The importance of yeast.
I don't know who decided that the importance of yeast has been underestimated but it certainly was not a brewer.
Breweries go to great lengths to "protect" their yeast. This includes maintaining cultures at two independent laboratories and growing up a new culture from a single cell every 8 to 12 generations and maintaining "backups".
In emergency procedures manuals it is not unusual to find yeast preservation as a priority. During normal production yeast quality is monitored more carefully than the average baby's health.
(I am both a father and a brewer)
Biting the hand that feeds IT
