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Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry (2002) 35, (133–140) (Printed in Great Britain)

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Production of non-alcoholic beer using free and immobilized cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae deficient in the tricarboxylic acid cycle

Marián Navrátil*¹, Zoltán Dömény*, Ernest Šturdík*, Daniela Šmogrovičová* and Peter Gemeiner†

*Department of Biochemical Technology, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology, Radlinského 9, SK-81237 Bratislava, Slovak Republic, and †Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, SK-83742 Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Key words: calcium pectate, mutant yeast, S. cerevisiae, TCA enzyme.

Abbreviations used: FAN, free amino nitrogen; LAB, lactic acid bacteria.

¹To whom correspondence should be addressed (e-mail navratil@chelin.chtf.stuba.sk).

Production of non-alcoholic beer using Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been studied. Non-recombinant mutant strains with a defect in the synthesis of tricarboxylic-acid-cycle enzymes were used and applied in both free and pectate-immobilized form, using both batch and packed-bed continuous systems. After fermentation, basic parameters of the beer produced by five mutant strains were compared with a standard strain of brewing yeast. Results showed that the beer prepared by mutant yeast cells was characterized by lower levels of total alcohols, with ethanol concentrations between 0.07 and 0.31% (w/w). The organic acids produced, especially lactic acid, in concentrations up to 1.38 g · l^-1 had a strong protective effect on the microbial stability of the final product and thus the usual addition of lactic acid could be omitted. Application of the yeast mutants appears to be a good alternative to the classical methods for the production of non-alcoholic beer.

Received 23 July 2001/10 January 2002; accepted 18 January 2002

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