Quality assessment of lager brewery yeast samples and strains using barley malt extracts with anti-yeast activity.

Membrane active anti-yeast compounds, such as antimicrobial peptides and proteins, cause yeast membrane damage which is likely to affect yeast vitality and fermentation performance, parameters which are notoriously difficult to analyse. In this work the sensitivity of lager brewery yeast strains towards barley malt extracts with anti-yeast activity was assessed with an optimised assay. It was found that yeast, obtained directly from a brewery, was much more sensitive towards the malt extracts than the same yeast strain propagated in the laboratory. Sensitivity to the malt extracts increased during the course of a laboratory scale fermentation when inoculated with brewery yeast. As the assay was able to differentiate yeast samples with different histories, it shows promise as a yeast quality assay measuring the yeast's ability to withstand stress which can be equated to vitality. The assay was also able to differentiate between different lager yeast strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae propagated in the laboratory when challenged with a number of malt extracts of varying anti-yeast activity. The assessment of yeast strains in the presence of malt extracts will lead to the identification of yeast strains with improved quality/vitality that can withstand malt-associated anti-yeast activity during brewery fermentations.

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae- the main character in beer brewing.

Historically, mankind and yeast developed a relationship that led to the discovery of fermented beverages. Numerous inventions have led to improved technologies and capabilities to optimize fermentation technology on an industrial scale. The role of brewing yeast in the beer-making process is reviewed and its importance as the main character is highlighted. On considering the various outcomes of functions in a brewery, it has been found that these functions are focused on supporting the supply of yeast requirements for fermentation and ultimately to maintain the integrity of the product. The functions/processes include: nutrient supply to the yeast (raw material supply for brewhouse wort production); utilities (supply of water, heat and cooling); quality assurance practices (hygiene practices, microbiological integrity measures and other specifications); plant automation (vessels, pipes, pumps, valves, sensors, stirrers and centrifuges); filtration and packaging (product preservation until consumption); distribution (consumer supply); and marketing (consumer awareness). Considering this value chain of beer production and the 'bottle neck' during production, the spotlight falls on fermentation, the age-old process where yeast transforms wort into beer.

Optimised quantification of the antiyeast activity of different barley malts towards a lager brewing yeast strain.

The brewing of beer involves two major biological systems, namely malted barley (malt) and yeast. Both malt and yeast show natural variation and assessing the impact of differing malts on yeast performance is important in the optimisation of the brewing process. Currently, the brewing industry uses well-established tests to assess malt quality, but these frequently fail to predict malt-associated problem fermentations, such as incomplete fermentations, premature yeast flocculation (PYF) and gushing of the final beer product. Antimicrobial compounds, and in particular antiyeast compounds in malt, may be one of the unknown and unmeasured malt factors leading to problem fermentations. In this study, the adaptation of antimicrobial assays for the determination of antiyeast activity in malt is described. Our adapted assay was able to detect differing antiyeast activities in nine malt samples. For this sample set, malts associated with PYF during fermentation and gushing activity in beer showed high antiyeast activity. Both PYF and gushing are malt quality issues associated with fungal infection of barley in the field which may result in elevated antimicrobial activity in the barley grain. Also, two more malts that passed the normal quality control tests were also observed to have high antiyeast activity and such malts must be considered as suspect. Based on our results, this assay is a useful measure of malt quality as it quantifies the antiyeast activity in malt which may adversely impact on brewery fermentation.

Impact of different wort boiling temperatures on the beer foam stabilizing properties of lipid transfer protein 1.

Beer consumers demand satisfactory and consistent foam stability; thus, it is a high priority for brewers. Beer foam is stabilized by the interaction between certain beer proteins, including lipid transfer protein 1 (LTP1), and isomerized hop alpha-acids, but destabilized by lipids. In this study it was shown that the wort boiling temperature during the brewing process was critical in determining the final beer LTP1 content and conformation. LTP1 levels during brewing were measured by an LTP1 ELISA, using antinative barley LTP1 polyclonal antibodies. It was observed that the higher wort boiling temperatures ( approximately 102 degrees C), resulting from low altitude at sea level, reduced the final beer LTP1 level to 2-3 microg/mL, whereas the lower wort boiling temperatures ( approximately 96 degrees C), resulting from higher altitudes (1800 m), produced LTP1 levels between 17 and 35 microg/mL. Low levels of LTP1 in combination with elevated levels of free fatty acids (FFA) resulted in poor foam stability, whereas beer produced with low levels of LTP1 and FFA had satisfactory foam stability. Previous studies indicated the need for LTP1 denaturing to improve its foam stabilizing properties. However, the results presented here show that LTP1 denaturation reduces its ability to act as a binding protein for foam-damaging FFA. These investigations suggest that wort boiling temperature is an important factor in determining the level and conformation of LTP1, thereby favoring satisfactory beer foam stability.