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Unlike most genera of yeast, ''Brettanomyces'' has the characteristics of being very tolerant to harsh conditions, including high amounts of alcohol (up to 14.5-15% ABV <ref name="Crauwels1" /><ref name="Agnolucci_2017" />), a pH as low as 2 <ref>[http://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm?section=news&content=141954 Wines and Vines. New Research on Role of Yeast in Winemaking; report on a presentation by David Mills and Lucy Joseph from UC Davis. 11/14/2014. Retrieved 08/16/2015.]</ref>, and environments with low nitrogen <ref name="Schifferdecker"></ref> and low sugar sources <ref name="Smith_2018">[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0740002017308249 The carbon consumption pattern of the spoilage yeast Brettanomyces bruxellensis in synthetic wine-like medium. Brendan D.Smith and Benoit Divol. 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fm.2017.12.011.]</ref>. It has been reported that some strains require a very low concentration of fermentable sugars (less than 300 mg/L) and nitrogen (less than 6 mg/L), which is less than most wines contain <ref name="Smith_2017">[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0740002017308249 The carbon consumption pattern of the spoilage yeast Brettanomyces bruxellensis in synthetic wine-like medium. Brendan D. Smith, Benoit Divol. 2017.]</ref>. Some strains are able to utilize ethanol, glycerol, acetic acid, and malic acid when no other sugar sources are available <ref name="Smith_2018" />. This capability allows ''Brettanomyces'' to survive in alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, and cider. In alcoholic beverages, ''B. bruxellensis'' tends to lag after the primary fermentation with ''Saccharomyces''. It is believed that during this lag phase, ''B. bruxellensis'' adapts to the harsh conditions of the beverage (low pH, high concentrations of ethanol, and limited sugar/nitrogen sources). After this lag phase, ''B. bruxellensis'' can grow and survive when no other yeasts can. ''Brettanomyces'' is also more resistant to pH and temperature changes, and tolerant of environments limited in oxygen (although ''Brettanomyces'' prefers the availability of at least a little bit of oxygen). Scientifically, which specific nitrogen and carbon sources ''B. bruxellensis'' uses in these stressful environments has not received much research <ref name="smith_divol_2016"></ref>. [https://www.winesandvines.com/news/article/200000/New-Tools-to-Limit-Wine-Spoilage One study from Dr. Charles Edwards] found that a combination of keeping wine under 54°F (12.2°C) and alcohol at or above 14% resulted in a decline of ''B. bruxellensis'' populations for up to 100 days for two strains that were tested. The study found that neither of the strains grew well at 14% and stopped growth completely at 16% ABV in wine, but one strain grew better than the other at 15%, demonstrating the genetic diversity of ''Brettanomyces''. The researchers concluded that a combination of high ethanol and cold temperatures as well as sulfur dioxide, chitosan, and filtration could be used to control ''Brettanomyces'' in winemaking. ''Brettanomyces'' has been found to be able to grow at temperatures as low as 50°F (10°C) and as high as 95°F (35°C); see [[Brettanomyces#Carbohydrate_Metabolism_and_Fermentation_Temperature|fermentation temperature]] for more information <ref>[http://www.ajevonline.org/content/early/2017/01/05/ajev.2017.16102 Interactions between Storage Temperature and Ethanol that Affect Growth of Brettanomyces bruxellensis in Merlot Wine. Taylor A. Oswald, Charles G. Edwards. 2017.]</ref>.
The genetic diversity of ''Brettanomyces'' is particularly wide. For example, one study that analyzed the whole genomes of 53 strains of ''B. bruxellensis'' found that the overall genetic diversity between different strains of ''B. bruxellensis'' was higher than strains of ''S. cerevisiae'' (however, the entire gene set, known as the ''pangenome'', of all the genes among all of the strains of '''B. bruxellensis'' is much smaller than the entire gene set of ''S. cerevisiae'') <ref name="Gounot_2019" />. Some studies have indicated that strains of ''B. bruxellensis'' have adapted to specific environments. For example, one study found that strains of ''B. bruxellensis'' isolated from wine had 20 genes involved in the metabolism of carbon and nitrogen, whereas strains isolated from beer did not. This indicated that ''B. bruxellensis'' strains living in wine have adapted to the harsher environment of wine <ref name="smith_divol_2016"></ref>. Another study found that one out of the two strains tested that were isolated from soda could not ferment maltose, and only strains isolated from wine were able to grow in wine and the beer/soda strains did not. The wine strains were also more resistant to sulfites, which are commonly used in the wine industry to prevent microbial contamination <ref name="Crauwels_2016" />. The whole genome sequencing of one strain of ''B. naardenensis'' and lambic strains of ''B. bruxellensis'' found that they are missing the genes associated with nitrate utilization, indicating that the assimilation of nitrates is not required to survive in beer, perhaps because of the abundance of nitrogen from other sources found in beer <ref name="Tiukova_2019" /><ref name="colomer_2020_genome" />.
The addition of vitamins can have a positive impact on ''Brettanomyces'' growth. For example, while ''Brettanomyces'' does not need riboflavin (vitamin B2) or thiamine (vitamin B1) in order to grow, the presence of either or both of these two vitamins encourages ''Brettanomyces'' growth <ref>[http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jib.385/full The influence of thiamine and riboflavin on various spoilage microorganisms commonly found in beer. Barry Hucker, Melinda Christophersen, Frank Vriesekoop. 2017.]</ref>. Other vitamins such as p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), folic acid (vitamin B9), nicotinic acid (vitamin B3), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) are also not required for most strains of ''Brettanomyces'' to grow. The presence of alcohol can increase the dependence on vitamins for some strains of ''Brettanomyces'' to grow. For example, Myo-inositol (vitamin B8) and thiamine (vitamin B1) were required by two strains of ''B. bruxellensis'' when grown in 10% ethanol but not in 0% ethanol. Biotin (vitamin B7) is the one exception, and it was found that the lack of biotin inhibited the growth of some strains of ''B. bruxellensis''. Other studies contradict these previously mentioned findings, showing that thiamine was not required by the strains of ''B. bruxellensis'' tested, that pyridoxine was required, and biotin was not required. These discrepancies between scientific studies are probably due to the genetic differences between the strains selected, the growth media chosen by the scientists, and/or the growth conditions <ref>[http://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/2/3/17 Use of Nutritional Requirements for Brettanomyces bruxellensis to Limit Infections in Wine. Nicolas H. von Cosmos and Charles G. Edwards. 2016.]</ref>.