Enzymes and Alcohol (part 1)

This is just the introduction of my paper as I am beginning to write it.  At the moment I am having trouble finding good, useable patents that I can discuss.  (My prof wants at least 3 patents to be discussed.)

Enzymes have been of increasing interest in the field of beer and spirits.  Various enzymes are used in the brewing and fermentation processes at nearly every step.  There are some differences in the types of enzymes used for the production of beer and alcohol, but the processes of rendering fermentable sugars from a source and then fermenting them are similar.  There has been considerable work on enzyme science and the production of alcohol.  The creation of new processes to prevent deactivation of enzymes in low calorie beer production, to genetically altered enzymes that can split non-fermentable dextrins in to fermentable sugars, are two examples that will be covered in better detail later.  A secondary area of study on alcohol and enzymes has been on human enzyme mutations that effect alcohol metabolism in the body and how these differences are split by ethnic lines.

In simple home brewing operations there are only two basic enzymes that are of concern, alpha-amylase and beta-amylase.  These two enzymes can control flavor, body, alcohol content, and a creamy feeling.  An entire family of enzymes known as proteolytic enzymes is capable of splitting complex protein chains in to simpler proteins and amino acids which can affect rate of fermentation, clarity, quality of the beer, and the head of the beer.  Small scale home brewers would not have to worry about enzyme concentration in most cases but as production moves to large scale manufacturing enzyme controls can give a much better control of the end product as well as speed up processes.

MEW