Contaminantes microbianos no processo de produção decerveja

Abstract

Beer is a beverage made by fermenting malt with the use of yeasts,with the species Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomycespastorianus being the most used. The main ingredients for brewing arewater, hops, malt and yeast. Reports indicate that beer originated in theMiddle East or Egypt. The objective of this work is to perform a literaturereview on the main microbial contaminants that can be found in the beerproduction process, to describe the main modifications generated in beer by the microbial agents, as well as the main characteristics that facilitate the microbial contamination and the main means used for detecting beer contaminants. The beer does not promote the development of microorganisms due to the characteristics of pH, presence of alcohol, low concentration of O2, but microbial contaminations can occur by Grampositive, Gram-negative bacteria and wild yeasts that are capable of causing deterioration of the product end, adding compounds, aromas and undesirable flavors in the beer generating monetary and commercial losses for the producers.