Through the centuries, mankind has discovered ways to evolve their way of living and progressing from agriculture to economics. But there has always been that one thing that’s been by mankind’s side through the centuries and that is alcohol.
Alcohol has played its part in civilisations, from the discovery of ceramic vessels containing beer produced by the Sumerians to the Romans and their abundance of grape vines growing across Italy. Although both civilisations lived 1000 years apart, the knowledge of producing alcohol has been passed down through the centuries and continues to be used in the 21st century - alcohol fermentation.
Alcohol fermentation has been the keystone to producing alcohol and the process itself is quite an art form. It would take many attempts - and patience - to perfect the fermentation process through two key factors: temperature and air exposure. Without these two the mixture can either lose its alcohol content or rot and become undrinkable. But as soon as this problem was resolved, there was no stopping mankind from producing and indulging in their finished product.
If you were lucky enough like me back in school, you were probably shown the experiment in science with the glass bottle containing yeast, sugar and water and the balloon sealed on top. Over time, the balloon would slowly inflate with carbon dioxide which gives beer its bubbles and the ethanol inside the bottle that gets you tipsy.
So how does alcohol fermentation work?
Alcohol fermentation, also known as ethanol fermentation, is a biological process made by microorganisms in yeast that consumes sugars such as glucose, fructose and sucrose and converts them into energy molecules to produce carbon dioxide. As soon as this process is made, brewers would then add hops, malts and other flavourings to the beer. The same process is used for producing wine with the yeast consuming the sugars from the grapes.
Today, alcohol fermentation is still used to create alcohol-free beer with the tipsy feeling taken out, but the thirst-quenching feeling of a normal beer left in to enjoy.