Selection of yeast strain for fermentation of wheat-blackcurrant wort in grain-fruit distillate technologies

The results of recent studies showed the prospects of introducing black currant pomace into the technology of grain-fruit distillates. However, practically no attention was paid to selection of yeasts that ensure effective fermentation and formation of the beverage quality characteristics. The aim of this study was a selection of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strain with high fermentation activity and ability to synthesize aroma-producing metabolites during the fermentation of wheat-blackcurrant wort. The objects of the study were alcohol (985-T and 1054) and wine (Moskva 30 and Chernosmorodinovaya) yeasts strains. It was shown that the use of alcohol yeast strains resulted in more intensive wort fermentation: by 18 h, the carbohydrate content decreased more than 7 times, while in samples containing wine yeast, it decreased 4 times. It was found that the highest fermentation activity in terms of the amount of released CO₂ (12.3 g) and ethanol concentration (10.5–10.6 % vol.) was demonstrated by the 985-T alcohol yeast strain. The method of grain-fruit wort preparation did not exert a significant effect on alcoholic fermentation efficiency. It was established that the composition of fermentation metabolites mainly depended on the yeast strain. The concentration of higher alcohols in wash samples with the 985-T and 1054 yeast strains was lower by more than 30 %, and the proportion of aroma-producing compounds was higher and amounted to 22.9…28.9 % of the total amount of side metabolites, while for wine strains it was 16.8…18.9 %. The choice of 985-T yeast was justified by the resulting improved quality of wheat-blackcurrant wash: an increase in alcohol yield by 3.7–4.7 %, an increased content of aromaproducing metabolites (26.7–28.9 %), and reduced concentrations of higher alcohols (440.9–480.9 mg/dm³) and methanol (79.0–84.0 mg/dm³). Further research into the transformation of aroma-producing compounds of raw materials at various processing stages is promising for improving grain-fruit distillate technologies: in the process of fermentation during wort preparation, as a result of metabolic transformations under the action of yeast enzymes, and during distillation.

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