Unravelling the potential of non-conventional yeasts and recycled brewers spent grains (BSG) for non-alcoholic and low alcohol beer (NABLAB)

Abstract

The non-alcoholic beer sector has seen steady growth in recent years and non-conventional yeasts could be a chance to produce this specialty beer. On the other hand, non-alcoholic beer with appreciated aromatic characteristics remains a challenge. In this work, 14 yeast strains belonging to 7 different species were tested to produce low-alcohol or alcohol-free beers using recycled low-sugar wort from brewers spent grains (BSG). The results showed that a strain of Lachancea thermotolerans and a strain of Torulaspora delbrueckii exhibited a fermentation evolution comparable to that of Saccharomyces cerevisiae commercial strain with a reduced ethanol (0.46, 0.57, 1.22 % v/v respectively). L. thermotolerans strains were characterized by lactic acid production and esters formation with the stra