Potential of non-Saccharomyces yeast to produce non-alcoholic beer

Abstract

Recently, non-Saccharomyces yeast have become very popular in wine and beer fermentation. Their interesting abilities introduce novel aromatic profiles to the fermented product. In this study, screening of eight non-Saccharomyces yeast (Starmerella bombicola, Lindnera saturnus, Lindnera jadinii, Zygosaccharomyces rouxii, Torulaspora delbrueckii, Pichia kluyveri, Candida pulcherrima, and Saccharomycodes ludwigii) revealed their potential in non-alcoholic beer production. Conditions for non-alcoholic beer production were optimised for all strains tested (except T. delbrueckii) with the best results obtained at temperature 10 to 15 °C for maximum of 10 days. Starmerella bombicola, an important industrial producer of biosurfactants, was used for beer production for the first time and was able to produce non-alcoholic beer even at 20°C after 10 days of fermentation. Aromatic profile of the beer fermented with S. bombicola was neutral with no negative impact on organoleptic properties of the beer. The most interesting organoleptic properties were evaluated in beers fermented with L. jadinii and L. saturnus, which produced banana-flavoured beers with low alcohol content. This work confirmed the suitability of mentioned yeast to produce non-alcoholic beers and could serve as a steppingstone for further investigation.

Keywords: fermentation; low-alcoholic beer; non-Saccharomyces yeast; non-alcoholic beer.