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Glycosides are flavorless compounds often found in plants/fruits that are composed of a molecule (often a flavor active compound) bound to a sugar molecule. The glycosidic bond can be broken, releasing the sugar molecule and the potential flavor active compound. These bonds can be broken with exposure to acid, as well as specific enzymes (beta-glucosidase) which can be added synthetically or produced naturally by some microorganisms, including some strains of ''Brettanomyces'' that have beta-glucosidase enzyme activity (mostly ''B. anomalus'' strains) <ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycoside "Glycoside." Wikipedia. Retrieved 06/27/2016.]</ref>. The release of flavor molecules from glycosides is thought to contribute to the flavor development of aging wines, as well as kriek (cherry) lambic <ref name="Daenen2">[http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1567-1364.2008.00421.x/pdf Evaluation of the glycoside hydrolase activity of a Brettanomyces strain on glycosides from sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) used in the production of special fruit beers. Luk Daenen, Femke Sterckx, Freddy R. Delvaux, Hubert Verachtert & Guy Derdelinckx. 2007.]</ref>. It is speculated that flavor compounds from hops can also be released from glycosides <ref name="Daenen1">[http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2672.2007.03566.x/full Screening and evaluation of the glucoside hydrolase activity in Saccharomyces and Brettanomyces brewing yeasts. L. Daenen, D. Saison, F. Sterckx, F.R. Delvaux, H. Verachtert, G. Derdelinckx. 2007.]</ref>; however, at least one study has shown no significant difference in a blind taste test between hopped beer exposed to the beta-glucosidase enzymes and hopped beer that was not exposed to the enzyme <ref name="Vervoort">[http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1111/jam.13200/abstract Characterization of the recombinant Brettanomyces anomalus β-glucosidase and its potential for bioflavoring. Yannick Vervoort, Beatriz Herrera-Malaver, Stijn Mertens, Victor Guadalupe Medina, Jorge Duitama, Lotte Michiels, Guy Derdelinckx, Karin Voordeckers, and Kevin J. Verstrepen. 2016.]</ref>.
Beta-glucosidase also allows the breakdown of cellobiose and cellotriose <ref>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC241500/ Fermentation of Cellodextrins by Different Yeast Strains. Pierre Gondé, Bruno Blondin, Marc Leclerc, Robert Ratomahenina, Alain Arnaud, and Pierre Galzy. 1984.]</ref><ref name="Roos_2018">[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30246252?dopt=Abstract Jonas De Roos and Luc De Vuyst. 2018. DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.9291.]</ref>. This has been believed to be a mechanism in which ''Brettanomyces'' can survive in barrels; however, most strains of ''Brettanomyces'' found in lambic do not seem to have the ability to produce beta-glucosidase nor utilize cellobiose. Daenen et al. (2007) found that none of the ''B. bruxellensis'' strains isolated from lambic could utilize cellobiose, but strains of ''B. anomalus'' and ''B. custersianus'' isolated from lambic could utilize cellobiose <ref name="Daenen1" /><ref name="Roos_2018" />. Additionally, a study by Tyrawa et al. from [[Escarpment Laboratories]] agreed that wine isolated strains were generally better at fermenting cellobiose than strains isolated from beer at 15°C (59°F). However, at 22.5°C (72.5°F) most of the beer strains started to utilize cellobiose after a few days of incubation (they preferred other food sources such as glucose and maltose), indicating that temperature plays a role in whether ''Brettanomyces'' can ferment certain sugars <ref name="Tyrawa_2017" />, and the [[Brettanomyces#Carbohydrate_Metabolism_and_Fermentation_Temperature|table from the NCYC ''Brettanomyces'' strains]] suggests that fermenting cellobiose is generally rare for ''B. bruxellensis''. This also suggests that not only is are ''B. bruxellensis'' strains that are isolated from beer are generally unable to break down glycosides, but they are probably also unable to utilize the cellobiose in wooden barrels as a food source (although higher temperature might allow some beer strains to start fermenting cellobiose).
See the [[Glycosides]] page for more details.