Would Brewing with Synthetically Created Yeast Be the Downfall of Beer?

Recently, a news outlet in England featured a story on how British researchers are “creating designer genomes that can be inserted into yeast cells to create new strains,” with an ultimate goal of creating bacterium genes “from the ground up.” What does this means for you and me, the everyday hop fiend? It could eventually result in superior yeasts used for stronger and cheaper beers. Yes, scientists and brewers have been monkeying with yeasts forever, but would the creation and mass-production of synthetic yeast ultimately have a negative impact on the brewing industry, specifically, the artisanal?

This early in the game, it’s difficult to know exactly how all this will play out; I’m not god, nor have I dusted off my crystal ball in years. What I do know is this – yeasts are the greatest variant in the brewing process. Malts, hops, and other additions of flavor mostly provide brewers with a consistent end product – they are known entities that rarely vary. Talk to a brewer who specializes in smaller crafts and barrel-aged beers and they’ll tell you that getting the yeast part down is the toughest part. The variety of yeast strains available, the conditions in which yeast thrives, the other ingredients in the barrel, and the aging process all affect the speed of fermentation, which in turn makes creating a consistent product difficult. It forces a brewer to be patient, to invest in yeasts that are as consistent as possible, and to be ready for lots of blending to ensure a desirable flavor.

For decades, the brewers of mass-produced beers have used yeast strains they can easily replicate, making it harder for them to produce beers with inconsistent flavor profiles. Craft brewers often revel in this variance, which gives them the opportunity to create signature flavors and sets them apart from their fizz-yellow forefathers. By genetically synthesizing new strains of yeast, it’s clear to me that those who’ll be able to initially afford this sort of technology in-house are the same folks who can afford two-million-dollar Super Bowl beer commercials. Add in the factors of a cheaper product on the shelves (long-term) sold with a higher average alcohol content and it could be a recipe for disaster for the craft beer industry.

Certainly there would be benefits to such advances and I’m in no way adverse to our scientific evolution as human beings, but sometimes nature just does these things better. As a progressive Portlander, always interested in our advancement, I want to see our world improve. Yet in this case, I only see it hurting the smallest brewers, who’d be crushed all for the sake of making a buck. So go ahead, fuck with nature – just keep it away from our craft beers. And please don’t come crying to me when all that’s left in the cooler are synthetically manufactured, monolithic piss lagers at 9% ABV.