Can Malalactic Fermentation Still Work?

The way to do that is skipping malalactic fermentation altogether but you can also go to a yeast lab and ask them for specific bacteria strains. They are known to produce much lower levels of diacetyl. So you can still get your malalactic conversion done so you still converge your malic into lactic acid without byproducts of di acetyl. The smoke character is coming from different different compounds. Most important one is guayacol and you can find it also in your smoked whiskies and smoked peas and bears.