The Bar Towel

...And Unlock the Future of Beer?

"Yeasts have 16 chromosomes, and we've just completed chromosome 3," Boeke says. "Now it's just a matter of money and time."

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science ... r-16637455

So how long before breweries "license" their yeast banks the way farmers are licensed their corn, wheat and soy?

icemachine wrote:So how long before breweries "license" their yeast banks the way farmers are licensed their corn, wheat and soy?

Do the yeast makers not already hold patents on their yeast? They'll never be able to work it like corn because the reproductive nature of yeast is critical to the brewing process.

squeaky wrote:

icemachine wrote:So how long before breweries "license" their yeast banks the way farmers are licensed their corn, wheat and soy?

Do the yeast makers not already hold patents on their yeast? They'll never be able to work it like corn because the reproductive nature of yeast is critical to the brewing process.

Farmers used to rely on saving seed from one year to the next. GE crops changed that as Percy Schmeiser found out. Although I can see brewers being allowed to repitch with GE yeast strains it might be under a licensing arrangement of some kind, X dollars per hec.

I can't speak to patents on yeast strains currently available, perhaps a professional brewer or someone with more knowledge could comment