Origins of Lager Found In Argentina

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Origins of Lager Found In Argentina

Posted by samzenpus on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @05:45AM from the a-yeast-of-a-different-color dept.

utkonos writes "After decades of pondering, scientists have found the secret to the creation of lager. An elusive species of yeast isolated in the forests of Argentina was key to the invention of the crisp-tasting German beer. From the article: 'Their best bet is that centuries ago, S. eubayanus somehow found its way to Europe and hybridized with the domestic yeast used to brew ale, creating an organism that can ferment at the lower temperatures used to make lager. Geneticists have known since the 1980s that the yeast brewers use to make lager, S. pastorianus, was a hybrid of two yeast species: S. cerevisiae — used to make ales, wine and bread — and some other, unidentified organism.'"

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Maybe the conquistadors brought it WITH them by elrous0 · 2011-08-23 05:47 · Score: 3, Interesting

Their best bet is that centuries ago, S. eubayanus somehow found its way to Europe
How do they know it wasn't the other way around? Maybe we Europeans brought it as a gift to our New World brothers.

--
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
1. Re:Maybe the conquistadors brought it WITH them by robthebloke · 2011-08-23 05:54 · Score: 1
  
  I don't think anyone would appreciate a european gift of special brew.
  Q.E.D. It was the other way around.
2. Re:Maybe the conquistadors brought it WITH them by trout007 · 2011-08-23 06:05 · Score: 1
  
  Lots of Nazi's left Germany for Argentina after WWII.
  
  --
  I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
3. Re:Maybe the conquistadors brought it WITH them by elrous0 · 2011-08-23 06:12 · Score: 1
  
  I think you underestimate just how insidious the Nazis of WWI were.
  
  --
  SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
4. Re:Maybe the conquistadors brought it WITH them by binarylarry · 2011-08-23 06:19 · Score: 1
  
  yeah there's a documentary on this, it's called "Hellboy"
  google it
  
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  Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
5. Re:Maybe the conquistadors brought it WITH them by Opportunist · 2011-08-23 06:24 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, and they went back in time. And you thought that base on the south pole and the moon were already something...
  
  --
  We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
6. Re:Maybe the conquistadors brought it WITH them by FauxReal · 2011-08-23 07:46 · Score: 1
  
  Their best bet is that centuries ago, S. eubayanus somehow found its way to Europe
  How do they know it wasn't the other way around? Maybe we Europeans brought it as a gift to our New World brothers.
  You're probably right, I bet it was time traveling Nazis on a quest to hide their ill gotten gold.
  
  --
  Deltron 3030 - Virus (music video)
7. Re:Maybe the conquistadors brought it WITH them by Quiet_Desperation · 2011-08-23 07:58 · Score: 1
  
  ZOMG! Nazi time travel! They could be ANYWHERE! Shoot all the things!
8. Re:Maybe the conquistadors brought it WITH them by Abstrackt · 2011-08-23 08:24 · Score: 1
  
  How do they know it wasn't the other way around?
  The instructions on the packet were in Spanish.
  
  --
  They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. - Terry Pratchett
9. Re:Maybe the conquistadors brought it WITH them by trout007 · 2011-08-23 08:35 · Score: 1
  
  What I was suggesting is maybe the yeast is from Germany and the Nazis that left brought their yeasts for beer making to Argentina and they got released into the wild.
  
  --
  I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
10. Re:Maybe the conquistadors brought it WITH them by XiaoMing · 2011-08-23 08:38 · Score: 1
  
  How do they know it wasn't the other way around? Maybe we Europeans brought it as a gift to our New World brothers.
  Later, a more effective microbe known as "smallpox" was used, with much better intended results ;)
11. Re:Maybe the conquistadors brought it WITH them by lahvak · 2011-08-23 08:47 · Score: 2
  
  It seems that that particular species of yeast does not appear in Europe. Only its hybrids do. So while it is possible that the yeast first traveled to Argentina, and then became extinct in Europe, it seems more likely that it originated at the place where it still can be found.
  
