Brettanomyces bruxellensis

Technopedia Center

Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science
S1 Informatics S1 Information Systems S1 Information Technology S1 Computer Engineering S1 Electrical Engineering S1 Civil Engineering

faculty of Economics and Business
S1 Management S1 Accountancy

Faculty of Letters and Educational Sciences
S1 English literature S1 English language education S1 Mathematics education S1 Sports Education

Brettanomyces bruxellensis - Wikipedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brettanomyces bruxellensis

Appearance of colonies of Brettanomyces bruxellensis on YPD (Yeast Peptone D-glucose) agar.
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Ascomycota
Class:	Saccharomycetes
Order:	Saccharomycetales
Family:	Pichiaceae
Genus:	Brettanomyces
Species:	B. bruxellensis
Binomial name
*Brettanomyces bruxellensis* Kufferath and von Laer

Brettanomyces bruxellensis (the anamorph of Dekkera bruxellensis) is a yeast associated with the Senne valley near Brussels, Belgium. Despite its Latin species name, B. bruxellensis is found all over the globe. In the wild, it is often found on the skins of fruit.

Beer production

B. bruxellensis plays a key role in the production of the typical Belgian beer styles such as lambic, Flanders red ales, gueuze and kriek, and is part of spontaneous fermentation biota. The Trappist Orval has very little in it as well. It is naturally found in the brewery environment living within oak barrels that are used for the storage of beer during the secondary conditioning stage. Here it completes the long slow fermentation or super-attenuation of beer, often in symbiosis with Pediococcus sp. Macroscopically visible colonies look whitish and show a dome-shaped aspect, depending on the age and size.^[1]

B. bruxellensis is increasingly being used by American craft brewers, especially in Maine, California and Colorado. Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, Allagash Brewing Company, Port Brewing Company, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Russian River Brewing Company and New Belgium Brewing Company have all brewed beers fermented with B. bruxellensis. The beers have a slightly sour, earthy character. Some have described them as having a "barnyard" or "wet horse blanket" flavor.^[2]

Wine production

In the wine industry, B. bruxellensis is generally considered a spoilage yeast and it and other members of the genus are often referred to as Brettanomyces ("brett"). Its metabolic products can impart "sweaty saddle leather", "barnyard", "burnt plastic" or "band-aid" aromas to wine. Some winemakers in France, and occasionally elsewhere, consider it a desirable addition to wine, e.g., in Château de Beaucastel, but New World vintners generally consider it a defect. Some authorities consider brett to be responsible for 90% of the spoilage problems in premium red wines.^{[citation needed]}

One defense against brett is to limit potential sources of contamination. It occurs more commonly in some vineyards than others, so producers can avoid purchasing grapes from such sources. Used wine barrels purchased from other vintners are another common source. Some producers sanitize used barrels with ozone. Others steam or soak them for many hours in very hot water, or wash them with either citric acid or peroxycarbonate.^{[citation needed]}

If wine becomes contaminated by brett, some vintners sterile filter it, add SO2, or treat it with dimethyl dicarbonate. Both knowledge and experience are considered helpful in avoiding brett and the problems it can cause.^{[citation needed]}

Biochemistry

B. bruxellensis contains the enzyme vinylphenol reductase.

References

"Breaking the mold", Wine Spectator,2006 (March 31), 30(16), pp. 99–100 & 103.
Wild Brews: Beer Beyond the Influence of Brewer's Yeast, Jeff Sparrow, Brewers Publications, Coulder, Colo., 2005

Taxon identifiers
Dekkera bruxellensis	Wikidata: Q23742942 CoL: 34FG8 GBIF: 2599345 IndexFungorum: 329741 IRMNG: 10390263 MycoBank: 329741 NBN: BMSSYS0000005695 NZOR: 8261b62c-df46-41f6-9eda-b0b593eb3819 Open Tree of Life: 889797 SpeciesFungorum: 329741

Categories:

Hidden categories:

Beer production

Wine production

Biochemistry

See also

References