CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY OF DISTILLED SPIRITS

Catalog description

The underlying science of the production of the distilled spirits will be discussed systematically. The course will cover the requirements for water, the major raw materials (eg. cereals, fruits, agave, syrups, and woods for maturation) and the conversion of these into fermentable extract. The scientific principles of fermentation will be explored, in the context of both ethanol and secondary metabolite production. Distillation will be considered, in terms of the physics and chemistry of liquid-liquid separations, before discussing post-fermentation options such as blending, maturation and product finishing.