[hopfenundmalz]

I wonder when brewers yeast patents will come into the picture.

I don't think you can patent a living organism...

See Monsanto

I'm not saying it's right, but it might happen.

You can't patent brewers yeast any more than you can patent corn.  Monsanto can patent GMO corn, but that's because they've actually added something to it and it is no longer just corn.  If a brewery created a GMO strain for brewing then they could patent that.

Would Amarillo be considered GMO? No DNA splicing was done to create it. Does selective breeding count as GMO? From my understanding, it was discovered by happenstance and just turned out to be awesome.

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect2=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&d=PALL&RefSrch=yes&Query=PN/PP14127

Edit -- I am asking these questions out of curiosity, not trolling.

I am not a scientist, but my understanding is that Amarillo would not be GMO. GMO takes the genes from a different species and splices them with something else.  Amarillo is the result of different hop varieties breeding with one another.

The way I read this, you could patent an unique yeast. Asexual reproduction, and yeast are a fungus.

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/plant/

[yso191]

I don't know if Conan is patented/licensed/proprietary or not, but the guy at Giga Yeast sure took pains to avoid saying it was Conan/Heady Topper yeast.  Here is the exchange:

"I have been trying to get a couple of cans of Heady Topper from the Alchemist Brewery so that I could culture the yeast.  Is Vermont IPA Yeast GY054 a reasonable facsimile thereof?

Hi Steve,
GY054 has properties that make it outstanding for hop forward beers like an IPA.  Namely, it leaves a slight residual sweetness that balances hop bitterness and a touch of tropical flavors that are brilliant with aromatic hops.  Will your beer taste exactly like Heady Topper if you brew it with GY054?  Probably not.  There are just too many factors that go into making a particular brew.  That being said, if you want a hint of sweetness and some tropical overtones in your IPA you'll be very happy with the results."

A simple yes or no would have been preferred.  Ah, such is life.

[hopfenundmalz]

I don't know if Conan is patented/licensed/proprietary or not, but the guy at Giga Yeast sure took pains to avoid saying it was Conan/Heady Topper yeast.  Here is the exchange:

"I have been trying to get a couple of cans of Heady Topper from the Alchemist Brewery so that I could culture the yeast.  Is Vermont IPA Yeast GY054 a reasonable facsimile thereof?

Hi Steve,
GY054 has properties that make it outstanding for hop forward beers like an IPA.  Namely, it leaves a slight residual sweetness that balances hop bitterness and a touch of tropical flavors that are brilliant with aromatic hops.  Will your beer taste exactly like Heady Topper if you brew it with GY054?  Probably not.  There are just too many factors that go into making a particular brew.  That being said, if you want a hint of sweetness and some tropical overtones in your IPA you'll be very happy with the results."

A simple yes or no would have been preferred.  Ah, such is life.

Probably for the same reasons that Wyeast and White Labs do the same.

[tschmidlin]

The way I read this, you could patent an unique yeast. Asexual reproduction, and yeast are a fungus.

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/plant/

Right, but I think proving uniqueness would be a challenge unless you have done some genetic manipulation.