Lager drinkers can thank birds for their favorite tipple — that is the conclusion of U.S. scientists who say the yeast involved in making the amber nectar could have been spread around the planet by migrating birds.
The work, by researchers at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, follows up on the 2011 discovery that a key component of the yeast used to make cold-brewed beers came from Patagonia, in South America.
Lager — which, say its multitudinous fans, has a crisper, cleaner taste than warm-brewed ales — was first made by monks in Bavaria 500 years ago, using a yeast that has since been shown to be a hybrid of European yeast and another yeast. It was this second yeast that was traced to colonies found in trees in Patagonia three years ago.