Yeast mapping aims to boost beer’s aah

Los Angeles – A group of American and Belgian scientists hope to enable the production of a new generation of gloriously tasty beers by making the first map to link the genetics of different yeasts with the brews they create.

Laboratories in California and Flanders have sequenced the DNA of more than 240 brewing yeasts – from those in the ultra-hoppy India pale ales of America to the varieties behind British mild.

By perusing the 12 million molecules that make up the DNA of each yeast, the scientists plan to trace the evolution of various strains, then use that knowledge to advance the art of brewing.

‘‘With this information, we’ll be able to select different properties in yeasts and breed them together to generate new ones,’’ Kevin Verstrepen, of the University of Leuven, told the New York Times.

‘‘In a few years we might be drinking beers that are far more interesting than those that currently exist.’’

Yeasts can make more than 500 flavour and aroma compounds, said Chris White, the founder of White Labs, a supplier of brewing yeast based in San Diego that is part of the DNA mapping effort. However, while the organism has long been scrutinised by scientists, it is not known how its genes translate to the taste, aroma and colour of a beer.

Breeding yeasts has been a hitand-miss process with a high failure rate, experts say. And brewers are reluctant to use genetically modified yeasts because of the stigma. A genetic roadmap could reduce such problems.