Alcoholic drinks are liquids with ethanol in them, and ethanol is the result of the process in fermentation of yeast. Under conditions of very low oxygen levels, the molecules of carbohydrates are broken down and make the famously welcome inebriation in humans possible. The most common form of carbohydrate that ferments into alcohol is sugar. These are your monosaccharides, and polysaccharides, as well as other long scientific names, but these are the most well known. Found in nearly every plant, just about every fruit, grain and any other edible source of food grown naturally has been fermented into alcohol. These saccharides are like the store house of energy for the molecules, so as they breakdown and form ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide gas, energy is also expelled. This defines the process as one of decay, which means other by products are created, such as yeast biomass, acids (pyruvic, acetaldehyde, ketoglutaric, lactic), glycerol. The conditions of the fermentation process will determine the outcome of the properties, aromas, and tastes of the finished product. Wine will take on different factors necessary to produce the finest of products, as the by products are mainly determined by temperature and duration of being kept in oxygen deprived conditions. Glycerol is one of the most coveted by product, and this is what help to give a good wine its full body and flavor. There a few forms of glycerol, and some are very toxic. This is not the type of glycerol used in wine, but industrial grade glycerol used in the addition of wines has been known and does kill people. Yeasts of different sorts are used for the various processes of making beer and wine. Brewer's yeasts tolerates about a 5% level of alcohol before a breakdown in the fermentation process occurs. Wine yeasts can tolerate around 12%. Different enzymes are used in the fermentation process, and this will help to break down the sugars into alcohol. The temperature ranges must be between 15C and 27C, and various enzymes added throughout the process will bring upon the process in two major steps- aerobic and anaerobic respiration. Aerobic has a little bit of oxygen and usually occurs in a few days, where as anaerobic is without any oxygen at all, and takes a lot longer being a considerably slower process. Home brewing has become very popular in modern days as the availability of the fermentation process has become available to the world.
http://goblinsshark.blogspot.com Sources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrate http://www.yobrew.co.uk/fermentation.php http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_fraud http://www.hdki.hr/kui/vol53/broj11/505.pdf