Can Yeast Metabolize Sucrose?
(This is an Oculyze Yeast Glossary entry)
As a brewer, you may have read that sucrose makes up 10% of the total carbohydrates in the wort. Which begs the question: can yeast metabolize sucrose?
Yes, it absolutely does. Sucrose is a disaccharide composed of glucose and fructose, both of which are fermentable sugars that can be metabolized by yeast through a process known as glycolysis. It is during this process that the sugars are converted into energy (ATP) and the byproducts we all love in our drinks: carbon dioxide and alcohol.
In fact, sucrose is so easily fermentable that it is a commonly used energy source for yeast in many alcoholic beverages, but also for other applications.
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