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You are here: Home --> Forum Home --> Brewing Forum --> Brewing Discussion --> Calcium propionate or calcium propanoate

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chino_brews
Charter Member
Eden Prairie, MN
301 Posts


Does calcium propionate (aka calcium propanoate) inhibit yeast from fermenting beer?

I've learned that calcium propionate is an anti-fungal preservative that prevents microbes from producing energy, it is used at a rate of 0.1-0.4%  in bakery products as a mold inhibitor, and is primarily intended to prevent Bacillus mesentericus rope and mold.

I've seen the recipe for toast ale in Zymurgy and was wondering if using a substantial portion of bread would negatively affect fermentation if the bread used calcium propionate as a preservative.




Posted 34 days ago.

testingapril
Charter Member
Atlanta, GA
595 Posts


Are these bakery products yeast leavened? I imagine if the bread is leavened with yeast then the inhibitor is not preventing the rise which would seem to me that the substantially lower levels in a beer made with toast would not inhibit fermentation.




Posted 34 days ago.

mchrispen
Bastrop, TX
485 Posts


Propanoate is effective against mycelium molds, and should not interfere with sacc (fungi) at all. It forms a weak acid that survives the baking process, and also prevents ropy bacterial growth when long fermenting sour doughs. At the USDA max levels, it should not be a concern. I would not combine it with any ascorbic acid, as there is a theoretical pathway that may sequester calcium that could cause problems with yeast cell permeability (Bolton and Quain). So might be worth looking at a label to see if both are used as a preservative in the bread you use. If they are, maybe a slight overpitch of active yeast would overwhelm any detrimental effects.

I doubt that any craft bakeries use it. It cannot be used in so-called organic labeled products.





Posted 34 days ago.

chino_brews
Charter Member
Eden Prairie, MN
301 Posts


Thanks for the thoughts, @testingapril and @mchrispen. I was concerned that the calcium propionate would not inhibit the short-duration action of yeast in a hot oven producing a tiny amount of CO2 while having long-term negative effects for a full fermentation of beer.

I see the bread also has some "sorbic acid". I think I'll try a small batch and see.




Posted 34 days ago.

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