Sugar Content and Concentration Throughout the Fermentation Process of Nonalcoholic Beers Using Maltose Negative Yeast
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Department
Chemistry
Abstract
As nonalcoholic beers continue to grow in popularity due to their proposed health benefits, understanding what sets them apart from their alcoholic counterparts is of particular interest to brewers, especially when analyzing differences in sugar concentrations and content (e.g. maltose, glucose, etc.). Different sugars act as a source of nutrients for different yeast strains during the process of fermentation and can play a key role in the amount of alcohol produced. Yeasts of the genus Saccharomyces are typically utilized for brewing beer; however, different strains can metabolize different sugars (e.g. maltose negative strains do not metabolize maltose). The maltose negative yeast strains are known to produce significantly less alcohol than other strains due to their inability to metabolize maltose, a key sugar in the brewing process, making maltose negative yeast strains an optimal choice for brewers looking to produce nonalcoholic beers. This project uses reverse-phase HPLC, with an RI (refractive index) detector, to analyze the various sugar contents and concentrations throughout the fermentation process of a nonalcoholic beer produced by a maltose negative yeast strain. Over time glucose and fructose concentrations are anticipated to decrease, while maltose concentrations, and sometimes maltotriose concentrations, remain relatively constant throughout the fermentation process due to maltose negative yeast metabolism. This study will help nonalcoholic beer brewers better understand the impacts of maltose negative yeast fermentation on the sugar concentration and content of their final nonalcoholic beer products.
Sugar Content and Concentration Throughout the Fermentation Process of Nonalcoholic Beers Using Maltose Negative Yeast
As nonalcoholic beers continue to grow in popularity due to their proposed health benefits, understanding what sets them apart from their alcoholic counterparts is of particular interest to brewers, especially when analyzing differences in sugar concentrations and content (e.g. maltose, glucose, etc.). Different sugars act as a source of nutrients for different yeast strains during the process of fermentation and can play a key role in the amount of alcohol produced. Yeasts of the genus Saccharomyces are typically utilized for brewing beer; however, different strains can metabolize different sugars (e.g. maltose negative strains do not metabolize maltose). The maltose negative yeast strains are known to produce significantly less alcohol than other strains due to their inability to metabolize maltose, a key sugar in the brewing process, making maltose negative yeast strains an optimal choice for brewers looking to produce nonalcoholic beers. This project uses reverse-phase HPLC, with an RI (refractive index) detector, to analyze the various sugar contents and concentrations throughout the fermentation process of a nonalcoholic beer produced by a maltose negative yeast strain. Over time glucose and fructose concentrations are anticipated to decrease, while maltose concentrations, and sometimes maltotriose concentrations, remain relatively constant throughout the fermentation process due to maltose negative yeast metabolism. This study will help nonalcoholic beer brewers better understand the impacts of maltose negative yeast fermentation on the sugar concentration and content of their final nonalcoholic beer products.
