Diastatic yeast: not so heroic superheroine
The week of today leads us to enter the intriguing and at the same time problematic world of diastatic yeast, formally known as Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Var. Diastaticus. This particular variety of wild yeast has a special talent to ferment sugars that other yeasts simply ignore, which can lead to unexpected episodes in the bottle. Prepare for adventure!
The diastatic dilemma
As mentioned, Diastaticus is a genetic variant of the well -known king of fermentation, the Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This little boy can be found in nature and breweries, becoming an unwanted guest that can ruin any fermentation party. Cross pollution in an elaboration environment is more common than one could imagine, and some yeast strains even bring this problematic partner.
The problem of unforeseen fermentation
The great inconvenience with Diastaticus is its ability to ferment residual carbohydrates that would normally be overlooked by conventional yeasts, and what is worse, this process can last more than anticipated. The result: bottles that exploit, unexpected changes in flavor, and a carbonation that could make your beer seem more a soda than an artisanal drink.
The roots of chaos
Finding Diastaticus is like discovering a needle in a haystack. It commonly appears in many wild yeasts, and can sneak into your lot from the yeast supplier or even from the same brewery. A study in Europe revealed that a single contamination with the STA1 gene was detected in a yeast supplier, which underlines the effort that yeast laboratories are doing to prevent this problem. Good luck for all the brave brewers!
In fact, an amazing 92% of the contamination come from breweries, predominantly problems in bottling and filling areas, which represent 71%. The rest comes from different stages of the process, such as brewery and fermentation basement. It is well organized chaos, but still, it is chaos!
Solutions for controlled fermentation
The yeast laboratories, aware of the problem, have begun to intensify their cleaning and testing measures to detect Diastaticus. Now, data on the presence of the STA1 gene are an essential part of the information they provide; If a yeast is ‘negative for STA1’, you are one step closer to avoiding the headache of unforeseen fermentation.
Cleaning and Safety Practices
However, responsibility not only falls on yeast producers. Both homemade and commercial brewers must remain alert and perform rigorous cleaning in all areas of the process. You should never underestimate the importance of cleaning and disinfecting small accessories such as hoses, taps and bottles. Everything can be a possible hiding place for unwanted yeast!
Pasteurization is often practiced in commercial beers to eliminate any trace of yeasts. At the end of the day, it is vital that the brewers take care not only when mixing ingredients, but also when handling and preparing their yeasts. If you reuse yeast from one lot to another, be very careful, it is very easy to introduce Diastaticus in your mixture during this phase.
Final reflections
I hope you enjoyed this exploration about the enigmatic diastatic yeast. Stay alert and take care of your fermentations to avoid unpleasant surprises. Remember that in the world of beer, cleaning is almost as vital as the recipe itself! See you in the next beer adventure.
