Influence of different yeast strains on the quality of fermented greengage (Prunus mume) alcoholic beverage and the optimization of fermentation conditions

Three commercial yeast strains (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), namely Angel RV171, Lalvin 71B and Angel BV818, were used for greengage alcoholic beverage (GAB) fermentation. To determine the most suitable yeast strain for the production of GAB, the main physicochemical properties of GAB were monitored, and the sensory characteristics were evaluated. Out of the three strains, Lalvin 71B-fermented GAB with a higher alcohol concentration of 14.31 ± 0.22%, residual sugar content of 5.72 ± 0.16 g/L and total acid content of 9.72 ± 0.12 g/L, presented the highest efficiency and a suitable sugar-acid ratio. The most abundant volatile flavor compounds were detected in the 71B-fermented GAB (290.67 ± 12.75 mg/L). However, the GABs by RV171 and BV818 showed stronger antioxidant and radical scavenging capacity. Combined with the comprehensive sensory evaluation, Lalvin 71B was suggested to be a more suitable strain to produce fermented GAB. Furthermore, response surface design and central composite design were employed to optimize fermentation conditions. The results demonstrated that GAB with higher alcohol content (14.21%) and lower total acid content (8.74 g/L) was produced, under the optimized condition of the juice-water ratio of 3:5, inoculum amount of 0.67 g/kg glutinous rice and fermentation temperature of 24 °C.