Renaissance BioScience Corp., has made public the publication of a milestone paper related to lager yeast development in the February 2021 issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology (Volume 87, Issue 3).
‘Industrially Applicable De Novo Lager Yeast Hybrids with a Unique Genome Architecture: Creation and Characterisation’, by Turgeon et al, describes how the Renaissance research team came up with an avant-garde approach in developing novel non-GMO lager yeast strains that are immediately pertinent for lager beer production, and which will assist in broadening the diversity of commercial lager beer strains for both larger global beer producers as well as smaller craft breweries.
For hundreds of years, lager beer has been prepared by utilizing strains from two related lager yeast varieties: Group I and Group II. Although these groups are genetically distinct, they generate very similar taste and fragrance profiles, and hence play a part in the lack of diversity in commercial lager beer. Till now, approaches focussed at developing new lager yeast have generated strains that have unwanted brewing characteristics that make them commercially unviable. This new approach overcomes the issue and paves way for the development of new lager strains that are directly appropriate for lager production. The paper puts forward that yeast developed using this novel technique be categorized as a third class of lager strains (Group III).
Dr. John Husnik, CEO of Renaissance BioScience stated- “This Renaissance achievement is one of the most pragmatic innovations in lager yeast strain development. Our paper explains how this advance was developed and, significantly, describes the ability to create several different novel lager yeast strains, and also to fine-tune and improve many current proprietary strains utilized by beer producers around the globe. This yeast technology is ready to start commercial usage and applications. Congratulations to our team on this thrilling advancement. We’re about to step into a whole new environment of lager beer innovation.”
Zachari Turgeon, principal scientist and the paper’s lead author informed- “Our expert research and development team has created an extraordinary and highly stringent way to develop lager strains that has enormous potential to diversify flavour profiles and ameliorate the industrial efficacy of beer making. Furthermore, the Renaissance platform approach could be unified with our patented hydrogen sulfide-preventing technology to alleviate or even eradicate the off-aroma hydrogen sulfide, a common issue for lager beer makers everywhere, and this offers patent protection for any lager yeast innovations created with our technology. We anticipate to do further discussions with beer producers and master brewers about our paper and the Renaissance approach to yeast strain enhancements.”
The startegem was to breed the S. eubayanus subgenomefrom industrial lager strains and hybridize them to different ale strains, abolishing the necessity to breed undomesticated, wild S. eubayanus strains. This leads to numerous advantageous results:
– None of the negative traits related with the use of wild S. eubayanus are present.
– The genomic structure of the new strains produced is quirky in comparison to all known lager yeast — the authors suggest that these novel strains form a third group of lager yeast (Group III).
– The novel strains now have a broader temperature tolerance range thus can be used for various styles of beer, as well as for ameliorating the propagation and the manufacturing of the yeast.
– The research and development team can considerably heighten up the diversity of lager yeast by using a wide array of distinct parental strains, leading to optimization of lager yeast performance, an increment in the aroma and taste diversity of lager strains, and the removal of off-aromas.
– The development approach is completely non-GMO depending totally on yeast’s natural process of sexual reproduction.
Jessica Swanson, lead development scientist and beverage unit manager declared- “The Renaissance approach in making commercially suitable and highly valuable lager strains could also be joined with yeast advances and technologies earlier developed by other researchers to generate safe enhanced strains. Most significantly, all of these innovation probabilities will offer vital advantages to beer consumers across the globe.”