DSM - Company that makes Brewer's Clarex also makes enzyme pill

[xwass]

I have been reading up on here about Clarity Ferm, and Brewer's Clarex. I am brewing a Belgian Dubbel currently and added Clarity Ferm for the first time. Hopefully it will produce beer that is more tolerable to my cranky gut

I came across a product by DSM (the manufacturer of Brewer's Clarex) which is composed of Aspergillus Niger prolyl endoprotease (AN-PEP) that you ingest, rather than adding to fermenting wort to break down gluten in the stomach. It is called Tolerase-G, I bring up this one specifically because it is made by DSM.

So it seems like another approach to the same problem a lot of us are trying to solve with Clarity Ferm. Anyone have thoughts/experience on this? I think that not getting the gluten into your body in the first place is the better option overall, but maybe this would be a decent backup if no GF/GR beer options are available.

I realize this is not a medical forum, and I am not a medical/scientific professional of any sort.

 

[agrazela]

Ah, "Plan G"...or "the moment after pill."

Doesn't look like a substitute for Clarity Firm (or for a GF diet), as you say more of an "insurance plan" in case of ingestion of a small amount of gluten.

 

[xwass]

Ordered some called GlutnGo which is made with Tolerase-G. Going to give it a try with a regular beer and see how I feel after.

Drank 2 New Belgium Glutiny and felt pretty normal, so I am hoping my next batch brewed with Clarity Ferm will work out for me. Otherwise the neighbors will benefit from free homebrew!

Have also tried some "true" GF beers, Glutenberg (based out of Montreal) makes some decent ones but pricey and hard to find around here. I believe those are made with mostly a Millet base malt, so I could try that if the Clarity Ferm thing doesn't work out. Not into the Sorghum based beers I have tried.

 

[xwass]

redundant see post below

 

[xwass]

I guess I am really good at hijacking my own thread...

I contacted White Labs as I had no response from DSM. They responded said the main reason that Clarity Ferm is added during active fermentation is that the turbulence helps keep the enzyme in suspension better. In a fermented beer it would tend to sink to the bottom and not be as effective in interacting with the proteins. It appears that Brewer's Clarex (originally a DSM Product) is only sold under White Labs brand, so maybe they have an exclusive agreement on these products. White Labs also said that they have hopes to develop a product that can be added post fermentation, but do not have one yet.

I think a product such as this would be a huge improvement for consumers as breweries could brew normal batches and add the enzyme at packaging to break down the gluten.

• brew with normal processes, and add the enzyme to a certain amount of kegs/bottles/cans for sale.
• since the enzyme would be added at the last stage of production the possibilities for gluten cross-contamination (and the efforts breweries have to take to prevent this) would be less likely.
• the amount of "gluten reduced" beer could be exactly controlled. The cost could be reduced as the enzyme would be used on the amount they wished to have less gluten and not the whole batch being fermented.
• this could possibly be done by the consumer themselves if necessary (buy a keg/growler add recommended dose of enzyme).

For homebrewers making it is not a big deal to add a vial of Clarity Ferm during fermentation. Doing this at a larger scale requires alot more commitment, resources, time and costs which is why I think we have seen less beers using this "treatment". They also have liability issues to worry about depending on how the product is marketed.

Based on the information I have found when AN PEP is used in the proper ratio it can break down a large % gluten very rapidly (<10 minutes) under the right conditions. The pH of beer seems to be in the acceptable range for sure for this enzyme. I have not seen information regarding the optimal temperature range, but appears to handle a range of temperatures that one would store beer at. White Labs has no disclaimer about CF not working in lager beer so that is a good sign as well.

I have come up with an experiment to test this on a commercially available beer at small scale (per bottle) and get some basic gluten tests to determine effectiveness. I think the biggest challenge will be getting accurate measurements as I would prefer not to spend too much $$ on testing equipment or labs. I know White Labs does testing so that could be an option if I can't do it myself. When I get around to this will post my results if anything can be determined from it.

 

[stz]

We use a proteolytic enzyme called brewers clarity. It is derived from a GM aspergillus. We use it specifically to eliminate chill haze and add it at the start of fermentation when pitching yeast at the rate of 2.7g/hl. It has the handy side effect of eliminating gluten, but for us to legally describe something as gluten free we have to verify each batch with a gluten test. We currently don't because a 10 pack of test strips is $120. For comparison the enzyme cost per batch is approx $10 with a batch size of 2,200L. I don't think that $12 per test is prohibitive, but the gluten free market doesn't seem to be worth the extra $0.17 per keg it'd cost us. All our beer is also vegan.

 

[xwass]

Thanks for the input, I agree that the cost of G testing at this point seems to make it less likely on a commercial scale. I do not have Celiac (so I'm intolerant, sensitive, whatever you want to call it) and am trying to limit my exposure as much as possible. Personally I would try your beer even if you did not have measurements for every batch as long as you were making an effort to reduce the G. I understand that if you can't market it as such it really serves no advantage to you business-wise (gluten free aspect, I get that these are also used for clarifying purposes).

I think my best bet right now is brewing my own beer and adding the enzymes, or buying kegs or growlers and adding the enzymes. It seems like the only advantage in terms of gluten reduction for pitching during fermentation is that the wort is already being circulated. I don't think mixing a keg for 30min to let the enzyme do it's thing would be too much hassle personally. The main thing I need to see is what temperatures the enzyme can function at, as warming the keg/growler then cooling would be a bit more work/time and could effect flavor.