thinking about trying beano for a junk beer

I made a corn ale using flaked maize and some leftover oats I had laying around. I did not realize at the time that I was not going to have enough enzyme from the little bit of pils malt to convert the corn and oats. The result was stopped fermentation at 1.020 when I was targeting 1.012 FG and pretty much a horrible, undrinkable swill.

I plan on dumping this brew, but before I do I thought about trying beano to dry up this beer. The catch is that it's sitting carbed in the corny. Questions...

1) Should I just take it off of CO2, throw beano in the corny and leave it, or will beano cause crazy fermentation in the full corny resulting in a mess?
2) Should I airlock the corny or leave it sealed?
3) How much beano should I use?
4) How long should I expect this to sit?
5) since the beano is breaking the sugar chains apart, how do I know when my fermentation is complete?

Thanks all,
-J

miatawnt2b said:

and pretty much a horrible, undrinkable swill.

I plan on dumping this brew, but before I do I thought about trying beano to dry up this beer. The catch is that it's sitting carbed in the corny. Questions...

1) Should I just take it off of CO2, throw beano in the corny and leave it, or will beano cause crazy fermentation in the full corny resulting in a mess?
2) Should I airlock the corny or leave it sealed?
3) How much beano should I use?
4) How long should I expect this to sit?
5) since the beano is breaking the sugar chains apart, how do I know when my fermentation is complete?

Thanks all,
-J

Click to expand...

First I would say that if it is undrinkable swill beano probably won't help it, but it may.

1) Take it off the C02, and yes beano will cause it to start fermenting again, which in turn answers # 2.
2) See #1
3) one or two crushed up pills will work.
4) took mine a week or so to start visiably fermenting again.
5) Beano won't stop, it will keep breaking down the sugars untill there is nothing left, the only way to stop the fermentation after you add it is to chill it to make the yeast go dormant, even then the beano will keep working, IIRC.

Let us know how it turns out, i am interested in hearing if it improved the flavor any, I used it in a beer once to help finish off the ferentation, and i really didn't notice too much of a change in flavor, other than it finished a little dryer.


Cheers

You can stop Beano by heating the brew to 135F (57C) for 15 minutes. This is low enough to de-nature the enzyme, but not high enough to damage the brew.

Otherwise, it just keeps on going and you either have zero body or, if you chill to stop the yeast, a sweeter beer than you might like.

[Imperially derived.]

remember your corny lid has a pressure release valve...its not like you're going to blow the keg up if fermentation goes bananas.
vent it a couple times a day if you're worried.

Beano will definitely help you control your FG. If you're really worried about the drying the beer out too much, you can do as another poster said and denature the enzyme (also killing the yeast) or add some campden tablets to stop the yeast.

I would try this before I went with beano. It will not break down all the sugars and will probably get you close to where you want to be. I have used it successfully with stuck fermentations.

cubbies said:

I would try this before I went with beano. It will not break down all the sugars and will probably get you close to where you want to be. I have used it successfully with stuck fermentations.

Click to expand...

Hummm... interesting. How much do you dump in? The instructions are for using it in the actual mash, but you're saying you've used it in the fermenter? Cool indeed.
-J

"Usage: 1/2 teaspoon per gallon."

Alpha amylase is better than Beano in most cases, it's one of two enzymes that are naturally present in the mash. It has a de-branching limit and won't strip out all of the body the way Beano does.

Ha Ha... The girlfriend tells me that amylase is what is in saliva. Maybe I'll save $2 and spit a couple of teaspoons in the keg.
lol
-J

Beano IS alpha amylase, from asparagus I believe. Just a different package for a different purpose.

From what I read, corn was mashed up and pressed into patties in the mouth, giving it the protein shake needed for starch break-up. Everything was denatured and sterilized in a boil later, of course.

Matt

I am no scientist, so I cant tell you the difference between Amylase and Beano, but I do know that most people will tell you that Beano will completely ferment your beer. So much so, that I have read reports of people getting their beers down below 1 using Beano. Obviously not something you are going to want. The Amylase enzyme worked perfect for me with a stuck fermentation. I was up around 1.030, after adding the Amylase enzyme, it finished at 1.013. Exactly where I wanted it.

miatawnt2b said:

Ha Ha... The girlfriend tells me that amylase is what is in saliva. Maybe I'll save $2 and spit a couple of teaspoons in the keg.
lol

Click to expand...

In Japan, that was traditionally how starch to sugar conversion was initiated when brewing sake. Now it's done by other means, but I believe some artisanal sake producers still use the old methods.