In spring 2014, the North Carolina Science Festival overlapped with the World Beer Festival in Raleigh, and representatives of the festival approached Sheppard about developing an exhibit on the science of brewing. They suggested Sheppard work with NC State biologist Rob Dunn to find wild yeasts and use them to make beers that could be sampled by patrons at the World Beer Festival. It could be, they said, a tasty and accessible way to get people interested in the microbial biology of the natural world.
And then Anne Madden, a post doc in Dunn’s lab got involved:
Madden is a postdoctoral microbiologist affiliated with both Dunn’s lab at NC State and Noah Fierer’s lab at the University of Colorado. In her official capacity as a postdoc, she studies the microorganisms of the “built environment” — particularly, how insects and other arthropods introduce microorganisms to homes, workplaces and other buildings. She is, in other words, an expert on the microscopic organisms that live on insects.
Before joining the Dunn lab, Madden did extensive work on the microbial communities found on paper wasps. Because of that background, she knew that wasps are home to communities of yeasts, some of which are associated with winemaking. Maybe one of those yeasts would work for brewing, she thought.
Read more about this and related activities here: From the Lab Bench to the Beer Glass | NC State News.