THE EFFECT OF YEAST TREHALOSE CONTENT AT PITCHING ON FERMENTATION PERFORMANCE DURING BREWING FERMENTATIONS

The effect of yeast trehalose content at pitching on the fermentation performance during brewing fermentations was studied using a commercial strain of lager yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (AJL 2155). Pitching yeasts with different trehalose contents were obtained by collecting cells in suspension after 96 h and 144 h of fermentation in EBC tubes in 10.8°P brewers wort at 14°C. The trehalose content of the pitching yeast had no effect on growth, specific gravity and ethanol production during the subsequent fermentation. A high trehalose content of the pitching yeast, however, sustained cell viability during the initial stage of fermentation, increased the carbohydrate utilisation rate and increased the production of isoamyl alcohol and isobutanol. For these aspects of fermentation performance, the trehalose content of the pitching yeast may prove useful in evaluating the vitality of pitching yeasts within the brewery .     

Disruption of ubiquitin-related genes in laboratory yeast strains enhances ethanol production during sake brewing

Sake yeast can produce high levels of ethanol in concentrated rice mash. While both sake and laboratory yeast strains belong to the species Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the laboratory strains produce much less ethanol. This disparity in fermentation activity may be due to the strains' different responses to environmental stresses, including ethanol accumulation. To obtain more insight into the stress response of yeast cells under sake brewing conditions, we carried out small-scale sake brewing tests using laboratory yeast strains disrupted in specific stress-related genes. Surprisingly, yeast strains with disrupted ubiquitin-related genes produced more ethanol than the parental strain during sake brewing. The elevated fermentation ability conferred by disruption of the ubiquitin-coding gene UBI4 was confined to laboratory strains, and the ubi4 disruptant of a sake yeast strain did not demonstrate a comparable increase in ethanol production. These findings suggest different roles for ubiquitin in sake and laboratory yeast strains.     

Altered Patterns of Maltose and Glucose Fermentation by Brewing and Wine Yeasts Influenced by the Complexity of Nitrogen Source

Maltose and glucose fermentations by industrial brewing and wine yeasts strains were strongly affected by the structural complexity of the nitrogen source. In this study, four Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains, two brewing and two wine yeasts, were grown in a medium containing maltose or glucose supplemented with a nitrogen source varying from a single ammonium salt (ammonium sulfate) to free amino acids (casamino acids) and peptides (peptone). Diauxie was observed at low sugar concentration for brewing and wine strains, independent of nitrogen supplementation, and the type of sugar. At high sugar concentrations altered patterns of sugar fermentation were observed, and biomass accumulation and ethanol production depended on the nature of the nitrogen source and were different for brewing and wine strains. In maltose, high biomass production was observed under peptone and casamino acids for the brewing and wine strains, however efficient maltose utilization and high ethanol production was only observed in the presence of casamino acids for one brewing and one wine strain studied. Conversely, peptone and casamino acids induced higher biomass and ethanol production for the two other brewing and wine strains studied. With glucose, in general, peptone induced higher fermentation performance for all strains, and one brewing and wine strain produced the same amount of ethanol with peptone and casamino acids supplementation. Ammonium salts always induced poor yeast performance. The results described in this paper suggest that the complex nitrogen composition of the cultivation medium may create conditions resembling those responsible for inducing sluggish/stuck fermentation, and indicate that the kind and concentration of sugar, the complexity of nitrogen source and the yeast genetic background influence optimal industrial yeast fermentation performance.     

