A group of Scientists in the United States, crior a more sustainable beer, after discovering a way to obtain the characteristic hop flavor in craft beers without the need to use hops, whose cultivation requires intensive use of waterreported AFP.
Researchers say the technique could reduce the brewing industry’s dependence on hops — a thirsty and expensive crop — and produce the consistent aroma and flavor that are trending among beer enthusiasts.
In a paper published in the scientific journal Nature Communications on Tuesday, scientists at the University of California at Berkeley showed how they used DNA editing software to manipulate the genome of brewer’s yeast, combining genes from mint and basil, as well as two from yeast. normal, this boosted the production of flavors normally provided by the addition of hops during the brewing process.
“We were able to use some of the tools we developed to precisely control metabolism to produce the right amount of hop flavors,” said Jay Keasling, professor of chemical and biomedical engineering at UC Berkeley.
The results were so convincing that employees at the nearby Lagunitas Beer Factory, in taste tests, said the lab-brewed beer tasted more hoppy than a conventionally brewed alternative.
Scientists were told that their genetically modified beer tasted like “fruit loops and orange blossom” with no noticeable off-flavours, Charles Denby, one of the study’s authors, told AFP.
Hops are an extremely resource-intensive plant, so each pint of craft beer needs around 50 pints of water just to grow them.