Genetically Modified Yeast Yields Intense Hop Aromas in Beer

hubie writes:

Genetically modified yeast yields intense hop aromas in beer, Oregon State research finds:

Oregon State University brewing researchers and a team of bioengineers have shown that a genetically modified yeast strain can alter the fermentation process to create beers with significantly more pronounced hop aromas.

"These findings could be extremely useful in creating new beer flavors and increasing the number of tools brewers have at their disposal for producing beers with strong and varied tropical flavors and aromas," said Tom Shellhammer, the Nor'Wester Professor of Fermentation Science at Oregon State.

The findings also demonstrate how synthetic biology can help protect industries and consumers from the effects of climate change, said Jeremy Roop, a co-author of the paper and a bioengineer with Berkeley Yeast, a company that develops yeast strains with enhanced fermentation traits.

"As droughts and wildfires have begun to damage the harvests of hops and other beer flavoring ingredients, engineered yeast offers a means to create these flavors in a way that is not affected by unpredictable climate events," Roop said. "They also allow brewers to utilize a fuller potential of aroma from hops thereby increasing the sustainability of both the hop growing and brewing processes."

[...] Hop-forward beers are typically achieved by adding large amounts of aromatic hops, with the essential oils in hops being the main contributor to aromas in beers. Many compounds are present in the essential oils, including thiols, which provide tropical aromas to beer.

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