I wonder if the yeast gets killed off by the end of the fermentation? I mean there is no oxygen in the wort, and the alcohol content is high in the liquid. How come yeast forms a sediment and goes dormant...instead of being killed off by the alcohol?
Shouldnt the alcohol in a fermenting beer kill off the yeast?
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Mongrel
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This is why the alcohol tolerance of each strain is listed on the Wyeast site.
Yeast go dormant because they've run out of food.
Relatively high levels of alcohol will damage yeast cells, cause mutations and even kill them. As mentioned already, certain strains are more resistant than others.
BTW, ethanol fermentation itself is considered an anaerobic process. During the adaptive (lag) phase, yeast uses dissolved O2 to help it digest available nutrients before entering the next phase of fermentation.
Relatively high levels of alcohol will damage yeast cells, cause mutations and even kill them. As mentioned already, certain strains are more resistant than others.
BTW, ethanol fermentation itself is considered an anaerobic process. During the adaptive (lag) phase, yeast uses dissolved O2 to help it digest available nutrients before entering the next phase of fermentation.
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