  --
  AccountKiller
12. Re:Maybe the conquistadors brought it WITH them by Tubal-Cain · 2011-08-23 08:52 · Score: 1
  
  If the mystery yeast was from Germany, they probably would have found it in Germany.
13. Re:Maybe the conquistadors brought it WITH them by AngryDeuce · 2011-08-23 09:01 · Score: 1
  
  Sounds like something a Nazi would say...hmmm.....
14. Re:Maybe the conquistadors brought it WITH them by AshtangiMan · 2011-08-23 09:09 · Score: 1
  
  Aha, conclusive evidence that it did come from Europe then.
15. Re:Maybe the conquistadors brought it WITH them by Jeremiah+Cornelius · 2011-08-23 10:49 · Score: 1
  
  Beer? Take that piss away. Bottom fermented, for the bottom-feeder, I say!
  There's nothing like an Ale - free of that hoppy contamination, rich dark and malty.
  
  --
  "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
  Never been known to fail..."
16. Re:Maybe the conquistadors brought it WITH them by abuelos84 · 2011-08-23 20:34 · Score: 1
  
  You know, there already were a lot of germans (amongst many many many others) around here long before those (few, not like hundreds and hundreds...) nazis came along.
  
  --
  -- Counting backwards since 1984!
17. Re:Maybe the conquistadors brought it WITH them by SynthaxError · 2011-08-23 23:10 · Score: 1
  
  I think the GP tried a joke with word "Lager" which can mean in German "Camp" like in "Konzentration Lager".
  
  --
  "There is no dark side of the moon really. Matter of fact it's all dark."
18. Re:Maybe the conquistadors brought it WITH them by Quiet_Desperation · 2011-08-24 05:10 · Score: 1
  
  I deny that scattergorically and I am unanimous in this opinion.
Unidentified? It should be obvious! by roman_mir · 2011-08-23 05:48 · Score: 1

Geneticists have known since the 1980s that the yeast brewers use to make lager, S. pastorianus, was a hybrid of two yeast species: S. cerevisiae â" used to make ales, wine and bread â" and some other, unidentified organism.'"
- Chuck Norris is not just some unidentified organism, he alone brings the fine essence of power to wines and ales.

--
You can't handle the truth.
1. Re:Unidentified? It should be obvious! by dkleinsc · 2011-08-23 06:03 · Score: 1
  
  No, the real story here is that Bruce Schneier went back in time and encoded the secrets to human happiness on this obscure species genetic code using advanced steganography. The effects of beer are proof of his contribution.
  
  --
  I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
2. Re:Unidentified? It should be obvious! by Opportunist · 2011-08-23 06:25 · Score: 1
  
  Considering how I always feel much smarter than Bruce when I had enough beer, I guess you might be right.
  
  --
  We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
3. Re:Unidentified? It should be obvious! by Dyinobal · 2011-08-23 07:25 · Score: 1
  
  The year 2000 called it would like it's meme back.
4. Re:Unidentified? It should be obvious! by Canazza · 2011-08-23 07:31 · Score: 1
  
  Did you warn them about 9/11?
  March called me and wanted it's comic back too. Told them that Piers Morgan was going to be on the Apprentice, they didn't believe me... Fools!
  
  --
  It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for being subtle.
5. Re:Unidentified? It should be obvious! by operagost · 2011-08-23 07:48 · Score: 1
  
  1998 called. It would like its meme about wanting memes back, back.
  
  --
  
  Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
Talk about a good reason for biodiversity by wisebabo · 2011-08-23 05:55 · Score: 2

Maybe if the average beer drinker knew that his brew was made possible by a rare yeast found in an obscure gall plant found in Patagonia he'd be more supportive of conservation efforts!
Then again he'd probably just change the channel from the Discovery channel to ESPN.
1. Re:Talk about a good reason for biodiversity by stms · 2011-08-23 08:07 · Score: 2
  
  As a Beer drinker myself I resent the fact that you think we don't appreciate biodiversity. Beer has been helping people increase the biodiversity of their offspring for centuries. It's come close to helping me increase mine at least a couple times.
2. Re:Talk about a good reason for biodiversity by jd · 2011-08-23 08:50 · Score: 1
  
  BBC Article
  Having said that, the 45 million year old yeast was a much more interesting discovery (Wired's article includes info on how to extract it from amber) but it hasn't really spawned much of an interest in paleantology. Damn shame.
  
