Dive Brief:
- Biotech company BioTork has engineered strains of yeast that demonstrate increased ethanol yields and decreased time needed for fermentation, according to a news release.
- "The yeasts employed to ferment traditional whiskey substrates are often not capable of fully fermenting the grain substrate, leaving potential revenues on the table in the form of unmade ethanol and resulting in higher costs due to the need to clean distillation columns more frequently," per the news release.
- BioTork hopes to remedy this challenge by developing strains of yeast derived from currently used distillery strains that can produce up to 20% more ethanol. Also, the fermentation time can be 1 to 2 days shorter compared to traditional whiskey worts, the liquid extracted during the mashing process.
Dive Insight:
To the benefit of a growing U.S. and global base of whiskey-drinking consumers, increased yields could mean a larger supply and potentially lower prices for whiskey at retail. It's unclear whether the byproducts of these whiskey strains would be exclusively for non-premium varieties, premium varieties or both. Regardless, it's likely that consumers would welcome lower prices on their whiskey selections, including the premium varieties they continue to splurge on.
A more feasible obstacle could be convincing health-conscious consumers of the safety and quality of whiskey made with genetically engineered yeast strains. GMOs have been a source of much debate and contention in recent years among food and beverage companies, industry trade groups, legislators, consumers and public health advocates.
However, what many consumers may not realize is that many whiskey brands are already genetically modified because of their use of GMO corn, which comprises the vast majority of corn produced in the U.S. Corn must comprise 51% of a bourbon recipe to earn that categorization, and distillers don't have a large enough non-GMO or organic corn supply to meet the increased demand for whiskey and bourbon among consumers nationally and abroad.
While GM yeast strains may improve yields and fermentation time, farmers and manufacturers still have to consider the global audience, which is also clamoring for American-made whiskey and bourbon. European and Asian markets routinely reject food and beverage products made with GM ingredients, so employing these ingredients strains could limit sales of the end products to domestic sales.