Optimisation of High Gravity and Diet Beer Production in a German Brewery by Flow Cytometry

Increasing the quantity of beer production without diminishing the quality of the product is a key concern of the beer producing industry. Modifications to the brewery's equipment and settings are the most commonly used methods to improve the brewing process, while the supreme importance of the physiological state of the beer producing organisms, the yeast cells, for the productivity of the brewing process is often poorly recognised. The work described here was designed to optimise two processes: the inoculation regime used to produce high gravity bottom-fermenting beer, and the production of high quality diet beer. To achieve these aims, flow cytometry was used to follow changes in the distribution of DNA, neutral lipid and 3β-hydroxsterol contents in Saccharomyces carlsbergensis strains during inoculation, fermentation and storage. This allowed potential time-saving alterations in the process to be identified. Double staining techniques proved that vigorous fermentative activity and long-term survival capacity during main and secondary fermentation requires intense multiplication of the yeast cells during inoculation. The production of high gravity beer was then enhanced by altering the schedule of the wort additions, and thus increasing the yeast's activities related to multiplication. To produce diet beer, oligosaccharides that remain after the standard brewing process are degraded by adding small amounts of wort, usually during secondary fermentation. However, during this period of fermentation the physiological activity of the yeast cells is hampered by low carbon and high ethanol concentrations. Adding small batches of wort at carefully defined time points and in optimised amounts, even during the main fermentation, improves the physiological state of the yeast cells and rapidly decreases the carbon concentration within the fermentation tank. Both of these factors help to promote quick fermentation to a high quality diet beer. Thus, the flow cytometric investigations provided a reliable basis for identifying effective means of improving the process regime for brewing both of these products.     

Mitochondrial dynamics of yeast during sake brewing

The presence of mitochondria during alcohol fermentation has not been studied. Here, we examined the yeast mitochondrial structure during sake brewing using the green fluorescent protein. Mitochondrial structures were observed throughout brewing and they fragmented as brewing proceeded. This study is the first to show direct evidence of the presence of mitochondria during alcohol fermentation.     

The Dynamic Changes of Proton Efflux Rate in Saccharomyces pastorianus Strains During High Gravity or Very High Gravity Brewing

The changes in the proton efflux rate (PER) during fermentation of normal gravity (NG), high gravity (HG) and very high gravity (VHG) wort by a lager yeast (Saccharomyces pastorianus) were monitored using an optimized PER test method. The values of the proton efflux rate in S. pastorianus decreased with increasing initial wort gravity. Moreover, the difference in the proton efflux rate values at the beginning of the fermentation was lower than at the end of fermentation from normal gravity to very high gravity brewing. These results demonstrated that the proton efflux rate in S. pastorianus was inhibited in the later stages of high gravity and very high gravity brewing. Furthermore, the changes of the proton efflux rate in S. pastorianus under the high ethanol concentration conditions appeared to depend on the concentration of ethanol in the fermentation liquid. A better negative correlation (P > 0.001, r = ?0.95) between the ethanol concentration at >4% (w/v) and the proton efflux rate was found. The changes of the proton efflux rate in the cells treated with exogenous ethanol confirmed that higher concentrations of ethanol could significantly inhibit proton efflux in S. pastorianus. This study offers a possible way to monitor and explain the performance of yeast in the complex environment of high gravity and very high gravity brewing.     

Effects of Lipid‐Transfer Protein from Malting Barley Grain on Brewers Yeast Fermentation

A lipid‐transfer protein (LTP), which belongs to a family of pathogenesis‐related (PR) proteins, was isolated from malting barley grain. This LTP significantly decreased fermentation and respiration of brewers yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and caused the leakage of cell constituents. These effects were dose dependent tending to saturation at higher concentrations (～ 200 μg/mg yeast dry weight cells). It was found that LTP survives the thermal treatment during the mashing process. Despite yeast fermentation inhibition in vitro, this LTP did not appear to cause impairment of yeast fermentation capability in the brewing process.     

