Co-Fermentations of Kveik with Non-Conventional Yeasts for Targeted Aroma Modulation

Abstract

Kveik are consortia of yeast used for farmhouse ale production in Western Norway. Yeast strains derived from these mixtures are known, for example, for their high fermentation rate, thermotolerance, lack of phenolic off flavor production (POF-) and strong flocculation phenotype. In this study, we used five single cell yeast isolates from different Kveik yeasts, analyzed their fermentation and flavor production, and compared it with a typical yeast used in distilleries using 20 °C and 28 °C as the fermentation temperatures. One of the isolates, Kveik No 3, showed an impairment of maltotriose utilization and thus a reduced ethanol yield. Kveik fermentations for spirit production often harbor bacteria for flavor enrichment. We sought to improve Kveik fermentations with non-conventional yeasts (NCY). To this end we co-fermented Kveik isolates with Hanseniaspora uvarum, Meyerozyma guilliermondii and Pichia kudriavzevii using 5:1 ratios (Kveik vs. NCY) at 20 °C. The combinations of Kveik No 1 with P. kudriavzevii and Kveik No 1 with Hanseniaspora uvarum showed substantially increased amounts of specific volatile aroma compounds that were previously identified in the NCYs. Our results indicate that Kveik isolates appear to be suitable for co-fermentations with certain NCY to enhance beer or spirit fermentations, increasing the potential of these yeasts for beverage productions.

European Farmhouse Brewing Yeasts Form a Distinct Genetic Group

“…In addition to the direct applied value of landrace brewing strains, they are also valuable from a strain development perspective. Compared to ‘Beer 1’ strains, which tend to be sterile (Gallone et al 2016; De Chiara et al 2022), the majority of the kveik strains that have been tested so far have been fertile (Preiss et al 2018; Dippel et al 2022). This means that kveik strains can be quite readily used for breeding.…”

“…Limited work has so far been carried out on the phenotypic diversity of farmhouse yeasts. Prior work on a relatively small subset of ‘kveik’ isolates has revealed that they tend to ferment wort rapidly, have high thermotolerance, and can produce beers ranging from clean and neutral to strongly aromatic (Preiss et al 2018; Foster et al 2022; Kawa-Rygielska et al 2022; Habschied et al 2022; Dippel et al 2022). Here, we reveal that farmhouse yeast, including kveik, show significant phenotypic diversity, both in regards to fermentation dynamics and flavour formation.…”

“…Opportunities identified in kveik yeast include its ability to ferment at high temperatures, reducing energy consumption in the brewing process, and its unique flavour profiles which can provide new beer styles to meet the growing consumer demand (Preiss et al 2018;Krogerus et al 2018b). To date, kveik has been demonstrated as useful in various fermentations including beer (Preiss et al 2018;Kawa-Rygielska et al 2021;Foster et al 2022;Kawa-Rygielska et al 2022;Dippel et al 2022;Paszkot et al 2023), Scotch Whiskey (Waymark and Hill 2021), and acid whey beverages (Luo et al 2021). Recently it was also shown that kveik yeast has enhanced accumulation of trehalose compared to industrial brewing yeasts, which may explain its enhanced stress resistance (Foster et al 2022).…”

The potential for Scotch Malt Whisky flavour diversification by yeast

“…Recently, Kveik yeast, traditional Norwegian farmhouse yeast, has gained attention in brewing due to its phenolic off-flavour negativity, high fermentation rate, tolerance to high temperatures (>28°C), and classification within the S. cerevisiae clade (Preiss et al 2018 ). This interest has extended to the distilling industry, where Kveik yeast demonstrates a fermentation pattern similar to commercial distilling yeast and a distinct flavour profile, offering the opportunity for development of new products (Dippel et al 2022 , Horstmann et al 2023 ).…”

Estudo Da Fermentação De Cerveja Comparando as Leveduras Kveik E Saccharomyces Cerevisiae

“…Apesar da levedura kveik apresentar em geral maior tolerância ao álcool comparado com outras leveduras cervejeiras como a Saccharomyces cerevisiae, algumas cepas não são capazes de fermentar maltotriose e isso pode explicar o resultado do baixo teor de álcool da kveik neste estudo, pois a maltotriose é um açúcar que a S. cerevisiae utilizada consegue metabolizar. (DIPPEL et al, 2022) CONCLUSÃO Neste estudo, foi feita a comparação das duas leveduras, Kveik e Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Foi possível observar que, com as mesmas condições de temperatura e com o mesmo mosto, as leveduras apresentaram fermentações com velocidades diferentes, porém chegaram a resultados de densidade e pH muito próximos e na análise de teor alcoólico foi de aproximadamente 1,17% de diferença uma da outra, tendo a S. cerevisiae produzido mais.…”