Combination of newly developed high quality Fuqu with traditional Daqu for Luzhou-flavor liquor brewing

Application of a compound starter composed of traditional Daqu, high quality Fuqu developed previously in our lab, and alcohol-producing and aroma-producing yeasts in the brewing of Luzhou-flavor liquor was investigated. Compared with traditional Daqu, the compound starter demonstrated apparently higher starch utilization and alcohol productivity both in flasks and in pits. Flavor ingredient analyses showed that the flavor ingredient compositions of liquors produced with the compound starter were similar to those obtained with the traditional process. With appropriate after treatments, the compound starter may be applied in distilleries for elevating the productivity of traditional liquor or producing high quality new-style distilled liquor. As starch utilization can be increased significantly, using this compound starter in liquor brewing is especially meaningful for lessening environmental pollution. These findings may also be helpful for further understanding the mechanisms of Chinese liquor brewing.