Effect of Sugar Catabolite Repression in Correlation with the Structural Complexity of the Nitrogen Source on Yeast Growth and Fermentation

Biomass and ethanol production by industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains were strongly affected by the structural complexity of the nitrogen source during fermentation in media containing galactose, and supplemented with a nitrogen source varying from a single ammonium salt (ammonium sulfate) to free amino acids (casamino acids) and peptides (peptone). Diauxie was observed at low galactose concentrations independent of nitrogen supplementation. At high sugar concentrations altered patterns of galactose utilisation were observed. Biomass accumulation and ethanol production depended on the nature of the nitrogen source and were different for baking and brewing ale and lager strains. Baking yeast showed improved galactose fermentation performance in the medium supplemented with casamino acids. High biomass production was observed with peptone and casamino acids for the ale brewing strain, however high ethanol production was observed only in the presence of casamino acids. Conversely, peptone was the nitrogen supplement that induced higher biomass and ethanol production for the lager brewing strain. Ammonium salts always induced poor yeast performance. The results with galactose differed from those obtained with glucose and maltose which indicated that supplementation with a nitrogen source in the peptide form (peptone) was more positive for yeast metabolism, suggesting that sugar catabolite repression has a central role in yeast performance in a medium containing nitrogen sources with differing levels of structural complexity.     

Construction of a brewing yeast expressing the glucoamylase gene STA1 by mating

Standard brewing yeast cannot utilize larger oligomers or dextrins, which represent about 25% of wort sugars. A brewing yeast strain that could ferment these additional sugars to ethanol would be useful for producing low‐carbohydrate diabetic or low‐calorie beers. In this study, a brewing yeast strain that secretes glucoamylase was constructed by mating. The resulting Saccharomyces cerevisiae 278/113371 yeast was MAT a/α diploid, but expressed the glucoamylase gene STA1 . At the early phase of the fermentation test in malt extract medium, the fermentation rate of the diploid STA1 strain was slower than those of both the parent strain S. cerevisiae MAFF113371 and the reference strain bottom‐fermenting yeast Weihenstephan 34/70. At the later phase of the fermentation test, however, the fermentation rate of the STA1 yeast strain was faster than those of the other strains. The concentration of ethanol in the culture supernatant of the STA1 yeast strain after the fermentation test was higher than those of the others. The concentration of all maltooligosaccharides in the culture supernatant of the STA1 yeast strain after the fermentation test was lower than those of the parent and reference strains, whereas the concentrations of flavour compounds in the culture supernatant were higher. These effects are due to the glucoamylase secreted by the constructed STA1 yeast strain. In summary, a glucoamylase‐secreting diploid yeast has been constructed by mating that will be useful for producing novel types of beer owing to its different fermentation pattern and concentrations of ethanol and flavour compounds. Copyright © 2017 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling     

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YEAST CELL PROLIFERATION AND INTRACELLULAR ESTERASE ACTIVITY DURING BREWING FERMENTATIONS

Flow cytometry was used for the determination of the intracellular esterase activity of unstressed and stressed Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells using fluorescein diacetate as substrate during brewing fermentations in EBC tubes. The determination of intracellular esterase activity by flow cytometry was compared with in vitro assays for determination of yeast esterase activity. The method was regarded valid with a high degree of reproducibility. Intracellular esterase activity during brewing fermentations was dependent on the yeast strain applied but independent of the wort compositions applied within this study. Further, the intracellular esterase activity during fermentation was correlated with cell proliferation determined by DNA staining and flow cytometry and by calculating the percentage of G1-phase cells. Yeast esterase activity in both unstressed and ethanol stressed cells followed a similar pattern during brewing fermentations. Furthermore, this pattern could be correlated with the percentage of G1-phase cells during fermentation indicating that the esterase activity was in some way related to cell cycle progression .     

