Background
Kveik (the norwegian designation for yeasts) is used to name fermented beers that uses traditional methods in farmhouses, here in Norway. This beer is arising as a national treasure. However, the process is quite complex and the diversity of yeasts involved during the fermentation is still unknown. During the last years, Lars Garshol has collected several samples from farmhouses across Norway, but several questions remains unknown. Which yeasts are involved in the process? And what is their origin?
Learning outcomes
The student will learn microbial techniques for the isolation and phenotypic characterization of yeasts, molecular methods for the identification and trace the origin of Kveik yeasts, and bioinformatic tools.
The master student will be involved in the isolation and characterization of yeast cultures used for the production of Kveik beer. Kveik yeasts will be Illumina/PacBio sequenced and comparative and population genomics will be applied for tracing their origin.
Supervisors
The candidate will be supervised by David Peris, Inger Skrede and Håvard Kauserud and collaborate with Lars Garshol.
Related publications
- Foster B, Tyrawa C, Ozsahin E, Lubberts M, Krogerus K, Preiss R, van der Merwe G. 2021. Kveik brewing yeasts demonstrate wide flexibility in beer fermentation temperature and flavour metabolite production and exhibit enhanced trehalose accumulation. bioRxiv. 2021
- Preiss R, Tyrawa C, Krogerus K, Garshol LM, van der Merwe G. 2018. Traditional Norwegian Kveik are a genetically distinct group of domesticated Saccharomyces cerevisiae brewing yeasts. Front Microbiol. 9:2137
- Kits D, Garshol LM. 2021. Norwegian Kveik brewing yeasts are adapted to higher temperatures and produce fewer off-flavours under heat stress than commercial Saccharomyces cerevisiae American Ale yeast. bioRxiv. 2021