Yeast species involved in artisanal cachaça fermentation in three stills with different technological levels in Pernambuco, Brazil

Abstract

Both the taste and aroma of cachaça, an alcoholic beverage produced by yeast fermentation of sugar cane, are influenced by yeast metabolites and volatiles. The knowledge of yeast population dynamics during the fermentation process will help to establish the basis for quality control of alcoholic beverage. In the present work, the population dynamics of three fermentation processes, with differing levels of technological sophistication, were studied. Saccharomyces cerevisiae was found to be the dominant species, but Candida milleri (Candida humilis), Pichia caribbica, Pichia guilliermondii and Zygosaccharomyces fermentati (Lachancea fermentati) were also significantly involved. In addition, four new yeast species that are not represented in NCBI/EMBL nucleotide database were found. These yeasts were classified as Candida sp., Candida drosophilae-like, Candida ubatubensis-like and Zygosaccharomyces sp. In fermentation trails at laboratory scale, all species were found to contribute to the production of volatiles. Thus it is probable that product quality is strongly dependent on population dynamics during the fermentation process.

<b>Interaction of <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i> and <i>Lactococcus lactis</i> in the fermentation and quality of artisanal cachaça

“…This result is probably related to the composition of sugar cane juice (Table 1). Sugar cane juice was obtained by crushing sugar cane and contains glucose, sucrose and many vitamins and minerals suitable for S. cerevisiae growth (LIMTONG et al, 2007) even in high cell density (SAITOH et al, 2005). However, the supplementation with nitrogen provides improvements in the efficient of sugar cane juice as culture medium (LIMTONG et al, 2007).…”

“…Sensory attributes (aroma and taste) of cachaça are influenced by metabolites produced by yeast population during natural fermentation for cachaça production (NOVA et al, 2009 start-up, low contamination risk by spontaneous fermentation, more rapid and uniform fermentation rates, lower competition for essential nutrients, higher beverage yield, lower levels of residual sugars and the maintenance of beverage flavor properties (BERNARDI et al, 2008;CAMPOS et al, 2010;SILVA et al, 2006). The community of bacteria in the cachaça fermentation process is complex.…”

“…The community of bacteria in the cachaça fermentation process is complex. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are the main group found during fermentation (GOMES et al, 2010) -GAYON et al, 2006), in cachaça production there are very few studies on the characterization of bacterial populations present in the fermentation vats and the relationship of these microorganisms with the production of secondary compounds responsible for the flavor of the beverage (DUARTE et al, 2011;GOMES et al, 2010). The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of a mixed culture of S. cerevisiae and L. lactis in the quality of cachaça and additionally evaluate the feasibility of the use of sugar cane juice to obtain yeast and bacteria biomass.…”

Effect of the spontaneous fermentation and the ageing on the chemo-sensory quality of Brazilian organic cachaça

“…As a consequence, artisanal cachaças have different sensory qualities due to the metabolites and volatiles produced by the diversity of yeasts present during the fermentation process. Hence yeast composition is a key factor in cachaça quality (NOVA et al, 2009). Non-Saccharomyces yeasts studied by OLIVEIRA et al (2005) in small-scale sugar cane fermentations did not exert a negative influence on the sensory quality of the cachaça.…”

Qualidade pós-colheita de colmos de cana armazenados e seus reflexos na produção de cachaça

“…A ocorrência de fatores limitantes ao desenvolvimento da planta e à manutenção do seu estado fisiológico pós-colheita podem refletir em alterações na sua qualidade, impactando o processamento industrial (GARCIA et al, 2010;WATT;CRAMER, 2009).…”