The effect of hopping regime,cultivar and β‐glucosidase activity on monoterpene alcohol concentrations in wort and beer

Previous studies show that the complexity of hop aroma in beer can be partly attributed to the hydrolysis of glycosidically bound monoterpene alcohols extracted from hops during the brewing process to release volatile aglycones. However, fundamental studies that examine the extraction of glycosides during brewing and their subsequent hydrolysis by yeast have not been performed. Furthermore, extraction of other hop‐derived compounds into beer shows a strong dependency on the hop cultivar being used and the point at which it is added. This study focused on the extent of glycoside extraction owing to hopping regime and cultivar, and their hydrolysis by yeast β‐glucosidase activity. Glycoside concentrations of wort made with three different hopping regimes and three cultivars were measured by the difference in volatile aglycone concentrations between samples treated with purified β‐glucosidase and untreated samples. Aglycone concentrations were measured by solid‐phase microextraction gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Additionally, β‐glucosidase activities for 80 different yeast strains and their effect on aglycone concentration in wort were determined. Results showed that yeast have a wide range of abilities to hydrolyse glycosides with a maximum hydrolysis occurring after 3 days of fermentation regardless of yeast activity. Although it was shown that yeast are capable of glycoside hydrolysis, glycoside concentrations in wort are low and make small contributions to hop aroma. These results help explain the extent to which different brewing yeasts and hopping regimes contribute to hoppy beer aroma through the hydrolysis of non‐volatile hop‐derived compounds. Copyright © 2017 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling     

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Biodiversity During the Brewing Process of an Artisanal Beer: A Preliminary Study

In this study we investigated the biodiversity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae during the brewing of an artisanal beer, as well as during its storage in the bottle for 107 days at 20°C. After inoculation with an active dried yeast (ADY), the yeast counts were followed during fermentation and after bottling. Yeast loads remained stable at 10⁶–10⁷ colony forming units (cfu)/mL, and only after day 21, were they were reduced to 10⁴ cfu/mL. After three months in the bottle they spanned 10²–10⁵ cfu/mL. Almost all isolated yeasts were identified as S. cerevisiae and after molecular characterization, unexpected results were obtained. The ADY did not take over the fermentation process and only after 21 days did isolates from the beer share similarities with the inoculated strain. During storage, a high diversity was found, underlining that each bottle developed its own micro‐ecosystem. This study highlighted the necessity for better investigations of S. cerevisiae population dynamics during artisanal brewing. Even when the chemical parameters measured confirmed a correct fermentation process, the inoculated strain was not the main yeast involved in the fermentation and consequently, the final product may have different sensory characteristics from the ones expected by the producers.     

Evidence of Antimycin‐Insensitive Respiration in a Commercial Brewing Yeast

The presence of antimycin‐insensitive respiration in an industrial brewing yeast strain (Saccharomyces cerevisiae AJL 2036) was confirmed by studying the effects of antimycin A (inhibits electron transfer from cyt b to c₁) on brewing yeast performance in the presence and absence of oxygen. The inhibitor sodium azide was also used to assess whether blocking electron transfer further downstream of the antimycin‐effective site eliminated the enhanced fermentation parameters observed in the presence of antimycin A. Oligomycin, an inhibitor of the mitrochondrial membrane ATPase, was also used to determine the importance of intramitochondrial ATP synthesis on the observed effects. Fermentations were monitored for overall performance and beer quality indicators. The measured parameters showed no changes due to oligomycin addition indicating that the major source of energy in the cells was cytoplasmically‐generated via glycolysis. Results from the fermentations in the presence of antimycin A confirmed the existence of an alternative respiratory pathway, the stimulation of which resulted in improved fermentative performance. It is postulated that antimycin A enhanced the fermentation rate by increasing the amount of yeast growth. This caused a direct pull on yeast metabolism including fermentative activity. The mechanism was postulated to involve an increased supply of critical growth intermediates in the presence of antimycin A rather than an increased intramitochondrial energy supply per se.     

