Abstract
A recent application of molecular biology has been the development of DNA fingerprinting techniques, which have met with considerable success in the field of forensic science. Within the brewing industry, DNA fingerprinting has been proposed as a fresh approach to the problem of differentiating brewing strains with similar properties. As progress in molecular biology continues, so it seems likely that DNA fingerprinting methods will become more rapid and widespread. This paper reviews the information that has been gained so far from DNA fingerprinting, compares the existing methods and discusses the likely directions for future development.