Microbiology of brewing – Lactic Acid Bacteria and Cultivation Methods of their Detection – Part I

Abstract

Lactic acid bacteria form a very heterogeneous group of bacteria, some of which may be present as contaminants in beer brewing. We provide here an overview of basic morphological and physiological properties of these microorganisms. Their habitat in the brewing operations and their ability to spoil beer are also described. The article also describes the use of various culture media – their composition, availability and results of comparative studies are discussed.

Keywords

• lactic acid bacteria
• identification
• contamination of beer
• Lactobacillus
• Pediococcus
• cultivation methods
• difficult culturability
• VBNC