White Labs Yeast - (V) 618 Saccharomycodes ludwigii

This strain of non-conventional brewing yeast has been found to be useful when brewing a low alcohol beer. This specific strain has been chosen because of it’s lower ethyl acetate production compared to similar strains. This species does not ferment maltose or other larger sugars and will only ferment the glucose, sucrose, and fructose. This strain is appropriate for all styles of low alcohol beer.

Although this would be categorized as a wild yeast, this strain would not typically be considered to be a beer spoiler as it does not have the ability to ferment larger sugars. Using this strain to create a low alcohol beer requires a modified recipe.  STA1: Negative

WLP618 Saccharomycodes ludwigii - Limited maltose and maltotriose consumption

WLP603 Torulaspora delbrueckii - Will not ferment maltose and maltotriose

Zygosaccharomyces rouxii - Partial inability to ferment maltose

These strains can have positive contributions to flavor, such as increased esters, with additionally keeping the fermentation of fermentable sugars low. These will produce beers with an alcohol percentage of around 1-1.5% ABV depending on strain and wort recipe. Using these yeasts will certainly require a certain level of research and development to obtain a delicious, low ABV beer that can compete with products currently on the market.

Pitching rates of these strains can be expected to be lower, as the amount of sugar to be fermented is low. Pitch rates for these beers of lab-grown cultures range from 3-5 million cells/ml.