Some developments in immobilized fermentation of beer during the last 30 years
Continuity is a common phenomenon in the chemical industry where reactions are often autocatalysed or the catalyst is inorganic. But, preference for continuity in large-scale operations shows that economics favour continuous operation. Brewing, on the other hand, relies on another type of catalyst: a living organism - yeast.
However, continuous fermentation of beer was the subject of many research papers and patents in the 1950s and 1960s. By the early 1970s most of the continuous fermentation processes with free cells were abandoned. Immobilization was seen as a technique that might solve problems encountered. In 1971 Narziss and Hellich published the Bio-Brew process, which renewed research into continuous fermentation. 1993), but these were not major ones. 1996).
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