经济学人187:酿酒业令人陶醉的发现

 　　Brewing²

　　酿酒业

　　Heady discoveries

　　令人陶醉的发现

　　The yeast³ that gave rise to lager is tracked down to South America

　　生产拉格（或贮陈）啤酒的酵母可追溯到南美

　　Aug 27th 2011 | from the print edition

　　The Patagonian connection

　　与巴塔哥尼亚高原的联系

　　IN THE 15th century a schism⁴ opened in the world of beer. Brewers in Bavaria alighted on a new version of that age-old drink—one that liked to be fermented⁶ in the cold and could thus be brewed⁷ in winter. The lager revolution had begun.

　　15世纪，啤酒界开始了一次强烈的意见分歧。德国巴伐利亚州的啤酒酿造者们偶然发现这种古老饮料的新变种---一种喜欢在低温发酵，因而能够在冬天酿造饮料。拉格（或贮陈）啤酒革命已经开始。

　　The difference between lagers and more traditional ales lies in the yeast. Ales are made with baker’s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Lagers use a hybrid⁸, half cerevisiae and half something else. The interloper, though, has never been found—until now.

　　拉格啤酒和更传统的艾尔啤酒之间的区别在于使用不同的酵母。艾尔啤酒由面包师傅的酵母---酵母属釀酒酵母（学名为Saccharomyces cerevisiae）酿制而成。拉格（或贮陈）啤酒则由一半酿酒酵母和一半其它东西混合而成的东西酿制。不过，这另一半闯入者直到现在才发现。

　　After a worldwide search, a team of geneticists has pinned it down to South America. Chris Todd Hittinger of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Diego Libkind of the Argentine National Council for Scientific and Technical Research, found their quarry¹⁰ over 11,000km (7,000 miles) from Bavaria, in the cool alpine¹¹ forests of Patagonia. As they explain in a paper in the Proceedings¹² of the National Academy of Sciences, the newly described species, named Saccharomyces eubayanus, lives in galls¹³ that infect beech¹⁴ trees there. These sugary galls often ferment⁵ on the forest floor, and locals have been known to make an alcoholic¹⁵ beverage¹⁶ from them. Genetic⁹ sequencing confirmed that the yeast in the galls is 99.5% identical with the non-ale half of the lager-yeast genome.

　　在全世界范围内进行搜索后,一队遗传学家已经确认这种闯入者来自南美。威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校的克里斯?托德?希廷格尔（Chris Todd Hittinger）和阿根廷国家科学和技术研究会的迪戈?利布金德（Diego Libkind）在远离巴伐利亚州11000公里（7000英里）的巴塔哥尼亚高原上凉爽的高山森林里找到了他们的来源。根据他们在《美国国家科学院院刊》上发表的一篇论文中所解释，最近描述的这个命名为酵母属真贝酵母（学名为Saccharomyces eubayanus）的物种生活在感染那儿山毛榉树的虫瘿里。这些含糖的虫瘿经常在森林的地面上发酵，当地人一直用它们来酿造含酒精的饮料。基因测序证实了虫瘿里的酵母与拉格酵母的非酿酒酵母那一半基因组有着99.5%的相似性。

　　That solves one mystery but creates another. Human transport is the only way the fungus¹⁷ could have travelled from Patagonia to Europe, but exploration of the New World did not begin until the end of the 15th century, and Patagonia was not reached until the 16th. Yet there are records of cold-fermented beer being made in Munich as early as 1420.

　　这解决了一个秘密，但又产生了另一个秘密。人类的运输是这些真菌能够从巴塔哥尼亚高原传播到欧洲的唯一途径。但是，直到15世纪末，人类才发现新大陆（或世界），而欧洲人一直到16世纪才到达巴塔哥尼亚高原。然而，有些低温发酵啤酒的记录表明，早在15世纪20年代慕尼黑就已生产这种低温发酵的啤酒了。

　　Dr Hittinger suspects lagering in its basic form—lengthy and cool fermentation—did precede the arrival of eubayanus, but that these early lagers were poor. Then, in one batch¹⁸, eubayanus drifted in and could thrive at the low temperatures which cerevisiae disliked. Brewers favoured that batch, and the yeast spread. Indeed, the historical record provides a hint that something was afoot around this time. In 1553 Bavaria outlawed¹⁹ summer-made beer because wintertime brews²⁰ had outstripped²¹ them in quality.

　　希廷格尔（Hittinger）博士怀疑以其基本形式酿造的拉格（贮陈）啤酒---时间很长而且还是低温发酵---确实比真贝酵母（eubayanus）到来之前发生，但是，这些早期的拉格啤酒质量不太好。 后来，在一批产品中，真贝酵母（eubayanus）漂移出来而且能在釀酒酵母（cerevisiae）不喜欢的低温下茁壮生长。酿酒商们非常喜欢这批产品，之后，这些酵母就蔓延开来了。其实，历史记载提供了一条线索，大约这个时候，有些事情正在进行中。1553年，巴伐利亚州取缔了夏天酿制的啤酒，因为冬季酿造的啤酒质量更好。

　　Eventually, the two yeast strains hybridised to form Saccharomyces pastorianus, the yeast used by lager brewers today. Those brewers will cheer the discovery of eubayanus, as it opens a trove²² of genes²³ that did not make the transition to pastorianus but which might help the process of cold brewing. One South American beer company is already discussing using pure eubayanus, as well as lab-created hybrids²⁴, in a test brew¹. Whether that will improve the lager’s flavour is another matter. As Dr Hittinger points out, natural selection has done a pretty tasty job already.

