Fermentation is the process by which beer, wine, whiskey, and other alcoholic beverages are produced. Fruit, sugar, or starch bearing materials are put into solution with water and ‘yeast are added. Yeast are tiny organisms that eat the sugar and produce CO2 and alcohol as bodily wastes. The yeast reproduce very rapidly and more and more yeast eat the sugar and produce alcohol and CO2. They soon raise the alcohol level in their environment above 10%, which causes the yeast to stop metabolizing.
Indoor hobbyists have used the fermentation method for a few years now, and it is recognized as a reliable and inexpensive way to manufacture CO2.
Homebrew
Some hobbyists use the fermentation system because they like the second hobby
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home beer and wine making! A few five gallon jugs of quality homebrew, or a few wooden casks of wine, can greatly enhance the output of a growing chamber. With inexpensive and accurate CO2 test kits now available, it is possible for a hobbyist to determine the amount of brew that must be working to keep his grow room at the desired ppm of
CO2.
There are many books on home beer and wine making, and
almost every city usually has a store that sells beer and wine making
supplies, lithe supplies are not available in your area, check the Yellow
Pages or mail order companies.
Simple Small Scale
Fermentation
If the fermentation method meets your needs as a system of
CO2 enhancement, but you have no desire to produce drinking alcohol, the
process is very simple. Sugar, water, and yeast from the grocery store are
used to make a simple brew that produces CO2 at a fairly regular rate for
about 3 to 4 days. At this time the spent solution is dumped and a new
brew started.
Gallon Jug CO2 Fermentation
Larger Scale, Continuous Batch
Fermentation
Using approximately the same
ratios of sugar and water as described above, a large scale fermentation can
be kept going for up to two months. Start with a large tub, tank, or trash
can. Add a gallon of sugar water every day or two and see how high it
keeps the CO2 levels in the grow room. Be sure to leave lots of
room for additional liquid as the tank fills. Remember that cleanliness, and a
good air lock, are the keys to a long-lasting fermentation. (See
drawing.)
CO2 from sugar is an expensive method of production. If
the
brew is used for consumption, or the alcohol is to be
distilled for
fuel, it makes sense economically.
Advantages of
Fermentation
Disadvantages of
Fermentation
Floral Beer
Floral
Beer is a phenomenon with a rather limited but enthusiastic
following among the scientific/horticultural community around
California's Bay Area and Silicon Valley.
It is made by soaking aromatic
plants in homemade beer while the beer is brewing. The alcohol in the beer
removes the aromatic essences of the flowers or leaves being soaked, and
imparts unusual qualities to the beer.
In some recipes the water-soluble
chlorophyll and pigments of the flowers or leaves being soaked are
removed prior to the beer making process.
The plant material is first soaked
for about 8 hours in cold water, with a minimum of agitation. It is then
rinsed, the flowers are dried and then added to the batch of beer in a
large cheesecloth sack. The soaking and rinse water are discarded. The
sack is allowed to remain in the brew during the entire process. It is
removed prior to
bottling.
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