Two or three new papers out this week!
Brewing yeasts now found to fall into at least six hybridization groups: cerevisiae x eubayanus, cerevisiae x eubayanus x uvarum, cerevisiae x Kudriavzevii, eubayanus x uvarum (no cerevisiae at all,) cerevisiae x Kudriavzevii x eubayanus x uvarum, and plain cerevisiae. Examples of every "type" we could think of -- ale, lager, Belgian, etc. -- are distributed across all the groups. There are a couple of popular Belgians in the cerevisiae x Kudriavzevii group, but again, all types all over, so at this point it hardly seems possible to suggest a connection between the genetic heritage of any yeast and its current phenotypic manifestation. Moreover, yeasts in each group have lost or gained genes which allow them to exhibit these phenotypes by different means at different times. All beers are mutts. Or might be, you just can't tell by looking, and it might not matter as long as they bark, sit and stay the way you like. At least that's what I've taken away thus far.
FUN FACT: first time I have ever typed the word, but my phone already knew Kudriavzevii and finished it for me when I got to "kud." It is way too smart for me.