A question about conversion

Ok, roughly speaking, below 150F favors beta amylase, which means more maltose...or a more fermentable, drier beer
and over 154F favors alpha amylase, which is less fermentable, sweeter/maltier beer.

and if you're step mashing, you could hit say 144F for 30 minutes to get a lot of maltose, then increase to 158F to add some residual sweetness and mouthfeel, and lower your maltose extraction?

and thus if I made a Kolsch that had a lower efficiency, but still hit the right attenuation, but it was a little too sweet for the style...that's because I over shot my mash temp, favoring too much alpha amylase enzyme?


I think I have the nuts and bolts of this correct but just wanted to run it by someone before I commit it to memory.

*edited to fix the enzymes which I had reversed*

Vice versa, it is beta amylase which creates simpler sugars at lower temperatures. Alpha amylase produces more complex sugars at higher temperature. But if you overshot your alpha rest temperature you can give it a bit more time so that complex sugars get broken down to simpler chains which should result in more fermentable beer.

The residual sweetness may also come from malt you used.

A little too sweet.. was there any crystal malts used and how much? Lets see the recipie.

This was a kolsch with only 2-row and a pound of Vienna.

first time I made it, was a PM, so less 2-row, and some DME added.
second time was AG, 7lbs 2-row and 1lb Vienna.


And yes, I keep confusing beta and alpha, because in my head alpha comes before beta (I work in the software industry) so I always wanna make alpha the lower temp range.
I'm gonna edit my first post so its not backwards... I don't want other newbies getting mixed up reading this

I'm just trying to figure out why the first kolsch was so perfect and the second is a bit sweet. I suspect I didn't stir enough and had some hot zones producing too many non-fermentables. I did not use a thermometer in the MLT on this batch because I thought I had my strike temp all figured out.

I've gotten a sweeter brew using vienna in some of my brews also.

ALPHA​

Higher Temp​

lower temp
beta​

Think A over B so the A is higher.

If you do a beta rest followed by an alpha rest with highly modified malts (read: all modern malts), you will probably get very complete conversion, resulting in little to no residual sweetness. If you want a sweeter, maltier, beer, do a single infusion at a fairly high temperature (above 156).

I second Yuri's advice. Modern malts are potent in terms of amylase activity resulting in quick conversion. I have found that consistency is the key for controlling my attenuation and the resulting sweetness and body of my beer. Use a single step infusion mash, hit your target temp and mash for the same amount of time every batch and you can really dial it in.

GT

I'm pretty sure my over confidence on that Kolsch (i.e. not using a thermometer in the mash, period) is why this turned out a little sweet for the style.

luckily it was a big hit at Thanksgiving yesterday, I was the only beer snob among mostly BMC/wine drinkers.

A singe rest around 149 worked nicely for my Kolsh. Just two row and wheat.