　　终于，这两种酵母杂交形成了现在的拉格啤酒酿造商们使用的酵母，即酵母属巴斯德酵母（学名为Saccharomyces pastorianus）。那些啤酒酿造商们将欢呼真贝酵母（eubayanus）的发现，因为它打开了有价值的基因。虽然这种基因没有转变成巴斯德酵母（pastorianus）但它可能帮助低温酿造的过程。一家南美啤酒公司已经在讨论在实验性的酿造中使用纯真贝酵母（eubayanus），还有实验室育制的杂交品种。这种纯真贝酵母（eubayanus）是否提高啤酒品味则是另一回事。因为希廷格尔（Hittinger）博士指出，大自然已经为人类选择了一种非常美味的酒。

1 brew   

v.酿造，调制

参考例句：

• Let's brew up some more tea.咱们沏些茶吧。
• The policeman dispelled the crowd lest they should brew trouble.警察驱散人群，因恐他们酿祸。

2 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

3 yeast   

n.酵母；酵母片；泡沫；v.发酵；起泡沫

参考例句：

• Yeast can be used in making beer and bread.酵母可用于酿啤酒和发面包。
• The yeast began to work.酵母开始发酵。

4 schism   

n.分派，派系，分裂

参考例句：

• The church seems to be on the brink of schism.教会似乎处于分裂的边缘。
• While some predict schism,others predict a good old fashioned compromise.在有些人预测分裂的同时，另一些人预测了有益的老式妥协。

5 ferment   

vt.使发酵；n./vt.（使）激动，（使）动乱

参考例句：

• Fruit juices ferment if they are kept a long time.果汁若是放置很久，就会发酵。
• The sixties were a time of theological ferment.六十年代是神学上骚动的时代。

6 fermented   

v.（使）发酵( ferment的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）激动；骚动；骚扰

参考例句：

• When wine is fermented, it gives off gas. 酒发酵时发出气泡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His speeches fermented trouble among the workers. 他的演讲在工人中引起骚动。 来自辞典例句

7 brewed   

调制( brew的过去式和过去分词 )； 酝酿； 沏（茶）； 煮（咖啡）

参考例句：

• The beer is brewed in the Czech Republic. 这种啤酒是在捷克共和国酿造的。
• The boy brewed a cup of coffee for his mother. 这男孩给他妈妈冲了一杯咖啡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

9 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

10 quarry   

n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找

参考例句：

• Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
• This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。

11 alpine   

adj.高山的；n.高山植物

参考例句：

• Alpine flowers are abundant there.那里有很多高山地带的花。
• Its main attractions are alpine lakes and waterfalls .它以高山湖泊和瀑布群为主要特色。

12 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

13 galls   

v.使…擦痛( gall的第三人称单数 )；擦伤；烦扰；侮辱

参考例句：

• Best results will be obtained on recently formed galls. 如果瘿瘤是新近形成的，则效果最好。 来自辞典例句
• Crown galls are cancerous growths composed of disorganized and proliferating plant cells. 冠瘿是无组织的正在不断增殖的植物细胞所组成的癌状物。 来自辞典例句

14 beech   

n.山毛榉；adj.山毛榉的

参考例句：

• Autumn is the time to see the beech woods in all their glory.秋天是观赏山毛榉林的最佳时期。
• Exasperated,he leaped the stream,and strode towards beech clump.他满腔恼怒，跳过小河，大踏步向毛榉林子走去。

15 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

16 beverage   

n.(水，酒等之外的)饮料

参考例句：

• The beverage is often colored with caramel.这种饮料常用焦糖染色。
• Beer is a beverage of the remotest time.啤酒是一种最古老的饮料。

17 fungus   

n.真菌，真菌类植物

参考例句：

• Mushrooms are a type of fungus.蘑菇是一种真菌。
• This fungus can just be detected by the unaided eye.这种真菌只用肉眼就能检查出。

18 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。

19 outlawed   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
• I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。

20 brews   

n.（尤指某地酿造的）啤酒( brew的名词复数 )；酿造物的种类；（茶）一次的冲泡量；（不同思想、环境、事件的）交融v.调制( brew的第三人称单数 )；酝酿；沏（茶）；煮（咖啡）

参考例句：

• He brews beer at home. 他在家里酿造啤酒。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They produce the country's best brews of beer. 他们生产该国的佳酿啤酒。 来自辞典例句

21 outstripped   

v.做得比…更好，（在赛跑等中）超过( outstrip的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• That manufacturer outstripped all his competitors in sales last year. 那个制造商家去年的销售量超过了所有竞争对手。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The imagination of her mother and herself had outstripped the truth. 母亲和她自己的想象力远远超过了事实。 来自辞典例句

22 trove   

n.被发现的东西，收藏的东西

参考例句：

• He assembled a rich trove of Chinese porcelain.他收集了一批中国瓷器。
• The gallery is a treasure trove of medieval art.这个画廊是中世纪艺术的宝库。

23 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

24 hybrids   

n.杂交生成的生物体( hybrid的名词复数 )；杂交植物（或动物）；杂种；（不同事物的）混合物

参考例句：

• All these brightly coloured hybrids are so lovely in the garden. 花园里所有这些色彩鲜艳的杂交花真美丽。 来自辞典例句
• The notion that interspecific hybrids are rare is ill-founded. 有一种看法认为种间杂种是罕见的，这种看法是无根据的。 来自辞典例句