  --
  It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
Re:Meh by wsxyz · 2011-08-23 05:56 · Score: 4, Funny

pilsner is a type of lager.
how did this yeast come to Schwechat, Austria? by kubitus · 2011-08-23 05:56 · Score: 1

where the lager beer was invented in the brewery of Anton Dreher.
1. Re:how did this yeast come to Schwechat, Austria? by vlm · 2011-08-23 06:10 · Score: 1
  
  where the lager beer was invented in the brewery of Anton Dreher.
  Vikings. I'm only half way joking.
  
  --
  "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
2. Re:how did this yeast come to Schwechat, Austria? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-08-23 06:20 · Score: 1
  
  where the lager beer was invented in the brewery of Anton Dreher.
  No, actually Anton Dreher invented the PALE lager in 1840, "he introduced a beer that combined the crispness of lager with the paler hues of the English ale; this new style of beer became known as the Viennese style, and was called the Schwechater Lagerbier ("Schwechat Lager Beer")."
  LAGER was invented/discovered waaaaay earlier, "While cold storage of beer, "lagering," in caves for example, was a common practice throughout the medieval period, bottom-fermenting yeast seems to have emerged as a hybridization in the early 1400s"
3. Re:how did this yeast come to Schwechat, Austria? by tom17 · 2011-08-23 07:07 · Score: 1
  
  In particular, this Viking.
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1nzEFMjkI4
4. Re:how did this yeast come to Schwechat, Austria? by cptdondo · 2011-08-23 08:37 · Score: 1
  
  U Fleku in the Czech Republic has been making the same "dark lager" in the same place for something like 500 years in Prague. So yes, lager does predate the 1800s by quite a bit.
  I'm not sure when the first lager was brewed, but given the timeline someone (Vikings?) must have brought back the yeast. Good thing they didn't wash really well, eh?
5. Re:how did this yeast come to Schwechat, Austria? by jd · 2011-08-23 08:51 · Score: 1
  
  Nonono, this Viking, surely!
  
  --
  It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
6. Re:how did this yeast come to Schwechat, Austria? by frisket · 2011-08-23 11:02 · Score: 1
  
  > I'm not sure when the first lager was brewed
  Clearly before 1487, when the idea of a beer purity law was first mooted (according to Mr Wikipedia at Reinheitsgebot). So if it genuinely originated in S. America, someone must have brought it over (or back).
  --
  If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it had bloody well better be a duck, or there'll be trouble.
elusive by benthurston27 · 2011-08-23 05:58 · Score: 1

I hate when yeast are being all elusive making scientists search for decades like that.
Re:earthquake by _0xd0ad · 2011-08-23 06:01 · Score: 1

An estimated 5.8 magnitude in Virginia about 10 minutes ago, yeah...
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/at00lqe6x3.php
Argentine-German connection by wsxyz · 2011-08-23 06:02 · Score: 1

Now we see that the "special relationship" between Argentina and Germany has been established for quite a bit longer than we thought.
1. Re:Argentine-German connection by Ranger · 2011-08-23 08:58 · Score: 1
  
  Yup. At least this is a good one. First it was Nazis, then it was the most complete copy of Metropolis found and now lager yeast.
  
  --
  "You'll get nothing, and you'll like it!"
Re:earthquake by Paladin114 · 2011-08-23 06:06 · Score: 1

shocks felt in Annapolis, MD.
Re:earthquake by Altus · 2011-08-23 06:10 · Score: 1

felt it all the way up here in Boston.
pretty gentle here though

--
"In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women..." -H. Simpson
No big surprise by JockTroll · 2011-08-23 06:21 · Score: 1

Plenty of nazis in Argentina. No wonder they make lagers there, too. Beer macht frei.

--
Geeks are so full of shit that "beating the crap out of them" takes a whole new meaning.
1. Re:No big surprise by grub · 2011-08-23 07:00 · Score: 1
  
  Beer macht frei.
  
  I lol'd. Well done.
  
  --
  Trolling is a art,
As Fall here is Spring there... by cybergremlin · 2011-08-23 06:22 · Score: 1

"June-Fest!"
I like chimichury flank steak better then sourkrout anyway.
They can keep it! by Pope · 2011-08-23 06:27 · Score: 1

Ales & stouts for life! The harder it is to see through, the better it is!

