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Microbe New To Science Found In Self-Fermented Beer (sciencemag.org)
sciencehabit writes: In May 2014, a group of scientists took a field trip to a small brewery in an old warehouse in Seattle, Washington -- and came away with a microbe scientists have never seen before. In so-called wild beer, the team identified a yeast belonging to the genus Pichia, which turned out to be a hybrid of a known species called P. membranifaciens and another Pichia species completely new to science. Other Pichia species are known to spoil a beer, but the new hybrid seems to smell better.
Their investigation offered a proof-of-concept for a new methodology for studying spontaneously fermented beers -- especially since the brewmaster admitted that like many brewers making wild beers, "he had no idea what microbes were living in the barrel staves that had inoculated his beer."
The scientists dubbed the new hybrid Pichia apotheca -- which is Greek for "warehouse."
Their investigation offered a proof-of-concept for a new methodology for studying spontaneously fermented beers -- especially since the brewmaster admitted that like many brewers making wild beers, "he had no idea what microbes were living in the barrel staves that had inoculated his beer."
The scientists dubbed the new hybrid Pichia apotheca -- which is Greek for "warehouse."
About 80% of microbial organisms living on and around us are "unknown" or rather not classified yet.
According to researchers, colonies of organisms are unique to each of us and can fingerprint pretty much everything in the world. It wouldn't be surprising if you can track down the origins of each bottle of beer to a specific brewing site.
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There are several varieties of beer, (lambics come to mind in particular). that use "wild caught" yeast. This is instead of being inoculated with a standard yeast strain. It's pretty difficult to tell exactly what yeast and other microbes you've caught, so each batch often ends up different. Often the microbes in addition to yeast can add sour or fruity type flavors, but really, the brewer typically does not know exactly which microbes are in the brew.