The American Barley Malting Association goes as far as getting a statement from the USDA that there are no transgenic GMO barleys for sale or in commercial production in the US. Of course that doesn't include mutagenic varieties like Golden Promise, but people only seem to be afraid of CRISPR for some reason.
I dont understand the point of this. I use lager yeast for a clean fermentation profile. Why would I want huge fruity flavors from my lager yeast?
Why would you want this? Maybe you don't want the esters you'd get from an ale yeast, or a little crisper finish. Why would you want another tropical new world hop? Why would you make an american noble style hop when there's Saaz, Hallertau, Magnum, etc. Maybe it's something new and great, or maybe it doesn't work. At the very least, it seems like it doesn't take nearly as long to develop as a new hop/barley variety and is a better way to differentiate yourself from the other dozen yeast companies putting out Cal ale and 34/70.