Not only is this a great scrable word worth a ton of points. It is a term near and dear to the hearts of all home brewers. Zymurgy is the study of fermentation. So many things can affect fermentation that it truly is a science. Some of the things that affect fermentation that are critical for the homebrewer to understand.....
Temperature: typically warmer temps bring on faster fermentation, but ever yeast strain has a range at which it will reproduce and thrive.
Yeast strain: see above
Alcohol content. Some beers can only ever be a certain percent alcohol because going above this percentage is toxic to the yeast and therefore fermentation stops.
Contamination: If forced to compete with contaminating bacteria the yeast can lose and the outcome is not good (usually), lambics is a type of beer that purposefully introduces a certain bacteria to provide a certain taste. I am a big fan of Frambois - a French lambic.
Light: the darker the better. A closed room in a basement or a closet are your best bets.
If you have any questions, thoughts or stories about fermentation please comment below, let us at the Pearl City Society of Brewer's know about it, below or at pearlcitysobs@yahoo.com.
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