Anybody know of retail availability of various enzymes such as:
Alpha Acetolactate Decarboxylase (ALDC) - prevents the formation of diacetyl by breaking down the precursor, alpha acetolactate, as it is formed during fermentation – converting it quickly and directly into acetoin. (I am thinking about quicker turn on lagers without the risk of diacetyl). The dosage would be miniscule at the homebrew level, I know.
Bioglucanase® TX - is a high performance glucanase enzyme system derived from Trichoderma reesei which contains hemicellulase side activities. It is used to improve run-off and filtration for grists containing high molecular weight glucan, or for grists containing a portion of unmalted grains.
My thoughts on this second enzyme are that there may be a significant effect on the malted barley from this past summer’s drought and enzymes may assist with efficiency in the mashing of the high protein grains…but maybe I am tilting at windmills.
Agreed, but in a recent MBAA podcast, a few craft maltsters were anticipating the issue and suggesting that brewers would likely need to adjust processes to maintain results with this year’s barley crop stressors encountered.
As to the ALDC, I was also talking with a local brewer recently whose production brewery does contract brewing for a particularly good local craft lager brewery (to meet demand for its packaged lagers based on its limited production capacity). He said that the craft brewer (Siebel and Weihenstephaner grad) uses the ALDC routinely to turn the lagers into finished beer without extensive bright tank aging and has the contract brewer do the same for him. That got me thinking…
But, yeah, it may be that I am searching for a solution to a problem that doesn’t yet exist (for me at least). Even so, it will be interesting to hear about brewers using 2021 malts and whether any barley deficiency issues are noticed.
I don’t know about the enzymes you listed but I can vouch for Brutzyme.
It’s a mix of amyloglucosidase, a-amylase, pullulanase and other dextrinases capable of breaking down the α-1,4 and α-1,6 glycosidic linkages of starch, dextrins and oligosaccharides completely into fermentable sugars. Brutzyme is extremely affective for making very dry beers.
Thanks for the info! I looked earlier and could not find a “homebrew” sized version anywhere and knew that 1 kg of the stuff (sold by one producer for commercial brewery additions) was way too much to keep on hand for my use. If nothing else, it will remove the veracity of “diacetyl detected” comments from any competition judge’s scorecard!