Abstract:One of the key indices indicating the maturation of beers was the change of some flavors in beer, such as diacetyl. The conversion of diacetyl was slow and its content would rise again after the beer was canned or bottled. α-Acetolactate decarboxylase was usually used to control the content of diacetyl, which could catalyze the conversion of α-acetolactate (the precursor of diacetyl ) to acetoin in order to prevent the synthesis of diacetyl, lower the maturation time of beer and improve the stability of flavors in beer. In this paper, the formation and reabsorption of diacetyl, the mechanism of α-acetolactate decarboxylase-mediated reduction of diacetyl and the progress of α-acetolactate decarboxylase research were reviewed.
