Research and Development of a Prototype Yeast Propagator to Support Small Craft Breweries

精酿啤酒是一种非常受欢迎的饮料，在全国范围内，该行业继续快速增长。一般来说，精酿啤酒厂是小型企业，资源和能力有限，无法开发新的和创新的产品。新产品开发的一个重要因素是传播和管理不同种类酵母菌株生产的能力，这些酵母菌株直接影响发酵过程和酿造产品的风味。酵母菌株的繁殖和管理给小型精酿啤酒厂带来了生产问题，这些啤酒厂不具备大型啤酒厂所拥有的专业设备。此外，这种复杂的设备非常昂贵，超出了小型啤酒厂的生产需求。没有商业上可用的酵母繁殖设备，在规模上对小型精酿啤酒业务有经济意义。因此，小型啤酒厂被迫从第三方供应商那里购买现成的酵母，这带来了巨大的费用和物流问题。慢手啤酒公司（Slow Hand Beer Company）是一家位于温哥华的小型精酿啤酒厂，它寻求与奥肯那根学院合作，设计、建造和测试一个原型，小型酵母繁殖器，以应对这些商业挑战。这种设备的规模使小型啤酒厂具有成本效益，这将增加公司繁殖新酵母株的能力，使开发新的独特产品能够吸引各种各样的消费者偏好。新装置将提高酿造过程的效率，保持产品的一致性并降低生产成本。随着精酿行业的不断发展，该设备将在竞争日益激烈的市场中提供差异化酿造工艺和产品的手段。这项新技术也有可能使其他需要小批量酵母生产的小型啤酒厂、葡萄酒厂、苹果汁厂和食品生产商（如面包店）受益。

Craft beer is an extremely popular beverage across the country and the industry continues to grow rapidly. In general, craft breweries are small operations with limited resources and capacity to engage in development of new and innovative products. An important factor in new product development is the capability to propagate and manage production of different kinds of yeast strains that directly impact the fermentation process and flavour of brewed products. The propagation and management of yeast strains poses a production problem for small craft breweries that do not possess the type of specialized equipment found in larger brewery operations. Further, this complex equipment is very costly and exceeds the production needs of small breweries. There is no commercially available yeast propagation equipment at a scale that makes financial sense for small craft beer operations. As a result, small breweries are forced to purchase yeast in ready-to-use quantities from third party suppliers, which poses a significant expense and logistical problem. Slow Hand Beer Company, a small craft brewery based in Vancouver, seeks to partner with Okanagan College to design, build and test a prototype, small-scale yeast propagator to address these business challenges. The availability of such equipment on a scale that makes it cost-effective for a small brewery will increase the company's ability to propagate new yeast strains, enabling development of new and unique product offerings that appeal to a wide variety of consumer preferences. The new device will increase the efficiency of the brewing process, maintain product consistency and reduce production costs. As the craft brewing industry continues to grow, the device will offer a means of differentiating brewing processes and products in an increasingly competitive market. The new technology also has the potential to benefit other small breweries, wineries, cideries and food producers, such as bakeries, needing small-batch yeast production for manufacturing.