Scientists Create Beer Without Hops That Tastes ‘Hoppier’ Than Real Beer

American scientists have found a way to produce beer that will have a recognizable hop flavor but will not contain that plant, which is quite demanding to grow.

Scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, say that this technique could reduce the brewing industry’s dependence on hops, a ‘water-hungry’ and expensive crop, while the familiar aroma and taste of beer would remain unchanged.

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They described in an article in the journal Nature Communications how they managed to manipulate the genome of brewing yeast and add genes from mint and basil, which stimulated the production of aromas typically obtained by adding hops during the beer production process.

– By using techniques available to us, we were able to precisely control the metabolism to produce the right amount of hop aroma, said Jay Keasling, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Berkeley.

The process was not simple as the scientists had to add the same four genes to each chromosome set to create a stable yeast strain that would withstand the beer production process. The results were so convincing that employees of the nearby Lagunitas brewery said the lab beer was “hoppier” than the real thing.

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Hops are a plant that requires significant resources, so approximately 25 liters of water are needed just for the cultivation of the amount of hops necessary to produce half a liter of beer. Furthermore, a considerable amount of energy is required for processing, transporting, and storing hops.

In other words, creating an alternative hop aroma would save a lot of water and fertilizer, making the entire beer production process more environmentally sustainable. Scientists are hoping for just that.