With sales expected to have tripled in 2020, seltzer is the fastest growing segment of the fermented beverages industry. Home brewers have caught the bug, making batches of seltzer in their kitchen. It’s no wonder; the process couldn’t be more straightforward; all it takes is sugar, water, some heat, some patience, and, of course, the yeast and yeast nutrients.

But straightforward doesn’t mean simple. “What you want from a yeast in a hard seltzer is something that’s robust and doesn’t generate off-flavors,” says Jason Mabbett, technical sales manager of the Americas for AB Biotek.

Yeast is the engine that kick-starts fermentation. Yeast consumes sugar, producing alcohol. But this is where home brewers can run into problems. Not all yeasts are created equal and seltzer fermentations are very different than beer or wine fermentations. In beer, for example, the choice of yeast can be responsible for more than half of the finished product’s flavor. When making seltzer you are trying to minimize the contribution of flavor and aroma from the yeast.  The highest quality comes from choosing a yeast that contributes very little to the final aroma and flavor.  Select a yeast that is “finicky” and you could wind up with a drink that takes on off flavors like a hydrogen sulfide smell (rotten egg!) or a stall midway through fermentation.

“Some yeast are more efficient than others in producing alcohol,” Mabbett says. As a home brewer, “You want to maximize your alcohol production, so you can add water to it and get it to the alcohol level you want. Only then do you add your flavorings.”

A successful seltzer fermentation results in a liquid that is flavor-and-aroma-neutral, one that is ready for whatever flavoring you want to add before you bottle. Mabbett likens the right yeast for a seltzer to a painter’s canvas. Imagine a painter arranging his oils before his easel, Mabbett says. “You want the cleanest canvas possible. You don’t want anything on it that would, say, make the canvas go from plain white to gray.”

For home brewers mixing up a batch of seltzer, the answer is AB Biotek’s Maurivin PDM yeast. PDM stands for Prise de Mousse, referring to a family of yeasts used primarily in winemaking. As it turns out, PDM yeasts are also ideal for seltzers, because PDM yeasts are hardy and efficient; they can withstand temperature changes without negatively affecting fermentation. (As any home brewer knows, maintaining a consistent temperature during fermentation can be a challenge.) And because they’re so hardy, PDM yeasts don’t often produce off-flavors or odors.

Maurivin PDM is a robust yeast, which means it doesn’t produce a lot of off-characters, explains Blake Bomben, business development manager in Ravago Chemicals North America’s fermented beverages division. “PDM is a variety that can handle a range of sugar sources and not get unhappy. It can handle a range of different fermentation temperatures and not get unhappy.” What’s more, PDM yeast works fast, making for a shorter fermentation time, which means you can start on the next batch quicker. Just one gram of yeast per liter of liquid volume is all you need to get kick off fermentation, as long as you are using the proper yeast nutrient.

Of course, sugar alone isn’t sufficient fuel for yeast during the seltzer-making process. Because Maurivin PDM is a wine yeast, it’s accustomed to getting nutrients from grapes. Since there are no grapes or grape nutrients in the seltzer-making process, you’ll need to select a nutrient substitute to balance out the recipe.