Fermentation of beer traditionally involves placing wort -- the sweet malt liquid before it is fermented and turned into beer -- into a vessel.

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The biggest losers will be inefficient local producers, such as one in Samara, in southern Russia, where the decrepit town brewery, featuring fermentation tanks with flaking linings, nasty smells and beer brewed to purists' horror from sugar and rice, has fought off all outside interest.

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Alcohol fermentation also produces massive amounts of CO2, the fizz in the beer.

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