Distinguishing Between Fermentation, Brewing And Distillation

Most of the alcoholic beverages available in the market today are made either through brewing or distillation. Brewing is a process that is most commonly applied in beer making whereas distillation is applied on drinks such as whiskey and vodka. On the other hand, fermentation is a process that involves the use of plant sugars in the production of ethanol, and the technique can be applied in both brewing and distillation.

Basically, in fermentation, sugars including glucose are put into fermentation vessels and this result in the production of ethanol and carbon dioxide. For fermentation to occur, brewers add yeast to a plant product, which is then put in an airtight environment. The yeast makes the plant sugars to break down thus leading to the release of a number of waste porducst.Of all the waste produced, however, ethanol is the most important one seeing as it is the substance that is very much used in making alcohol.

Where fermentation is used in brewing, grain such as barley may be dried, milled, soaked in water and heated after which hops and other ingredients may be added. At this point, yeast may be added as well so as to facilitate fermentation in the fermentation vessels. Once the fermentation occurs, the mixture is removed from the tank and taken through further processing .To complete the procedure, the mixture is filtered before it is considered ready for consumption.

On the other hand, distillation involves separation of different liquids through heat. During the production of distilled alcoholic drinks, the first steps are very similar to what occurs in brewing. In this case, the distiller soaks the grain in water after it germinates, and then the grain is roasted, grounded and mixed with water before yeast is added to the fermentation vessels to assist in the fermentation process. At this point, the mixture is also heated and the vapor that is produced is condensed, which results in a drink that is high in alcohol content.

Apart from distillation and brewing, fermentation can also be applied in producing other alcoholic beverages such as wine. The process is very commonly applied in bread making as well. In this case, yeast is added to dough and then allowed to ferment. As the dough is being baked, the ethanol in the mixture evaporates and in the process, carbon dioxide is emitted. It is this carbon dioxide content that forms bubbles which then make bread to rise.