The Horace Brown Medal Lecture: Forty Years of Brewing Research

Horace Brown spent fifty years conducting brewing research in Burton‐on‐Trent, Dublin and London. His contributions were remarkable and his focus was to solve practical brewing problems by employing and developing fundamental scientific principles. He studied all aspects of the brewing process including raw materials, wort preparation, fermentation, yeast and beer stability. As a number of previous presenters of the Horace Brown Lecture have discussed Brown's achievements in detail, the focus of this paper is a review of the brewing research that has been conducted by the author and his colleagues during the past forty years. Similar to Horace Brown, fundamental research has been employed to solve brewing problems. Research studies that are discussed in this review paper include reasons for premature flocculation of ale strains resulting in wort underattenuation including mechanisms of co‐flocculation and pure strain flocculation, storage procedures for yeast cultures prior to propagation, studies on the genetic manipulation of brewer's yeast strains with an emphasis on the FLO1 gene, spheroplast fusion and the respiratory deficient (petite) mutation, the uptake and metabolism of wort sugars and amino acids, the influence of wort density on fermentation characteristics and beer flavour and stability, and finally, the contribution that high gravity brewing has on brewing capacity, fermentation efficiency and beer quality and stability.     

KAR1-MEDIATED TRANSFORMATION OF BREWING YEAST

Transfer of plasmid between nuclei has been observed in heterokaryons obtained from kar1 × KAR1 crosses³. On this basis, brewing yeast strain CC45 was forced to mate with K5-5A, a kar1 laboratory strain bearing plasmid YEpCR21. This multicopy plasmid carries the gene cyh2 and determines a dominant resistance to cycloheximide . Heteroplasmons having a CC45 nucleus and hosting YEpCR21 were obtained. Plasmid stability and brewing performance have been studied. The utility of kar1-mediated plasmid transference as an alternative method to transform brewing yeast is discussed. Advantages of YEpCR21 as a vector cloning for brewing yeast are considered as well .     

Evaluation of ITS PCR and RFLP for Differentiation and Identification of Brewing Yeast and Brewery ‘Wild’ Yeast Contaminants

A reference library of ITS PCR/RFLP profiles was collated and augmented to evaluate its potential for routine identification of domestic brewing yeast and known ‘wild’ yeast contaminants associated with wort, beer and brewing processes. This library contains information on band sizes generated by restriction digestion of the ribosomal RNA‐encoding DNA (rDNA) internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region consisting of the 5.8 rRNA gene and two flanking regions (ITS1 and ITS2) with the endonucleases CfoI, HaeIII, HinfI and includes strains from 39 non‐Saccharomyces yeast species as well as for brewing and non‐brewing strains of Saccharomyces. The efficacy of the technique was assessed by isolation of 59 wild yeasts from industrial fermentation vessels and conditioning tanks and by matching their ITS amplicon sizes and RFLP profiles with those of the constructed library. Five separate, non‐introduced yeast taxa were putatively identified. These included Pichia species, which were associated with conditioning tanks and Saccharomyces species isolated from fermentation vessels. Strains of the lager yeast S. pastorianus could be reliably identified as belonging to either the Saaz or Frohberg hybrid group by restriction digestion of the ITS amplicon with the enzyme HaeIII. Frohberg group strains could be further sub‐grouped depending on restriction profiles generated with HinfI.     

Structural Complexity of the Nitrogen Source and Influence on Yeast Growth and Fermentation

The structural complexity of the nitrogen source strongly affects both biomass and ethanol production by industrial strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, during fermentation in media containing glucose or maltose, and supplemented with a nitrogen source varying from a single ammonium salt (ammonium sulfate) to free amino acids (casamino acids) and peptides (peptone). Diauxie was observed at low glucose and maltose concentrations independent of nitrogen supplementation. At high sugar concentrations diauxie was not easily observed, and growth and ethanol production depended on the nature of the nitrogen source. This was different for baking and brewing ale and lager yeast strains. Sugar concentration had a strong effect on the shift from oxido‐fermentative to oxidative metabolism. At low sugar concentrations, biomass production was similar under both peptone and casamino acid supplementation. Under casamino acid supplementation, the time for metabolic shift increased with the glucose concentration, together with a decrease in the biomass production. This drastic effect on glucose fermentation resulted in the extinction of the second growth phase, probably due to the loss of cell viability. Ammonium salts always induced poor yeast performance. In general, supplementation with a nitrogen source in the peptide form (peptone) was more positive for yeast metabolism, inducing higher biomass and ethanol production, and preserving yeast viability, in both glucose and maltose media, for baking and brewing ale and lager yeast strains. Determination of amino acid utilization showed that most free and peptide amino acids present, in peptone and casamino acids, were utilized by the yeast, suggesting that the results described in this work were not due to a nutritional status induced by nitrogen limitation.     

