Brewing is a 9000 years old profession which until ten years ago had its focus mainly on the mass production of a quality lager beer, that would satisfy the customer's demands. In 2006 the beer culture came back to life with the rise of micro breweries that were creating new styles of beer. Beer production today is at its peak as demand for beer constantly grows. In my thesis I review the use of tubular bioreactors for beer production in a continuous process. These bioreactors are an extremly interesting tool, that offers a series of advatages over the classical stir-tank bioreactors. This kind of bioreactor could significantly simplify the brewing process, due to its capability of controlling various factors that are critical for a successful fermentation. In addition, the use of tubular bioreactors offers the possibility of continuous beer production. In the following chapters I will present more thoroughly the mechanism of flocculation in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the genetic and environmental factors that affect flocculation, the types of tubular bioreactors that are relevant for the brewing industry, the advanages and disadvantages of such reactors as well as the possibility of implementing such a method for brewing in today's brewing industry.
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