Investigation of Non-Saccharomyces Yeast Strains for Their Suitability for the Production of Non-Alcoholic Beers with Novel Flavor Profiles

Non-alcoholic beers have seen steady growth in recent years and are attracting customer interest. At the same time, consumer demand for non-alcoholic beers is rising. While wort-like flavors are often criticized in beer and also regarded as off-flavors, there is growing demand for beer flavor diversification. The latest research results prove that certain non-Saccharomyces yeast species can produce distinctive fruity flavor profiles during wort fermentation. In this study, 15 different yeast strains were evaluated for their suitability to produce novel flavor profiles during fermentation in wort from malt extract while being tested for their ability to produce less than 0.5% (v/v) ethanol. The yeast strains were therefore analyzed for their sugar utilization and were compared with the maltose-negative reference yeast strain Saccharomycodes ludwigii TUM SL17. Following the fermentation experiments, the beers were analyzed for secondary metabolites and ethanol content before being tasted by trained assessors. The results reveal that all 15 yeasts are suitable for the production of non-alcoholic beers based on their sugar utilization. Particularly promising flavors were produced by three yeast strains of the species Cyberlindnera saturnus, which were reminiscent of cool mint sweets, pear, and banana. Two further yeasts of the species Kluyveromyces marxianus and Saccharomycopsis fibuligera also produced a wide range of pleasant fruity flavors. Although the secondary metabolites were mostly below the odor thresholds based on regular alcoholic beers, this study reveals that the thresholds in non-alcoholic beers can be classified as significantly lower. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/03610470.2021.2012747 .