125th Anniversary Review: Diacetyl and its control during brewery fermentation

Diacetyl is a butter‐tasting vicinal diketone produced as a by‐product of yeast valine metabolism during fermentation. Concentration is dependent on a number of factors including rate of formation of the precursor α‐acetolactate by yeast, spontaneous decarboxylation of this acetohydroxy acid to diacetyl and removal of diacetyl by yeast via the action of various reductase enzymes. Lowering concentrations of diacetyl in green beer represents an expensive and time‐consuming part of the brewing process and strategies to minimize diacetyl formation or hasten its reduction have potential for improving overall efficiency of the lager brewing system. Here we review the processes that determine diacetyl levels in green beer as well as the various ways in which diacetyl levels can be controlled. The amount of diacetyl produced during fermentation can be affected by modifying process conditions, wort composition or fermentation technique, or by yeast strain development through genetic engineering or adaptive evolution. The process of diacetyl reduction by yeast is not as well understood as the process of formation, but is dependent on factors such as physiological condition, cell membrane composition, temperature and pH. The process of diacetyl removal is typically rate‐limited by the reaction rate for the spontaneous decarboxylation of α‐acetolactate to diacetyl. Copyright © 2013 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling     

三种不同酵母对啤酒发酵及风味的影响

本实验采用Y1110、安琪、模式三种不同的啤酒酵母,在同种工艺条件下测定发酵过程中α-氨基氮(α-AN)、pH、双乙酰、高级醇等指标,并比较三种不同啤酒的风味物质含量。结果表明:Y1110增殖最快,α-AN和pH值下降最快,双乙酰还原较快,后酵结束双乙酰含量最低,啤酒样品含醇量较高,适于醇厚型啤酒酿造;安琪酵母增殖最慢,α-AN和pH值下降最慢,啤酒样品含酯量较高,适于淡爽型啤酒酿造;模式酵母酯类与醇类含量都很高,不适于实际生产。     

Part I: the influence of serial repitching of Saccharomyces pastorianus on the uptake dynamics of metal ions and fermentable carbohydrates during the fermentation of barley and gluten‐free buckwheat and quinoa wort

Recently, research has been focusing on the use of alternative raw materials for brewing purposes and gluten‐free beer‐like beverages from malted buckwheat and quinoa are of commercial interest. A common commercial process involves the serial repitching of the yeast biomass, but this has not been described using buckwheat and quinoa wort fermentations. Our research studies (Parts I–III) explored the serial repitching of the yeast strain Saccharomyces pastorianus TUM 34/70 on the composition of a barley, buckwheat and quinoa fermentation medium. The present paper focuses on the fermentation performance and the uptake dynamics of metal ions and fermentable carbohydrates. Both pseudocereals showed high variations in all of the attributes examined during successive fermentations. In buckwheat the differences between successive fermentations were similar to those observed with barley, whereas differences in quinoa varied quite significantly from those observed with barley and showed a directional trend, suggesting a general weakening of the yeast from the sixth successive fermentation onward. In particular, the assimilation of the fermentable carbohydrates lessened and metal ion uptake appeared poorly controlled. It was concluded that buckwheat showed good potential for serial repitching of S. pastorianus TUM 34/70, whereas serial repitching of a quinoa wort appeared to be limited to five or six fermentations. Copyright © 2015 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling