By Matthew Smolak


The rivalry between lager yeast (Saccharomyces uvarum) and ale yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) is hardly known but exists nonetheless. It is deeply felt and very poignant, full of envy and so many of the other qualities that make for great comedic and tragic stories.

The rivalry developed out of the very distinction between lager yeast and ale yeast, wherein ale yeast, a top-fermenting yeast, resides in the top portion of beer wort where it lives out its life converting sugars to alcohol. Lager yeast, a bottom-fermenting yeast, lives and works at the bottom of beer wort.

Although the rivalry is founded on an intrinsic difference in their natures, it is perpetuated on petty issues. In essence, it comes down to ale yeast’s condescension towards lager yeast and lager yeast’s reciprocal envy.

Lager yeast suffers from low self-esteem and an inferiority complex, which ale yeast has been all too willing to reinforce. Since lager yeast is bottom fermenting, there is a misconception of lager yeast as a “bottom-feeder” equivalent to the lowest of the sea creatures on the bottom of the ocean – unsophisticated in development and inhibited in capabilities. Meanwhile, it was suggested that ale yeast had climbed to the top of the evolutionary ladder for yeast.

In reality, there is no foundation for such a distinction between the two. Still, ale yeast entices lager yeast by exclaiming about the view from the top of the fermenter, deriding the limited view lager yeast has at the bottom.

In turn, lager yeast has lamented the light coloured beers that it ferments compared to the various shades of copper, amber, brown and deep black available to ale yeast. Lager yeast generally feeds upon the varying degrees of gold and copper lagers. On a rare occasion it may get to dine on a dark lager, but otherwise it has envied the great variety of grains and malt that ale yeast eats.

Worst of all is the prevalence of bland beers brewed by the majority of North American breweries that lager yeasts are called into duty to convert. The abundance of lacklustre lagers in North America has very little to do with the yeast but reinforces the image of lager yeasts, and lagers, as humdrum and ale yeasts, and their respective ales, as exotic and sophisticated.

Interestingly, this rivalry, founded ages ago on misconceptions, has recently abated as lager yeast finally begins to take pride in itself. In mainstream beers, lager yeast’s hearty character must salvage respectable beer out of otherwise mediocre ingredients. At the same time, a re-emerging interest in high-quality lagers has invigorated lager yeast’s ego. Furthermore, lager yeast performs in wort that is stored at temperatures of 0-15 degrees Celsius while ale yeast works in the temperate 14-24 Celsius range. In fact, it may be that we are on the verge of a reversal in the roles of this rivalry as lager yeast now flaunts its vigorous nature and derides ale yeast as a lazy, loafing sort of Saccharomyces.

And so, the misconceptions go on and it appears that the sibling rivalry between these two shall never finish fermenting. But as with all great rivalries, good things will come to those who sit on the sidelines, and we await with eager tastebuds the products of this bitter-sweet contest.

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