Fermentation sensitivity to acidity

Definition

Fermentation is an extremely sensitive process in which yeast responds sharply to subtle chemical shifts, and acids and bases exert a profound influence. The need to measure this acidity motivated the invention of pH.

Brewers had long known acidity mattered to consistent beer but lacked a practical way to quantify it, which is the problem Sørensen set out to solve at the Carlsberg Laboratory. The biological sensitivity of yeast to proton concentration is what made a precise acidity scale commercially valuable. It is an early demonstration of biology living inside narrow pH ranges.

Related concepts

Litmus test · pH · Biological pH tolerance

---

Part of The Blueprint of Water · 🦠 biology