A non-GMO Saccharomyces cerevisiae × Saccharomyces paradoxus brewing hybrid moderately reduces ethanol production and modifies beer aroma.

The increasing demand for beers with moderate ethanol content and diversified sensory profiles has stimulated the search for non-GMO yeast-based strategies that preserve brewing performance. In this study, a collection of 28 yeast strains from different species and isolation sources was screened to identify parental strains with complementary fermentative and metabolic traits. Based on their performance under brewing conditions, selected parents were crossed by rare-mating to generate a novel interspecific hybrid, DR1 (Saccharomyces cerevisiae × Saccharomyces paradoxus), which was molecularly confirmed and subsequently characterized. The fermentative behavior of DR1 was assessed in comparison with its parental strains under representative and industrial brewing conditions. DR1 retained efficient maltose consumption but showed limited maltotriose utilization, resulting in a moderate ethanol reduction relative to the industrial parent, reaching 21 % in synthetic wort and 17.5 % in industrial wort. The hybrid also produced higher glycerol and a volatile profile enriched in selected acetate and fatty acid esters. Consumer sensory analysis showed that DR1 retained beer-like sensory attributes, although overall liking and purchase intention were lower than for the industrial parent, indicating that further optimization will be required for broad consumer acceptance. Overall, this work supports rare-mating-based interspecific hybridization as a non-GMO strategy to generate brewing yeasts with reduced ethanol production and expanded aromatic diversity.