Beer Industry Split Over Genetically Modified Beer

It’s already being used in many of the beers you’ve been drinking, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t concerns.

Here’s the deal…

Yeast is a fundamental part of the brewing process; it turns the sugars provided by malt, barley and other grains into alcohol and also adds distinctive flavors to beer.

Some see genetically modified (GM) yeast as an advancement for the industry, while others urge caution. Basically GM yeast is the addition or removal of particular strains, the idea is to change its flavor profile for the better.

Berkeley Yeast co-founder and chief executive Charles Denby sees genetically modified yeast as the future, a process that enriches brewing’s possibilities.

“It’s more consistent to have bioengineered yeast” Denby told the Drinks Business, “it reduces the reliance on additional ingredients to make a peach orchard flourish month-after-month, year-after-year

Denby also suggest that genetically modified yeast is more eco-friendly “think of all the water and fertilizer that would go into that crop.”

The US, which has more relaxed regulations on genetically modified foods than many other countries. It also is home to more advancements. In July, Chicago-based Omega Yeast announced that it had  come of with a specific altered yeast strain amplified a beer’s haze, a breakthrough in this era of Hazy IPAs.

But others question why this kind of alteration is even necessary to begin with…

“It begs the question as to what need this really fulfils,  Catherine Webber, business development manager at the UK’s Birmingham-based Attic Brew Co told the Drinks Business. “People have been brewing Hazy IPAs without any issues for a long time already.”

This kind of thing is sometimes worth experimenting with and looking into, but isn’t it something that exists to respond to a problem breweries already have, Webber added, “is it necessary to adopt? I mean. we already make delicious hazy pale ales at our brewery anyway.”

Other brewers dismiss the issue of genetically altered yeast entirely…

“There might be hesitation or fear from those concerned about the association of GM foods to companies like Monsanto and it could be scary to a lot of people,” Lagunitas Brewmaster Jeremy Marshall told DB. “But they have to realize that the yeast gets filtered out, and nothing genetically modified gets into the final product, just flavor compounds, which are little bags of enzymes.”

“The holy grail of what yeast-makers like Berkeley want to do is to engineer an IPA that stays fresh forever, tastes consistent everywhere you go, and its hops never go old,” Marshal added. “And I think those kinds of manufacturers are well on their way to that goal.”

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