New Yeast?

[Dunkel]

Not sure what this means for the future ...

http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2013/07/scientists-work-on-creating-synthetic-yeast/

[Eoin]

I'd imagine it would mean more to the distilling industry rather than for beer brewers. Their washes could be pushed higher and they would have less distilling to do for more high grade alcohol.

Not sure about the whole GM aspect of this though, although it's not GM per se, it's actually building stuff from the genome, pretty hardcore stuff.

[mr hoppy]

and biofuels.

[Padraic]

I have no problems with more yeast research!

One of the aims of the project is to develop this yeast strain as a vehicle that you can put in new chemical pathways and directly manipulate it in a way that is not possible at the moment.

This line implies higher alcohol might not be the only goal, the research might find the ability to find which gene's cause which esters, etc.

It could be interesting if you're not afraid of Yeastenstein^TM

[Padraic]

Yeastenstein^TM not to be confused with a thing the germans don't allow: yeastinstein

[Will_D]

Yeastenstein^TM not to be confused with a thing the germans don't allow: yeastinstein

Unless its a Maas of Hefe W!

[Will_D]

There are already yesat strains that can go to about 22% ABV ( Its what I use for my port )

A typical distillers wash is fermented to about 8% I think

More info will be gleaned from the Alltech presentations

[mr hoppy]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101215113241.htm

A new study, published in the December 2010 issue of Genetics, shows how genetically altered yeast cells survive higher ethanol concentrations, addressing a bottleneck in the production of ethanol from cellulosic material (nonfood plant sources) in quantities that could make it economically competitive with fossil fuels...

..A lot of people think yeast is only useful to make beer, wine and bread," said Mark Johnston, Editor-in-Chief of the journal Genetics, "but it is also a key player in making 'green,' sustainable fuel sources part of the world's economy. By genetically priming these organisms to produce more ethanol, Gasch and her team have taken an important step away from fossil fuels."