Uses+of+Alcohol+Fermentation

Fermentation has been around for centuries. It has been used in many ways to perform various tasks. Alcohol fermentation in particular has carried out the most useful tasks. Without alcohol fermentation we would not have the bread-making, brewing, or wine-making industries as we do today. In the following paragraphs I will describe the role of alcohol fermentation in these great industries.

The Alcoholic Beverage Industries
The alcoholic beverages that can be produced by fermentation can vary depending on two major factors: the plant that is being fermented and the enzymes used for fermentation. Previously plants such as grapes, berries, corn, rice, wheat, honey, potatoes, barley, hops, cactus juice, casava roots, and other plants have been used during fermentation. These plants can result in different types of beer, wine, or distilled liquors. Before cultured yeasts were made available, people used naturally occuring yeasts to conduct fermentation, but as times have changed industries can now choose from a wide variety of yeasts to control the precise direction in which fermentation will go. In the process of the brewing barley, hops, and malt sugar are fermented to create beer. As you read above industries can now choose certain yeasts to carry out fermentation. Using this technology the brewing companies are able to make a unique taste depending on the yeast they choose. Different yeasts can also determine the percentage of alcohol that is able to build up in the large vats, where the fermentation takes place, before fermentation comes to an end (usually 3-6%). Beers are usually bottled after fermentation has ceased, and some carbon dioxide is added to the bottle right before it is capped. There are several types of wines that can be created with different types of plants and yeasts. Some wines can be made with rice, like sake in Japan, or honey, like mead, but most wines are made with fermented grapes. In the wine-making industry several different yeasts can be chosen to control the the direction of fermentation. These yeasts can also determine the percentage of alcohol which can build up in the vats before fermentation ceases (usually 10-20%). Most wines are bottled after fermentation has ended, but for some wines like champagne it is bottled before and some carbon dioxide is then bottled with the drink.
 * Brewing**
 * Wine-Making**

Bread-Making
Ethyl alcohol is not the only useful product of fermentation, carbon dioxide is very important in the bread-making industry. When the batter for bread is made a small amount of sugar and yeast is added to the mix. During the rising period, sugar is fermented by enzymes in the yeast with the formation of carbon dioxide gas. The carbon dioxide gives the batter texture and bulkiness that would be lacking without the process of fermentation.

Other Uses
Alcohol fermentation is also used in the production of olives, cucumber pickles, sauerkraut, some antibiotics, and the production of gasohol.

Alcohol fermentation has given the world so much, and without it we would not be able to enjoy many of lifes simple pleasures.