Abstract
Yeast cells were immobilized by absorption onto porous ceramic support and evaluated for continuous beer primary fermentation using a bioreactor in comparison to yeast cells immobilized by entrapment in calcium alginate gel. The effects of temperature and flow rate as a function of reaction/fermentation time on fermentation rate were investigated. The fermentation reaction (in terms of loss of total soluble solids in the beer wort as a function of time) was first-order with half-lifes in the range of ∼ 9–11 hours at ∼ 10–12°C at beer wort linear flow rates of ∼ 0.8–1.6 cm/minute for ceramic support, compared with ∼ 16 hours for Ca-alginate gel, the former support matrix being more efficient and demonstrating greater potential for future commercial application.