I’m no scientist, but I have a hard time believing that a yeast gene is responsible for a beer’s head. I’ve always thought that there were multiple factors at work in determining head retention, most of which are completely unrelated to yeast.
I am not a scientist either but I think the researcher was likely dumbing down the details to make the reporters feel like they understood the findings. How yeast processes the huge number of compounds in wort will certainly have an effect on every aspect of a beer. The presence or dominance of a single gene may very well contribute foam stability but I don’t see it as the only factor. If the compounds the gene acts on aren’t there you won’t get any foam.
It’s interesting that people are working on this type of thing and that they made a connection that could useful in the industry. I’ll still add a little wheat to my grain bill if I need a bit more foam forthe time being.
All of this is IMHO, of course.
Paul
Good point. Hadn’t thought of it like that.
Yeah I have the original publication from October 31 of this year. The study was done with weihenstephan lager strain for comparison. Since lager and ale yeast are different species, it raises the question whether or not it’s also true for ales. Still interesting. I was planning to do a little homebrewer-friendly digest of that material in the upcoming weeks.