Delaware is the first state to have its own yeast. Gov. Jack
Markell signed a proclamation giving a yeast named Kloeckera
(apiculata) (strain KA 1) this designation, which is an honorary
title because the state legislature is not currently in session
to vote on the matter. The yeast is the key ingredient in
Delaware Native Ale, or DNA, a new, limited-time ale created by
Dogfish Head Brewery that features grown-in-Delaware hops, peach
and pear juices and other native ingredients. The light ale was
introduced recently at a mid-day gathering at the brewery’s pub
in Rehoboth Beach. Tom Evans and Nancy Gregory had every right
to feel like proud parents at the event – after all, they
isolated the yeast, identified it, and gave it its first home,
in laboratories in the University of Delaware’s College of
Agriculture and Natural Resources. Evans is a professor of plant
pathology in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences. Gregory
is a Cooperative Extension associate in that department who
works closely with Evans o