Designing DNA Circuits To Brew Tastier Beer

Al writes "Researchers at Boston University have developed a way to predict the behavior of different DNA segments and make synthetic biology a little bit more reliable. James Collins and colleagues have built libraries of component parts and a mathematical modeling system to help them predict the behavior of parts of a gene network. Like any self-respected bunch of grad students, they decided to demonstrate the approach by making beer. They engineered gene promoters to control when flocculation occurs in brewers yeast, which allowed them to finely control the flavor of the resulting beer."

Comments

Could be great news for those of us who homebrew

[fragMasterFlash]

This would be a neat trick if it allowed brewing with yeasts that produced an English flavor profile yet had the high flocculation rates associated with American ale yeasts (Wyeast 1232 is the best compromise currently produced commercially, IMHO).

Re:Purity

[Nidi62]

The Reinheitsgebot was actually amended to allow yeast as an ingredient once it was understood the central role yeast plays in brewing.(According to a Bavarian brewer on a History channel special on beer, as well as this website:http://oldemeckbrew.com/Beer/reinheitsgebot.php)