Chemical reaction

Ok...


I have an issue with some unfermantable DME - It has stopped fermenting at at 1.030-(static for over a week/FG 1.051) - I have a new brew fermenting as we speak and plan to rack the beer onto the yeastcake of this in case the DME is ok but fermentation is stuck.................however.........there are threads online with people who have purchased the same DME from the same shop with the same issue so I suspect it is a dodgy batch. So my question.... Everything i have read about AMYLASE ENZYME seems to make me think this will fix the problem. In the UK it all seems to be sold for brewing wine, I've bought some of this....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Amylase-w...221010545781?pt=Home_Brew&hash=item3375414c75

Will this be suitable to lower my gravity......????

Any advise is appreciated.

i would exhaust ALL other possibilities before using this enzyme, how do you plan on stopping it at your desired FG? it won't just stop on it's own. if i understand your post you took a beer off of the yeast and it stopped at 1.030, is that right?

Aside from not carbonated and not fully conditioned, how does the beer taste? You're not getting the 1.030 reading from a refractometer are you?

I've had always the same issue with DME .

O.G. = 1.050

F.G. = 1.030

It's because of high degree of unfermentables .

My problem is solved since I do partial mashes using DME .

By the way , That Amylase enzyme is mostly alpha-Amylase and it produces Dextrines . So , it won't make any difference .

Hector

OK a quick update................

Hector was right the Amylase listed above did nothing, so I went to my LHBS and bought some Pilsner Enzyme, within 24 hours fermentation started up again, it's dropped to 1.023 and still going! RESULT!!!!......I'll keep people posted on what it finishes at...... to answer Eastoaks question - I did take it of the yeastcake but pitched it directly onto a yeastcake of another beer that had reached it's FG (to rule out the possibility that the problem was the yeast and not the DME) Oh and I used a hydrometer to measure the gravity (i don't know what a refractometer is stpug)

cheeseburger said:

I went to my LHBS and bought some Pilsner Enzyme, within 24 hours fermentation started up again, it's dropped to 1.023 and still going!

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You're going now to face another Problem !

A total WATERY Beer !

I know someone that did exactly what you did ( Adding Pilsner Enzyme ) , and the gravity dropped

to 1.002 after a few days .

Hector

hector said:

I've had always the same issue with DME .

O.G. = 1.050

F.G. = 1.030

It's because of high degree of unfermentables .

My problem is solved since I do partial mashes using DME .

By the way , That Amylase enzyme is mostly alpha-Amylase and it produces Dextrines . So , it won't make any difference .

Hector

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Weird, DME has a lot of unfermentables? Why do we use it for starters then?

biestie said:

Weird, DME has a lot of unfermentables? Why do we use it for starters then?

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if DME was 100% fermentable, like sugar, it would not make a very good beer. malted grains are not 100% fermentable either which is why beer has body, flavor, foam, etc. some batches of DME may have higher amounts of un fermentables so the beer stalls out at or around 1.020 and higher for higher gravity extract beer.

eastoak said:

if DME was 100% fermentable, like sugar, it would....

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Thanks a lot for your wonderful explanation .

Hector

eastoak said:

if DME was 100% fermentable, like sugar, it would not make a very good beer. malted grains are not 100% fermentable either which is why beer has body, flavor, foam, etc. some batches of DME may have higher amounts of un fermentables so the beer stalls out at or around 1.020 and higher for higher gravity extract beer.

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I know it's not 100% fermentable, but the person I was quoting was saying he couldn't get it to ferment past 1.030.

I'd suggest that if you can't get it past that you probably need to look at your process.

biestie said:

I'd suggest that if you can't get it past that you probably need to look at your process.

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There's nothing wrong with my Process .

I've already tested all factors such as re-hydrating the yeast , pitching rate , fermentation temperature , rousing the yeast cake and so on .

I brew now ( same Process ) by doing partial mash using DME and my problem is solved .

Hector

Update.... Gravity is now at 1.010 and still fermenting vigorously.....eeeeeeekkkk!!!!!!!!!

cheeseburger said:

Gravity is now at 1.010 and still fermenting vigorously.

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As I said , you're going to have just Water and Alcohol .

Hector