VIEW ARTICLE    DOI: 10.1094/ASBCJ-54-0050

Effect of Starvation on the Flocculation of Ale and Lager Brewing Yeasts. Maureen R. Rhymes and Katherine A. Smart (1), School of Biological and Molecular Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Headington, Oxford, OX3 0BP, U.K. (1) Corresponding author. J. Am. Soc. Brew. Chem. 54(1):50-56, 1996. Accepted September 11, 1995.


Starvation has been shown to influence the technological behavior of brewing yeast. Starved yeast were observed to be less flocculant in beer, therefore, the effect of starvation on the flocculation of lager and ale brewing strains was examined. The characterization of the yeast cell surface involved the use of techniques such as dye retention, solvent partitioning, latex microsphere attachment, biochemical analysis, and electron microscopy. Starved lager yeast cells exhibited significantly less negative surface charge than did those that were non-starved, although surface hydrophobicity was largely unaffected. Starved ale yeast exhibited an increased surface charge and a reduced surface hydrophobicity compared with those that were non-starved. The effect of starvation on the subsequent fermentation performance of the lager yeast was examined in wort. Starvation-induced modifications in flocculation were retained by subsequent generations. It was observed that starvation resulted in a reduction in surface phosphate concentration, and, although the thickness of the cell wall decreased after starvation, the relative proportions of other cell wall components were not observed. Keywords: Cell wall, Flocculation, Hydrophobicity, Starvation, Surface charge, Yeast.


Al término de una fermentación cervecera, la cosecha de levadura es removida de la cerveza verde, almacenada y reinoculada. El efecto de la reinoculación en serie sobre la condición del inóculo y su subsecuente actividad fermentativa es importante, pero no bien caracterizado. Las propiedades físicas de la superficie celular de la levadura cervecera influyen en la floculación y pueden ser usadas para determinar el estado fisiológico de la célula. Levadura cosechada de fermentaciones a escala de laboratorio e industrial han sido examinadas. El efecto de reinoculación en serie sobre las propiedades físicas de una cepa de producción ale fue monitoreado usando retención de colorante, unión microesfera latex, microscopio electrónico y técnicas con colorantes fluorescentes. La floculación de cada generación fue determinada. Se observó que existe una correlación entre la condición de la superficie celular y la actividad fermentativa. Se propone que la condición de la superficie celular puede ser usada para predecir la actividad fermentativa del subsiguiente inóculo.