The first breaking point in 2014 came unexpectedly.

"There are detailed reports that several of the world's major beer giants have encountered product contamination problems, which are likely to cause an unprecedented global beer production reduction accident...... "US media reports.

"Initial findings have arisen with hops, and scientists suspect that a hidden infectious disease is spreading in hops, causing an unknown change in this important brewing ingredient......" British media outlets.

"At present, it is not known how many hops are infected. Some experts predict that beer production in the United States could be cut in half, and beer production in Europe will be cut by a third, depending on the situation...... At this point, global beer prices began to soar, with the largest increases in Europe and South America......" German media reported.

"There is no pollution in China's domestic beer production, and beer prices remain stable for the time being......" domestic media reported.

Hops are an indispensable raw material for beer brewing, and it forms the unique freshness and bitterness of beer, and is known as the soul of beer.

Now, the soul is in trouble, and you can imagine how bad the beer industry is.

"Global...... Accident?!" When He Changchuan of Qingyuan Beer received the first-hand news, he looked at Qi Zheng's eyes indescribably, just like seeing a man who was like a god, calling for wind and rain, and slaying dragons for thousands of miles...... Great God Stick.

Can it not be God? Saying that there is an opportunity for change this year, this is not, and the earth-shattering opportunity has come.

There are some things that Qi Zheng can't explain, but fortunately, he doesn't need to explain.

The head of the hop breeding team at Jiagu Lab gave an "authoritative" explanation: "When we were interpreting the hop genome last year, we found a diseased gene in hop samples from the United States...... Now it seems that the situation is much more serious than we expected. ”

He Changchuan suddenly realized, fortunately, the boss is still a normal person, otherwise the pressure will go to heaven.

Qi Zheng saw it in his eyes and laughed in his heart.

Is this the real reason for his "iron-clad assertion"?

Yes and no.

The lesion gene is real, but its appearance is actually the handiwork of someone else.

The "Nine Revolutions Nirvana Array", through certain frequencies, mutagenesis a gene of hops - what Qi Zheng called the fermentation expression gene.

Hops are produced in places that are too concentrated, such as hop farms in the northwestern United States, where 75% of all hops are grown, in other words, too convenient for someone to do it.

The bureau began to be deployed three years ago, and it has only now entered the outbreak stage.

......

Almost at the same time, in the largest brewery in the United States, Brito, president of AB InBev, just obtained the reason why Qingyuan beer products appeared in the United States through the results of the investigation of the marketing department.

"You're saying that Qingyuan beer is all smuggled from Mexico?" Brito was dumbfounded.

The head of the marketing department didn't know what to say: "There is a group of niche consumers in China who are very fond of 'Bingyuan' beer, which has driven the market. The Mexicans saw an opportunity to import 'ice-source' beer from Southeast Asian countries and smuggle it into our ......"

Smuggling is actually a traditional Mexican art. It's just that this secret passage connecting the U.S.-Mexico border used to be a "unique road", but now it has become a "beer road", which is really laughable.

The key is profit. The price of "Qingyuan" beer smuggled into the United States is five or six times the normal price, and it is easy to sell. As a result, in addition to the legal fanatics, many people who work in the United States and live in Mexico take advantage of the policy of being able to bring a certain amount of alcohol into the country duty-free, and under the organization of the vendors, they have become an army of human flesh and beer, and ants move to bring "Qingyuan" beer into the country.

It is still unknown whether there is a figure of Qingyuan beer behind this.

But Britto shook his head dejectedly: "It doesn't matter anymore, now, everything has to make way for the resumption of production." ”

After speaking, he looked at the production line outside the isolation window.

Here, the rice and malt needed for beer production are weighed and ground and poured into a gelatinizing pot and a mash pot, respectively. The two are mixed and filtered out of solids, and then hops are added to give them the grain flavor and aroma of beer. After boiling, a large amount of oatmeal-like flocculent is produced in the pot, which is processed by a rotating strainer and then fermented with yeast.

Yeast, which is only four microns in size, is at the heart of beer brewing and determines the beer's DNA. Different beers have different yeast strains, and it determines the final taste of the beer.

AB InBev's commonly used yeast is stored in the laboratory in St. Louis, USA, and then centrally transported to the technical centers of each brewery. Because yeast is highly susceptible to environmental disturbances, irradiating it with ultraviolet rays or light can produce powerful irritation.

Now, the yeast doesn't know what stimulated it to make ...... Very "tasty" beer.

After Chief Technologist Hanger completed his physicochemical analysis, Britto couldn't wait to ask, "Professor, have you found the problem?"

Hanger took a deep breath before waving his hand and said, "It can be determined that it is a newly harvested hops, some of which have been diseased, and after fermentation with yeast, they have a peculiar smell." ”

"Is it toxic?" Britto asked nervously.

Hanger relieved himself at this time, smacked his lips and said: "There is no toxicity, it simply produces a foul smell, and even the main components of the beer have not changed much." If anyone can get used to the taste, they might even love this unique beer. ”

"I like ......," Brito nearly squirted out a mouthful of old blood.

Seeing Brito's expression as if he had been hit by a car, Hanger also gave an intimate example: "This is a bit like a kind of food that Chinese like - smelly tofu, although it smells bad, but it tastes fine." ”

Britto grinded his teeth, tempting to kick Hangel into the beer keg.

Britto swears that if he dared to put it on the market, consumers would dare to sue Budweiser for bankruptcy.

Britto endured and endured before asking, "So, Professor, what are the characteristics of diseased hops?"

Hanger shook his head repeatedly: "That's the problem. From the outside, you can't find any problems. It only manifests itself when it is genetically sequenced, or when fermented with yeast. Judging from the distribution of the hops in question, this should be a contagious but not 100% infectious disease......"

Brito's face was extremely ugly: "I know, Professor, please continue to study deeply, if there is anything to cooperate with the company, just say." ”

After saying that, he walked to the other side and called AB InBev's largest shareholder: "Mr. Lehman, I think we may be officially facing a beer 'famine'!"

......