Beer drinkers will soon be supping a finer brew, thanks to a series of major advances by CSIRO Plant Industry scientists.

"We now have the genes which can control qualities of beer and the barley grain itself," said Dr Jake Jacobsen, leader of CSIRO's Barley Improvement Program. "We also have a new means of inserting them into barley."

Dr Jacobson said that maltsters and brewers will have a better malting barley that gives them a better fermentation and a trouble-free processing line, while consumers will benefit from a better (and clearer) product.

"We have the genes which control qualities of the barley grain itself, such as beta glucan which can lead to haziness in beer. We also have genes which prevent barley from making tannins that are the major cause of haze," said Dr Jacobsen.

At the farm level, the team of scientists is using genetic enhancement to create resistance against costly diseases such as Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus and Leaf Scald.

However the biggest immediate breakthrough has come from the development of the new, more efficient means of inserting the genes into the barley plant, which uses bacteria to "taxi" the gene into the plant cell.

"This development will dramatically speed up the next phase of the project, which is to actually put the better-beer genes into the barley plant. We should then be able to start field trials, and the first genetically enhanced beer could be on the market before the end of the century."

Funding for the project has come from maltsters, brewers and barley growers through the Grains Research and Development Corporation, as well as the Plant Science Centre and CSIRO Plant Industry.

More information from: Dr Jake Jacobsen 06-2465464 or Lina Nichele 06-2465077, 2476432 (a.h.)