It has been known for some time that lager yeast, i.e. Saccharomyces pastorianus, is a hybrid of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ale yeast) and another ‘lager species’ of Saccharomyces. Libkind et al. (2011) recently discovered a new species of Saccharomyces, named Saccharomyces eubayanus, in the forests of Patagonia, and since it genetically matches the non-cerevisiae part of the pastorianus-genome, it now appears as if the ‘other parent’ has been found. Lager yeast is known for its capability of fermenting at low temperatures, and it is believed that this trait has been inherited from S. eubayanus. Because of the recent discovery, there hasn’t been much research on S. eubayanus yet, but I thought I’d try to brew a small test batch with the yeast this weekend on my old brewing equipment. I’m not really sure what kind of flavor profile to expect from S. eubayanus, but I’m assuming it will be quite estery and ‘non-clean’. The malt bill will be simple, featuring 80% Pale Ale malt, 10% Munich malt, 5% Crystal and 5% wheat, and I will aim for an OG around 1.050. I plan on mashing quite low, since from experience with experimental fermentations in the lab, S. eubayanus ferments quite slowly and attenuates relatively poorly. I will be aiming for about 30 IBU, and will hop with something I have available in the freezer, i.e. most likely Simcoe (since I have some 2011 harvest leaf hops I want to use up). I plan on fermenting at 12° C, as I want to minimize any potential esters and funky flavors.
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Where did you find the S. Eubayanus? As soon as they announced their findings, that was the first thing on my mind.
The laboratory I work at has the yeast in its culture collection (http://culturecollection.vtt.fi/). I unfortunately can’t distribute it to third parties. If you’re interested in getting a hold of the yeast, you can buy it from http://www.cbs.knaw.nl/collection/cultures.aspx
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I’m doing some tests at my university and i would like to buy a hold of Saccharomyces eubayanus. ¿It can be shipped to South America?, I’m from Chile.
Greetings
Hi Pablo,
I unfortunately won’t ship the yeast, but you can buy it for research purposes here:
http://www.cbs.knaw.nl/collection/cultures.aspx
Regards,
Kristoffer
So how did the beer came out?.
Thanks for your interest Diego! The beer came out well! Surprisingly clean, but it finished quite sweet (from the lack of maltotriose use).
You can find my more detailed tasting notes here: http://beer.suregork.com/?p=2890
Hi suregork
I also have a strain of eubayanus. Have you done anymore excitements with the yeast. I’m not sure of the exact strain I have, but I do know it came from the Argentinia culture collection. I’m currently thinking of using it in either a kolsh or cal common(to his some of the apple character I heard it produces).
Thanks
Thanks for the comment! Not any homebrews unfortunately, but I’m doing lots of interesting things with it at work! Will write up some blog posts on that later during the spring. Remember to mash really low, S. eubayanus can’t use maltotriose and will leave your final gravity high. I would use a low fermentation temperature as well (8-12 C; 46-54 F), it likes the cold! Good luck 🙂