Non-conventional Saccharomyces yeasts for beer production

Beer is a world-famous beverage, second only to tea and coffee, where the yeasts traditionally used are Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces pastorianus for the production of ale and lager beer, respectively. Their production, especially craft beer production, has grown in recent years, as has the development of new products. For this reason, research has focused on the selection of yeasts with good fermentation kinetics, as well as beers with outstanding aromatic profiles. The final flavor and aroma of beer is a combination of hundreds of active aroma compounds produced mostly during fermentation as a result of yeast metabolism (higher alcohols, esters, aldehydes, and vicinal diketones). Likewise, several studies have demonstrated the potential of wild yeasts of the genus Saccharomyces, both in aromatic production and in the production of healthy compounds of interest such as melatonin. This chapter therefore focuses on non-conventional Saccharomyces yeasts as they have the capacity to produce outstanding aroma compounds, as well as compounds that can provide health benefits, under moderate consumption.