Beer is the most
commonly consumed alcoholic beverage in the world, with estimates of
world-wide consumption in excess of 130 billion liters each year. One
of the oldest beverages, beer has been existence since before 4000
B.C. Perhaps first fermented in ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia,
beer has long been a part of human society. Yet, until the late-1800’s,
brewing beer was more of an art than a science. Here, at the Carlsberg
Laboratory, all that began to change with Emil Christian Hansen.
Founded in 1875, Carlsberg Laboratory was established to explore the
science of fermentation and augment Carlsberg’s ability to produce
beer. Soon, the lab personnel became leaders in fermentation and
physiology, understanding the modern concept of pH and discovering
critical chemical properties of proteins. It was here that Emil Hansen
began his work. Hansen discovered that beer-fermenting yeasts were
actually an amalgam of several different species of yeast. After
discovering this, Hansen created a technique for not only separating
yeast from bacteria, but also for creating pure yeast cultures. This
was a critical step in generating a standardized method of fermentation
and was instrumental in industrializing the manufacture of beer. Using
his method of generating pure cultures of yeast, Hansen isolated a
species of yeast that bears the name of the Carlsberg Laboratory,
Saccharomyces carlsbergensis. This yeast is still used in today’s lager
beers, one of the most popular kinds of beer in the world. For his work
with fungi, Hansen was awarded a gold medal. Today, while fermentation
remains critical to alcoholic beverage creation, it has also become an
integral part of the economy as a clean, renewable energy source. As a
result, numerous countries have become reliant on fermentation as an
alternative fuel. Carlsberg Laboratory remains one of the premier
institutions focused on the science of malting, brewing, and
fermentation.
--Jonathan Lo