Grant: College and Community Innovation Program - Entry Level

proposal aims to found a centre for molecular biology, biochemistry, and bioinformatics research that would*support the craft brewing industry in BC. It will initially do so by pursuing three specific projects: 1) Develop*tools for early detection of beer spoilage. This research is in partnership with Parallel 49 brewing and aims to*characterize the mechanism of ""spoiled"" beer by extracting DNA and sequencing known marker genes to*identify species/strains associated with spoilage. It aims to deliver a simple diagnostic tool to identify common*spoilage microbes; 2) Develop a tool to assess yeast degradation. Also in partnership with Parallel 49 brewing,*this project will characterize the mechanisms of yeast degradation. Its deliverable will be an on-site binding*assay to assess the state of degradation for yeast prior to pitching them in beer; 3) Lineage analyses of wild BC*hops to support novel product development. This project is in partnership with HOOH Organic Hop Company,*and will involve developing and using genetic markers to identify the varietal types of wild BC hops. These*heirloom hops represent an opportunity to develop unique and marketable hops varietal. 4) Chemical and*microbial analyses of barrel-aged ""premium"" beer. Also in partnership with Parallel 49 brewing, this project*aims to understand how unique flavour profiles are created during barrel-aging, a process that introduces an*unknown set of microbial species into mature beer, allowing secondary anaerobic metabolism to occur, which*produces complex and unique flavours that command a premium value in the beer market. We seek to culture*the microbial strains responsible for specific flavour elements, which would allow their optimal inoculation in*beer in order to improve the product of the barrel-aging process.