Brewmaster Harvests Bespoke Yeast from Own Beard

Lindsay Beyerstein October 8, 2012

One beer brewer in Oregon is taking the concept of “locally grown” to a new extreme, using yeast harvested from his beard to make signature ale. Not satisfied with growing his own barley, hops and honey, John Maier of Rogue Ales turned to his facial hair in order to find new flavors.

To cultivate his very own yeast, Maier took nine hairs from his beard — which he says he hasn’t shaved since 1978 — and sent them to a lab in California for testing. [Smithsonian Mag]

I shudder to think what his Christmas ale will be like.

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Lindsay Beyerstein is an award-winning investigative journalist and In These Times staff writer who writes the blog Duly Noted. Her stories have appeared in Newsweek, Salon, Slate, The Nation, Ms. Magazine, and other publications. Her photographs have been published in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times’ City Room. She also blogs at The Hillman Blog (http://www.hillmanfoundation.org/hillmanblog), a publication of the Sidney Hillman Foundation, a non-profit that honors journalism in the public interest.