The use of atmospheric and room temperature plasma mutagenesis to create a brewing yeast with reduced acetaldehyde production

High acetaldehyde levels in beer from yeast metabolism is a major concern for brewers in China. To obtain a strain with lower acetaldehyde production, this work reports a novel approach based on atmospheric and room temperature plasma mutagenesis and high‐throughput screening using 4‐methylpyrazole + disulphiram plating. A mutant LAL‐8a with lower acetaldehyde‐producing capability was obtained. The alcohol dehydrogenase activity decreased by 54% compared with the wild‐type M14 and the aldehyde dehydrogenase activity increased by 64% of the wild‐type strain. Through domestication and fermentation in EBC tubes, the mutant LAL‐8a was shown to produce 2.2 mg/L acetaldehyde, 88.2% less than the wild‐type strain M14. In addition, the ratio of higher esters to alcohols in beer fermented by the mutant LAL‐8a (0.28) was higher than M14 (0.16). The fermentation performance of LAL‐8a was similar to that of the wild‐type M14. This work suggests strain LAL‐8a a promising option for the brewing industry. © 2018 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling