Seleção de isolados ambientais de Saccharomyces cerevisiae para a produção de cachaça de alambique.

Abstract

The improvement of the quality of cachaça produced in Brazil is necessary due to the increase in its consumer market and the search for new flavors and aromas. The quality of the cachaça is directly related to the identity of the yeasts and the stress conditions that are submitted. Thus, this work aims to select new yeasts that can be employed in the cachaça fermentation aiming at the production of a differentiated beverage with high sensorial quality. A total of 74 Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeasts, isolated from the bark of trees, lichens, and decomposing wood of different Brazilian ecosystems, were tested. These yeasts were tested for lysine assimilation, hydrogen sulfide production, fermentative stress (pH, temperature, glucose, sucrose, and ethanol), invertase production, flocculation capacity, laboratory scale fermentation, and pilot scale production. The strains were compared with the S. cerevisiae UFMGCM- 1007 yeast, which is recognized as a good cachaça producer. Three environmental isolates were selected from the tests described above, and with these was produced the cachaças in the pilot scale. The produced cachaças were analyzed compared by gas chromatography, and the founded profiles of compounds were very similar, being observed the formation of alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, clicoalcanos, and esters. The produced cachaças were also compared using a sensorial acceptance test. All the cachaças were well accepted in the sensorial tests carried out. These results suggest that these environmental strains of S. cerevisiae, C2, C45, and C145, can be used as starter cultures to produce alembic cachaça.