Re: [DIYbio] Re: Anyone Interested in Working With Brewers Yeast?

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The azeotrope formed by methanol and ethanol is the reason that
methanol, a highly toxic compound, is used to "denature" ethanol for
tax-free sale. It's exceptionally hard to remove from the ethanol, so
it's legally assumed to be practically impossible; you'd buy taxed
ethanol for cheaper than you would do it DIY.

So yea, don't try to distil methylated alcohols and drink the results. :)

I still think a metabolomic approach might be really useful; try to
target the precursors of methanol, either by knocking out an enzyme
needed to make them (hoping thereby not to kill the cell) or by adding
a new enzyme to convert the precursor to something that won't get
fermented to methanol.

And yes, this isn't really necessary if you know what you're doing and
avoid fruit, but wouldn't it be nice to *not* have to know what you're
doing and still make nonlethal fruit wine? :)

On 03/21/2013 07:45 PM, Ben Hunt wrote:
> As a commercial distiller I can tell you that the methanol is a
> bogeyman. We are required by law to not have any in the wash, and
> we have to get tested regularly.
>
> The methanol myth comes from half-educated distillers that think
> they can distill the methanol out of denatured alcohol. In reality
> methanol and ethanol form an azeotrope so although you can get the
> stinky ketones off and a good amount of methanol, it's not possible
> to get enough out so it's not poisonous. All you do is make the
> poison taste better.
>
> Distillers yeast is a sadly untouched area of yeast manufacture.
> Most of the good ones keep them to themselves and there isn't a
> good enough market for home distillers or even microdistilleries to
> get people generating strains and selling them.
>
> two projects I always thought about doing
>
> -a yeast that made enough amylase to break down corn or rice
> starches: bourbon w/o a mash, barley, or enzymes.
>
> -gfp yeast for glow in a black light beer
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Sunday, March 17, 2013 1:26:14 PM UTC-5, Avery Ashley wrote:
>
> I attempt brewing every now and then just because it's an
> interesting process and its always fun to work with something you
> can consume. I don't know much about it, so I'm no pro. But I've
> been trying to think of a long term project and I though maybe
> engineering/selecting yeast for increased alcohol content and
> better ethanol to methanol ratios would be a doable, as well as
> rewarding process. In the end I'd like to end up with a strain that
> yielded a more potent, but also safer (due to less methanol) brew.
> The first thing I would focus on is (selecting?) for increased
> alcohol resistance, so that the yeast can stay alive and ferment
> longer leading to a higher alcohol content. Next I would work on
> the particulars of the alcohol produced.
>
> Anyone have any advice for a project like this? I suppose the
> first thing to do would be to find a yeast strain to begin with,
> does anyone know a good place to look? Also, would anyone be
> interested in a long distance collaboration?
>
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