Scientists have engineered brewer’s yeast to produce linalool and geraniol, molecules that are key parts of the hop flavor profile. This allowed them to produce beer with hoppy flavor without actually adding hops. I hope the links to the articles below will work for people without subscriptions.
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/03/scientists-have-brewed-hoppy-tasting-beer-without-hops
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-03293-x
Links work, interesting stuff. I wonder though why they chose linalool and geraniol. These are oils that European brewers specifically try to eliminate or minimize because they find the resulting beer has a more characteristic hop flavor and aroma. Maybe they’re just the first oils they were able to get yeast to produce. I also wonder what they did for bitterness. Hmm, maybe you could make a NEIPA this way!
In a NYT article they mention attempting to recreate the flavor of Cascade. Interesting that they comment about a hop shortage, I thought there was a glut.
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/03/20/science/craft-beer-hops.html?referer=https://www.google.com/
I think it takes a while for the word to get out.
Here is the paper. In the rest brews they added Galena hops for the bettering charge. The yeast replaced the flavor and aroma additions.
Interesting article. So, if you use fresh yeast every time and you are a microbiologist to ensure the same pitch every time, and you have excellent temperature controll, or you are an extremely large brewery that blends beers, I could see the consistency they claim. What I see is a GMO yeast meant for professional breweries. In the craft/home brew world where yeast washing, pouring on cake, fermenting in closets, and all types of yeast stressers exist, I think adjusting hops will still be easier. Besides, I brew craft beers for myself and my friends, I like the subtle variances from batch to batch.