Study of microbial communities, sensory characteristics, volatile flavor compounds and the correlation during the storage of Xiangyang fresh Huangjiu

Xiangyang fresh Huangjiu is a Chinese regional specialty fermented beverage and an intangible cultural heritage. The microbial community, sensory characteristics and volatile flavor compounds during the storage of two typs of Xiangyang fresh Huangjiu were investigated, and a correlative analysis was conducted between the microbial community and sensory characteristics as well as volatile flavor compounds. 14 dominant bacterial genera and 7 dominant fungal genera were indentified in both types of Huangjiu. The pronounced sourness in both types of Huangjiu during storage was strongly positively associated with <i>Saccharomyces</i>. The predominant flavor profile of 1-octen-3-one was significantly negatively correlated with <i>Gluconobacterium</i>, and the increase of <i>Wickerhamomyces</i> and <i>Millerozyma</i>, along with the decline of <i>Enterobacter</i>, <i>Komagataeibacter</i>, <i>Pseudomonas</i>, and <i>Saccharomycopsis</i>, contributed to the reduction of the pungent volatile compounds of dimethyl trisulfide and 2-methyl butanal. The results offer insights for quality enhancement, storage and consumption in the standardized industrial production of Xiangyang fresh Huangjiu.