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Brettanomyces

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Following the discovery of this yeast by Claussen, isolates of ''Brettanomyces'' were discovered in Belgian lambic beers in the 1920's. At this time, ''Brettanomyces'' was proposed as the genus name. The species name 'bruxellensis', meaning 'Brussels' in Latin, became the proposed species name for ''B. bruxellensis.''. This yeast species was then isolated from other industrial fermentations such as wine, cider, kombucha, kefir, olives, and bioethanol production. Custers was the first to attempt to describe the rest of the genus using phenotypic characteristics in 1940. In 1960, J. van der Walt observed some species of ''Brettanomyces'' formed ascospores, and this form of ''Brettanomyces'' was named ''Dekkera''. However, after the initial discovery of sporulating strains of ''Brettanomyces'', this behavior has not been reported since, therefore some scientists prefer to use the term "''Brettanomyces''" to refer to this genus. Originally, a total of 9 species were attributed to the genus ''Brettanomyces'', but after gene technology was invented, some of these species were changed (see [[Brettanomyces#Taxonomy|Taxonomy]] below) <ref name="Stenseels_2015_Essential">[https://www.academia.edu/19646963/Brettanomyces_Bruxellensis_Essential_Contributor_in_Spontaneous_Beer_Fermentations_Providing_Novel_Opportunities_for_the_Brewing_Industry Brettanomyces Bruxellensis, Essential Contributor in Spontaneous Beer Fermentations Providing Novel Opportunities for the Brewing Industry. Jan Steensels. BrewingScience, Sept/Oct 2015 (Vol. 68). 2015.]</ref>.
Although Claussen and others saw the character from ''Brettanomyces'' as a desirable character in English ales and identified its character as a hallmark quality of traditional English ales, as pure cultures of ''Saccharomyces'' were introduced in English brewing in the early 20th century, ''Brettanomyces'' became identified as a contaminate in both wineries and breweries due to some of the phenols, acids, and haze that it sometimes produces. These phenols and acids have generally been described as "barnyard", "burnt plastic", "wet animal", "fecal", and "horse sweat", although some tasters describe these flavors with different terminology because they perceive certain flavor compounds differently while some other tasters simply cannot detect certain flavor compounds at all <ref name="smith_divol_2016" /><ref name="Schifferdecker" /><ref name="Lucy_2015">[http://www.ajevonline.org/content/66/3/379 Brettanomyces bruxellensis Aroma-Active Compounds Determined by SPME GC-MS Olfactory Analysis. C.M. Lucy Joseph, Elizabeth A. Albino, Susan E. Ebeler, Linda F. Bisson. 2015.]</ref>. The general viewpoint of brewers (other than Lambic and brewers, Flanders red/brown brewers, and certain Trappist brewers in Belgium, as well as Berliner Weisse brewers in Berlin, Germany) and vintners became that ''Brettanomyces'' is primarily a spoilage organism, and this still holds in most cases today. More recently, however, the positive flavor components that have been identified in ''Brettanomyces'' beer such as "pineapple", "stone fruits", and to some degree acetic acid, have regained popularity with brewers outside of Belgium. Some winemakers and wine tasters have also described wines with certain flavor compounds derived from ''Brettanomyces'' as positive characteristics of some wines <ref>[https://daily.sevenfifty.com/the-everything-guide-to-brettanomyces/ "The Everything Guide to Brettanomyces." GuildSomm. April 15, 2018. Retrieved 03/04/2021.]</ref>. It is important to keep in mind that individual tasters on tasting panels describe some flavor compounds as "negative" while others describe them as "positive" (and sometimes a mixed response is given by a taster in regards to a certain flavor compound). This discrepancy in acceptability of flavor characteristics derived from ''Brettanomyces'' appears to be based on personal preference and experience. For example, in some cases and for some drinkers low levels of vinyl phenols produced by ''Brettanomyces'' contribute positively to wine, while higher amounts contribute negatively. Thus, a lower intensity of some flavor compounds can be seen as more desirable by some producers or consumers. Overall, the enjoyment or displeasure of the various flavor compounds produced by ''Brettanomyces'' and at certain levels is largely subjective <ref name="Lucy_2015" /><ref>[https://www.guildsomm.com/public_content/features/articles/b/kelli-white/posts/brettanomyces Brettanomyces: Science & Context. Kelli White. GuildSomm website. 03/29/2018. Retrieved 05/10/2019.]</ref>.
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