Saccharomyces cereviceae

The most critical step for production of alcoholic spirits is fermentation. After cooling the wort to 20°C-30°C, a pure strain or a mixture of strains of distillers yeast is pitched to convert fermentable carbohydrates into ethanol, and soluble protein into fusel alcohols and a wide array of metabolites that affect the flavor, aroma, and overall acceptability of the finished distilled product. Most fermentations are carried out with Saccharomyces cereviceae pitched at a rate of approximately 0.5 kg of fresh compressed yeast/hL. Most processes are batch, although there are some modern... 

Vodka mashes are fermented with yeast (Saccharomyces cereviceae) in large stainless steel vats under anaerobic conditions. The fermentation time lasts from 2 to 4 days depending on the fermentation temperature, which varies according to region. Most vodkas are fermented at temperatures ranging from 25°C to 30°C. 

Similar observations were made with other aerobic bacteria such as Serratia plymuthica and Mycobacterium phlei. However, aerobic fungi, including Neurospora and three strains of Saccharomyces, showed much less oxygen fixation under the experimental conditions employed. Two strains of Saccharomyces cereviceae, namely 59 RT, a wild type, and 59 RA, a so-called petit mutant which does not have a cytochrome system, were investigated, but both of them incorporated relatively small amounts of atmospheric oxygen and there was no significant difference between the two strains (Hayaishi, 1958). 

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