Stopped at the LHBS this afternoon on the way back from an appointment. I had seen something about this ingredient and grabbed a container of it today. I feel like some of my gold lagers could use some help in the "dryness" department. I'm looking for a crisp finish and I wondered if this would help. The instructions say ½ teaspoon in 5 gallons "to increase fermentability". Who has experience with this? Did it do anything, is there anything to be concerned about, any adverse side effects, etc? At what point do you use it? Some of the stuff I have seen online is quite confusing. I took the FG of a gold lager recently and it showed 1.008 which certainly doesn't seem underattenuated and yet some of these lagers seem to have a slightly sweet finish and I wonder if the enzyme is the right call or no. Cheers and thanks.
Amylase enzyme...
#1
Posted 10 September 2019 - 01:46 PM
#2
Posted 10 September 2019 - 02:25 PM
#3
Posted 10 September 2019 - 02:29 PM
#4
Posted 10 September 2019 - 02:35 PM
#5
Posted 10 September 2019 - 03:40 PM
I feel like my bitterness levels are okay. So to me the finish says "bitter but not quite as dry". Remember too that I'm doing some LO stuff which is supposed to crank up the maltiness so could there be extra maltiness, standard bitterness and also decent attenuation? ½ tsp per 5 gallons is the standard dosing so what if I used half of that? Is it added to the mash? There are no directions... it's just a small bottle that was $1.69. I did see a video where the dude DID NOT seem very sharp but I could look for some other results. I have a Czech Lager on tap now that is pretty nicely balanced but I have had some commercial beers where the finish was drier including the one that Lefty sent me from Stitchworks (Stitch House?)... a nice balanced helles with a great dry and crisp finish.
#6
Posted 10 September 2019 - 03:57 PM
Never used it but pretty sure that's what they use for brut IPAs. If you are not careful you will go below 1.000.
That's amyloglucosidase or glucoamylase. If the malt Ken is using is fairly well modified my guess is amylase won't do much.
Edited by djinkc, 10 September 2019 - 03:57 PM.
#7
Posted 10 September 2019 - 04:08 PM
That's amyloglucosidase or glucoamylase. If the malt Ken is using is fairly well modified my guess is amylase won't do much.
Agh, thank you!No way I am spelling that right!
#8
Posted 10 September 2019 - 04:31 PM
I've actually been using it in pretty much every batch. That is, in the mash. I'm not certain that I was getting complete conversion, so I picked some up, and even that little vial lasts forever so I just kept using it even though I probably don't need to.
Like others have said, be careful using it post boil as it can allow your yeast to keep chompin' and leave you with a bone dry brew. I haven't personally done it only because I've heard it's a pretty strong reaction.
If you're finding that your beers are seeming more sweet, perhaps you can mash higher. My understanding is that the higher you mash, you do leave more unfermentables but the unfermentables seem less sweet. Like Lagunitas back in the day could only mash at 160, so all there beers were done that way. I'd say that their beer doesn't seem overly sweet.
Maybe give it a try or wait for someone who I'm sure is smarter than me to come correct me.
#9
Posted 10 September 2019 - 06:40 PM
So JB, you are adding a small amount (½ tsp) to your mash on each batch? When you first started using it did you notice anything in the final beers that seemed very different?
#10
Posted 11 September 2019 - 05:46 AM
Maybe increase your bittering addition. It’s hard to say if what you are calculating for IBUs is what you are actually getting. 1.008 is pretty dry
this is what I would do. 1.008 is about as low as I'd ever want to go.
#11
Posted 11 September 2019 - 06:19 AM
So JB, you are adding a small amount (½ tsp) to your mash on each batch? When you first started using it did you notice anything in the final beers that seemed very different?
I started a long time ago, actually before my big hiatus, so i couldn't tell you exactly when. I noticed a few of my beers were coming out just too sweet, so I thought I'd give it a try. Yes, I literally don't even measure, just sprinkle some on top of the mash after I've doughed in and the temp has settled where I want. It SEEMS to me that it does help with conversion, but I still get better results just by letting the mash sit longer.
It seems like it's one of those things that COULD help get you from like a 95%good beer to a 96% good beer, but i don't think it does a ton. That said, if you think it can help and you already bought it, just toss some in next batch and record all your results!
cheers Ken!
#12
Posted 11 September 2019 - 06:46 AM
Yeah, as long as there is no real downside (a beer that's entirely too dry) then I might try it. I'm traveling this weekend but next weekend I have a nice Czech Pils to brew (picked up the Saaz hops yesterday) and it might be a good batch to test on. Thanks JB.
#13
Posted 11 September 2019 - 08:00 AM
Did a Brut IPA with a full vial in the mash (10ml?). of the WL Ultra Ferm at 145*. beer finished at 1.000. Beer came out well, and really easy to use. picked up a 3 vial for experiments. never thought of using a partial vial pitch to help dry out a beer, but rarely have an issue of a beer finishing too sweet; usually employ a D-rest, even with ales, once fermentation winds down, and do a full hour mash with a mash out at the sparge.
the next time i use it, i want to throw it into a MO/EKG barleywine SMaSH I do every year or so; OG is in the 1.100 range, and can get it down to 1.016 using staggered yeast additions and a simple syrup corn sugar addition. its a PITA, but can be done.
Edited by LeftyMPfrmDE, 11 September 2019 - 08:01 AM.
#14
Posted 11 September 2019 - 10:02 AM
Lefty, that sounds Delicious.
Also Ken, I don't see a downside to using it in the mash, but like I said I wouldn't use it in the fermenter. I repitch my yeast and I believe that Amalyse will persist if I were to repitch, and that would dry out subsequent beers.
Cheers Ken and let us know how it goes when you try it!
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