Analysis of Bacterial and Fungal Communities and Organic Acid Content in New Zealand Lambic-Style Beers: A Climatic and Global Perspective
Beer produced by autochthonous microbial fermentation is a long-established craft beer style in Belgium that has now been implemented commercially in New Zealand. We used a metabarcoding approach to characterize the microbiome of 11 spontaneously fermented beers produced by a single brewery in Oamar...
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
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| author | Aghogho Ohwofasa Manpreet Dhami Christopher Winefield Stephen L. W. On |
| author_facet | Aghogho Ohwofasa Manpreet Dhami Christopher Winefield Stephen L. W. On |
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| description | Beer produced by autochthonous microbial fermentation is a long-established craft beer style in Belgium that has now been implemented commercially in New Zealand. We used a metabarcoding approach to characterize the microbiome of 11 spontaneously fermented beers produced by a single brewery in Oamaru from 2016 to 2022. Key organic acid concentrations were also determined. Both bacterial and fungal populations varied considerably between vintages and between individual brews produced in 2020. Similarly, for organic acids, the concentrations of L-malic acid, succinic acid, and L-lactic acid statistically differed from one vintage to another. Moreover, a correlation between the concentrations of certain organic acids and microbial composition was inferred by ordination analyses. Through reference to publicly available climate data, humidity and maximum temperature seemed to enhance the abundance of <i>Penicillium</i> and <i>Hanseniaspora</i> in beer microbiota. However, comparison with previously published studies of Belgian lambic beers, similar Russian ales, and publicly available temperature data from these regions showed that the microbial populations of these were relatively stable despite greater extremes of weather. Our results suggest that while climatic variables may influence microbial populations during beer making that employs autochthonous fermentation in New Zealand, such variation is not evident where similar beers are produced in facilities with a long-established history of production. These findings have implications for lambic-style beer production in the context of global climate change, notably where microbial populations may lack environmental adaptation. |
| format | Article |
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| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-b6adcda202fd4630b3e6cb058f2720fa2025-08-20T02:03:40ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072025-01-0113222410.3390/microorganisms13020224Analysis of Bacterial and Fungal Communities and Organic Acid Content in New Zealand Lambic-Style Beers: A Climatic and Global PerspectiveAghogho Ohwofasa0Manpreet Dhami1Christopher Winefield2Stephen L. W. On3Department of Wine, Food and Molecular Biosciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, New ZealandManaaki Whenua—Landcare Research, Lincoln 7640, New ZealandDepartment of Wine, Food and Molecular Biosciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, New ZealandDepartment of Wine, Food and Molecular Biosciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, New ZealandBeer produced by autochthonous microbial fermentation is a long-established craft beer style in Belgium that has now been implemented commercially in New Zealand. We used a metabarcoding approach to characterize the microbiome of 11 spontaneously fermented beers produced by a single brewery in Oamaru from 2016 to 2022. Key organic acid concentrations were also determined. Both bacterial and fungal populations varied considerably between vintages and between individual brews produced in 2020. Similarly, for organic acids, the concentrations of L-malic acid, succinic acid, and L-lactic acid statistically differed from one vintage to another. Moreover, a correlation between the concentrations of certain organic acids and microbial composition was inferred by ordination analyses. Through reference to publicly available climate data, humidity and maximum temperature seemed to enhance the abundance of <i>Penicillium</i> and <i>Hanseniaspora</i> in beer microbiota. However, comparison with previously published studies of Belgian lambic beers, similar Russian ales, and publicly available temperature data from these regions showed that the microbial populations of these were relatively stable despite greater extremes of weather. Our results suggest that while climatic variables may influence microbial populations during beer making that employs autochthonous fermentation in New Zealand, such variation is not evident where similar beers are produced in facilities with a long-established history of production. These findings have implications for lambic-style beer production in the context of global climate change, notably where microbial populations may lack environmental adaptation.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/2/224lambic beerspontaneous fermentationmicrobial diversitymetabarcodingclimate change |
| spellingShingle | Aghogho Ohwofasa Manpreet Dhami Christopher Winefield Stephen L. W. On Analysis of Bacterial and Fungal Communities and Organic Acid Content in New Zealand Lambic-Style Beers: A Climatic and Global Perspective Microorganisms lambic beer spontaneous fermentation microbial diversity metabarcoding climate change |
| title | Analysis of Bacterial and Fungal Communities and Organic Acid Content in New Zealand Lambic-Style Beers: A Climatic and Global Perspective |
| title_full | Analysis of Bacterial and Fungal Communities and Organic Acid Content in New Zealand Lambic-Style Beers: A Climatic and Global Perspective |
| title_fullStr | Analysis of Bacterial and Fungal Communities and Organic Acid Content in New Zealand Lambic-Style Beers: A Climatic and Global Perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | Analysis of Bacterial and Fungal Communities and Organic Acid Content in New Zealand Lambic-Style Beers: A Climatic and Global Perspective |
| title_short | Analysis of Bacterial and Fungal Communities and Organic Acid Content in New Zealand Lambic-Style Beers: A Climatic and Global Perspective |
| title_sort | analysis of bacterial and fungal communities and organic acid content in new zealand lambic style beers a climatic and global perspective |
| topic | lambic beer spontaneous fermentation microbial diversity metabarcoding climate change |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/2/224 |
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