This study investigates the potential of blending brewing yeast strains and/or bacteria with traditional distilling yeast to enhance and diversify flavour contributions in new make spirit.

The research examines the impact of different yeast strains and bacteria on the production of flavour compounds during fermentation. Specific focus is placed on how the inclusion of thermotolerant yeast strains and bacteria can further enhance these flavour compounds whilst maintaining or improving overall efficiency.

Various brewing yeast strains, including ale and lager varieties, were selected for their unique flavour profiles and fermentation characteristics. Additionally, lactic acid bacteria strains were incorporated to introduce other distinctive flavours. These were then blended with classic distilling strains to determine the effect on flavour profile and performance.

Fermentation experiments were conducted with controlled variables to assess the influence firstly of each strain and secondly of each combination of yeast and/or bacteria on the resulting spirit.

Preliminary results indicate that the inclusion of brewing yeast strains and bacteria can significantly expand the flavour spectrum of new make spirit, demonstrating the potential for crafting unique and complex spirits through microbial diversity.

The use of thermotolerant strains in particular demonstrated the possibility of improving efficiency and the overall environmental impact of the fermentation process.

This study highlights the potential of blending more unconventional strains with traditional distilling yeast as a promising avenue for flavour innovation in spirit production.

Further research will focus on optimising fermentation performance and exploring additional strain combinations to unlock the full potential of this approach.