--
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
1. Re:They can keep it! by businessnerd · 2011-08-23 07:01 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Ale vs Lager only refers to the type of yeast and the temperature at which it was fermented. It has nothing to do with the color/opacity. While most ales the typical beer drinker encounters are darker than lagers, there are plenty of examples of lager styles that are very dark (e.g. doppelbock). Also, color does not always tell you how much flavor the beer has. It is just an indicator of which flavors you are likely to have more of, and even then, there are ways of making a really dark, yet relatively flavorless beer. For example, a beer that used a lot of "black patent malt" but is otherwise light on barley malt and hops would be as black as a Guinness but as flavorful as a Keystone Light.
  
  --
  "It's not whether you win or lose, it's how drunk you get." -- H. J. Simpson
2. Re:They can keep it! by suy · 2011-08-23 08:38 · Score: 1
  
  Ales & stouts for life! The harder it is to see through, the better it is!
  You never enjoyed a Pale Ale, do you? Is an ale, and... well, is as pale as the average lager.
3. Re:They can keep it! by Guido+von+Guido · 2011-08-23 10:51 · Score: 2
  
  A beer with more than an ounce or two of black patent per gallon is going to taste astringent and burnt, somewhat like sucking on a bag of tea leaves. It certainly will not be flavorless. Also, there's no such thing as "light on malt." Beer can't be made without it, it's chemically impossible.
  Of course you can make a beer that's "light on malt." A pound of malt has enough enzymes for at least an equal weight of non-malted grains. For that matter, you could convert non-malted grains with a source of enzymes. For instance, chicha is traditionally made with non-malted corn, with the starch converted to sugar by the enzymes in saliva. No reason you couldn't do that with unmalted barley or wheat.
  Getting back to the original poster, though, there are definitely dark lagers available (e.g., dunkels, schwarzbiers and Baltic porters).
4. Re:They can keep it! by catchy_handle · 2011-08-23 11:02 · Score: 1
  
  Negra Modelo from Mexico should be easy enough to locate in a grocery store near you for the curious.
Bullshit by SmallFurryCreature · 2011-08-23 06:36 · Score: 1

Everyone knows that the unknown element in beer yeast is the higs boson otherwise known as the god particle. God really screwed up when he designed the world, the reproductive systems (who puts the entertainment center next to the sewage works) and women. He gave us beer to make up for it. And it does.

--

MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
1. Re:Bullshit by CFTM · 2011-08-23 07:21 · Score: 1
  
  And on that note....
  Three engineering students were gathered together discussing the possible designers of the human body.
  One said, ``It was a mechanical engineer. Just look at all the joints.''
  Another said, ``No, it was an electrical engineer. The nervous systems many thousands of electrical connections.''
  The last said, ``Actually it was a civil engineer. Who else would run a toxic waste pipeline through a recreational area?''
2. Re:Bullshit by operagost · 2011-08-23 07:52 · Score: 1
  
  Until the beer gives you explosive diarrhea right before you're about to score.
  
  --
  
  Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
Here comes another gimmicky brew by Spykk · 2011-08-23 06:51 · Score: 1

It's only a matter of time now before Dogfish Head releases something fermented with this yeast. I vote for Legacy Lager as a name.
Europa/Mars Life by geoffrobinson · 2011-08-23 08:40 · Score: 1

This is sort of similar to the question from a post yesterday about Earth ejecta finding its way to the rest of the Solar System and seeding life. If we discover life on Mars, how do we know where the source is from?
Also, how do we know there wasn't a common ancestor?

--
Except for ending slavery, the Nazis, communism, & securing American independence, war has never solved anything.
Re:Meh by cyberchondriac · 2011-08-23 08:58 · Score: 1

This would have made sense if you'd typed, "prefer ale myself..."

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Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
History 101: by idbeholda · 2011-08-23 19:56 · Score: 1

If this is true, this serves to conclusively prove that Native Americans traded freely with the "New World" for quite some time.
Comment removed by account_deleted · 2011-08-23 23:21 · Score: 1

Comment removed based on user account deletion