Lager Yeast from Patagonia?

Interesting article about the search for lager's beginnings (Saccharomyces eubayanus)

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-beer-yeast-20110823,0,5421077.story

That's interesting; however, I find it hard to believe that somehow the yeast hopped on a ship and made its way halfway around the world to a brewery, was recognized for what it was, and the style created in such a short timespan. I think they should keep looking for a European source. Then again, if the locals were making alcoholic drinks with it, maybe someone took a sample back to a brewer to play with.

Yes, really interesting. I was reading this on the subway on my way to work and I was wondering how many times I came across with this mushroom without no idea of what he was able to do.
Anyway, I agree with Bensiff. It's very unlikely that this could have hapened. The "white man" didn't get to the patagonian forests until the lates XVII (for what I know) where the beech grows.
I think that know that is available this information, scientist will find the yeast string in middle europe.

Based on what the article skims over genetically it's what happened. However there could be a possible hybridization that occurred that mimics the genetic code of this wild Patagonian yeast. I'd like to read the actual research papers on this. Off to my school online library!

I don't get what is so mysterious about this. Given that the tree it was found on is a Beechwood tree. I mean, hello? Come on. Does it not stand to reason that the same or virtually identical organism lived on the sap of european beech wood that could have possibly been used by coopers, or as we know, used to age beer on?

Really not, is not likely to have 99.5% identical genome. And it's very interesting that wasn't found a long time ago in europe.

smokinghole said:

Based on what the article skims over genetically it's what happened. However there could be a possible hybridization that occurred that mimics the genetic code of this wild Patagonian yeast. I'd like to read the actual research papers on this. Off to my school online library!

Click to expand...

Let us know what you read, I don't have school access to journals anymore

Update to the lager yeast and Saccharomyces eubayanus mystery:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982214004692

Several strains of S. eubayanus have been found from the Tibetan Plateau. Not only is the geographic distance shorter (Europe and Asia connected by landmass; long trade history), but the Tibetan strains have 99.82% genome sequence identity to the non-ale moiety of Weihenstephan 34/70, compared to 99.56% of the Patagonian S. eubayanus. So it is very likely that the donor of the non-cerevisiae subgenome of lager yeast is from this Asian population, not the Patagonian one.