Is it possible to create an innovative craft durum wheat beer with sourdough yeasts? A case study

Abstract

Craft beer is often produced as a non-filtered, unpasteurized and bottle re-fermented beer, whose production is aimed at maintaining original sensory characteristics. The intention of most micro-breweries is to meet these requirements in producing a high-quality beer. In Italy, as well as in Sardinia, the number of micro-breweries is increasing. In an attempt to make this product more original, new strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were selected. Sourdough yeasts were used as an alternative source of starters for beer production. In this particular work, two wheat beers were compared, one brewed with an autochthonous yeast isolated from sourdough and the other brewed with a commercial yeast normally used in Italian micro-breweries. The wheat beer fermented with the autochthonous yeast had the highest ethanol content, the lowest pH and the highest content of esters and alcohols. From a sensory point of view the two beers showed significant differences in the triangle test, but were not significantly different in the paired test with preference.