produced, lagers now account for nearly 90% of beer consumed annually.

The beginnings of this shift from beer to yeast occurred when new types of yeast appeared. Saccharomyces Pastorianus Or “beer’s yeast”, it appeared in Germany in the late Middle Ages. This is a hybrid that originated from the mating of fermented brewer’s yeast yeast yeast And cold tolerant Saccharomyces eubayanus At the beginning of the XVII century. But until now no one has figured out how brewer’s yeast is made S. Pastorianus came about.

The general assumption was that the hybrid arose when it was conventional S. cerevisiae Brewing beer has become contaminated with wild yeasts incl S. eubayanus. But the researchers here think this is questionable. Using a detailed analysis of historical brewing records in central Europe, they discovered that bottom brewing of “lagers” had been occurring in Bavaria for at least two hundred years.

They propose an alternative hypothesis that it was S. cerevisiae which led to contamination of a batch of beer brewed with it S. eubayanus, not the opposite. And in an interesting investigative work, they have identified what they believe to be the source of the S.. bakerA wheat brewery in the small Bavarian town of Schwarzach.

Beer has always been a valuable commodity and its production was carefully regulated. In Bavaria, a brewing repertoire from 1516 (the famous “renheitsgebot”) only allowed bottom brewing and “lager” beer brewing. But in neighboring Bohemia, excellent wheat beer is made from S. cerevisiae It was produced and large quantities were imported into Bavaria. To limit the economic damage from these imports, in 1548 Bavarian ruler Wilhelm IV granted Baron Hans VI von Dygenberg a special privilege to brew and sell wheat beer in the border regions to Bohemia.

When Hans von Degenberg’s grandson failed to produce an heir, the family finally died out, and in 1602 the new Bavarian ruler, Maximilian the Great, seized the wheat beer concession for himself and took over the von Degenberg’s Schwarzach breweries. In October of that year, yeast from a wheat brewery was brought to the ducal court brewery in Munich, where researchers suggest the famous hybridization took place and S. Pastorianus child. Next, the researchers explain here, S. Pastorianus Strains from Bavaria spread throughout Europe and are the source of all modern strains of brewer’s yeast.

The results of the researchers’ investigation of the historical record, together with published data on genomic evolution (evolution and genomics), point to the dominance of S. Pastorianus Brewer’s yeast is developed in three stages. First, the yeast strain S. cerevisiae They came to Munich from Bohemia, where brewers had been brewing wheat beer since at least the 14th century. secondly , S. cerevisiae which were introduced to the Munich brewery in 1602 mated with S, Eupianoswhich was already involved in making Munich-style beer, to stir up S. Pastorianus. And finally, the new one S. Pastorianus The yeast was distributed around Munich breweries first, then throughout Europe and the world. Here the researchers note that the co-occurrence of S. Pastorianus With Munich’s technologically advanced brewing methods, and Munich breweries’ willingness to share knowledge (and actual yeast) may have contributed to the strain’s dominance.

“There is a certain irony that the inability of Hans VIII von Deggenburg to have a son led to the events that lead to the creation of brewer’s yeast,” said Matthias Hutzler, one of the paper’s lead authors. Another started. No heir – but what a legacy he left to the world! ”