Abstract
Fermented foods and particularly beer have accompanied the development of human civilization for thousands of years. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the dominant yeast in the production of alcoholic beverages, probably co-evolved with human activity. Considering that alcoholic fermentations emerged worldwide, the number of strains used in beer production nowadays is surprisingly low. Thus, the genetic diversity is often limited. This is among others related to the switch from a household brewing style to a more artisan brewing regime during the sixteenth century and latterly the development of single yeast isolation techniques at the Carlsberg Research Laboratory in 1883, resulting in process optimizations in the brewing industry. However, due to fierce competition within the beer market and the increasing demand for novel beer styles, diversification is becoming increasingly important. Moreover, the emergence of craft brewing has influenced big breweries to rediscover yeast as a significant contributor to a beer’s aroma profile and realize that there is still room for innovation in the fermentation process. Here, we aim at giving a brief overview on how currently used S. cerevisiae brewing yeasts emerged and comment on the rationale behind replacing them with novel strains. We will present potential sources of yeasts that have not only been used in beer brewing before, including natural sources and sources linked to human activity but also an overlooked source, such as yeast culture collections. We will briefly comment on common yeast isolation techniques and finally touch on additional challenges for the brewing industry in replacing their current brewer’s yeasts.
Highlights
While some anthropologists believe that the discovery to process foods over an open fire as much as 1.8 million years ago was crucial for the evolution of the human species, the early history of human societies is unquestionably linked to the domestication of plants and animals (Zeder, 2006), and the subsequent development of fermented foods during the Neolithic period (Tamang et al, 2020)
While many changes have been made to the fermentation process over time, the one constant factor needed for successful beer production has been an alcohol producing yeast (Lodolo et al, 2008)
Since craft breweries usually operate in much smaller volumes, they are more willing to experiment with raw materials to create more “explorative” beer styles, basically reversing the streamlining of the brewing processes previously outlined
Summary
While some anthropologists believe that the discovery to process foods over an open fire as much as 1.8 million years ago was crucial for the evolution of the human species, the early history of human societies is unquestionably linked to the domestication of plants and animals (Zeder, 2006), and the subsequent development of fermented foods during the Neolithic period (Tamang et al, 2020). China has a long history of beer-like beverages (McGovern et al, 2004; Wang et al, 2016), and in Europe, Celtic tribes spread beer brewing across the continent up to 2,000 years ago (Corran, 1975; Nelson, 2005), where over time it developed into the modern beer-brewing process as we know it today (Hornsey, 2003; Unger, 2004). While many changes have been made to the fermentation process over time, the one constant factor needed for successful beer production has been an alcohol producing yeast (Lodolo et al, 2008). Despite the vast number of different beer styles that have been developed all over the world (Protz, 1995; Glover, 1997), the number of yeasts used in the brewing industry today is surprisingly low
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