Sorry for the terrible pun, but l’m legit curious.
A friend and I were talking about how some sourdough mothers, pho broths, etc can literally be human generations old. Is it a “Ship of Theseus” kind of thing? Does the process of maintaining the mother prevent this by adding in new yeast? Do the many generations of yeast make different strains of yeast? Is there a concern that the many yeast generations could create undesirable modifications?
In: Biology
Yes, there are hundreds or thousands different strains of yeast. Mostly the differences are noticeable in the growth speed and the preferred temperature.
Biggest split is between brewer yeast and baker yeast groups,
because brewer yeasts were artificially selected for alcohol tolerance and converting more sugar into alcohol. But brewer yeast also breeds slower for more controlled fermentation process, while in baker one quick rise is preferable.
Some beer and winemakers care a lot that their wine is made with the specific strain they were cultivating to taste right, but they’re also huge snobs.
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