ABV Aromazyme

[braindead]

Lallemand Brewing have just released this new product.

https://www.lallemandbrewing.com/en/united-states/product-details/abv-aromazyme/

• Increases the diversity of hop flavors and aroma by changing the ratio
  of specific terpene compounds
• Enhances the beer mouthfeel and drinkability by reducing unpleasant harsh bitterness
• Slightly increases wort fermentability
• Expresses more character from less sophisticated hop varieties

Any thoughts?

 

[Vale71]

This appears to be its main advantage:

"Expresses more character from less sophisticated hop varieties"

Seems like something geared towards mass production of cheap beer. Personally I'd prefer to spend a couple of extra bucks on noble hop varieties rather than trying and improve the quality of cheap hops.

 

[Dgallo]

This appears to be its main advantage:

"Expresses more character from less sophisticated hop varieties"

Seems like something geared towards mass production of cheap beer. Personally I'd prefer to spend a couple of extra bucks on noble hop varieties rather than trying and improve the quality of cheap hops.

This enzyme can cause biotransfermation of hop compounds and unlocks other favor/aroma compounds that are otherwise unable to be perceived. As long as it doesn’t cause too much additional attenuation, I think it is going to be a big deal for the hop forward breweries.

 

[Miraculix]

I don't like artificial stuff in my beer, this is no exception.

 

[Vale71]

Yes, I'm sure it will be a big hit with the marketing department...

BTW this is just an enzyme, it contains lo live yeast so it cannot "biotransform" anything being that enzymes are as dead as any other chemical.

 

[bierhaus15]

It's just β-glucosidase enzymes, probably the same stuff the wine industry that has been for decades. Either way, there have been some (recent) studies that have showed that highly DH beer using these enzymes are less pleasing tasting than those that do not use them. I think NB just put one out as well.

 

[Dgallo]

Yes, I'm sure it will be a big hit with the marketing department...

BTW this is just an enzyme, it contains lo live yeast so it cannot "biotransform" anything being that enzymes are as dead as any other chemical.

......It’s the exact enzyme that Certain yeast strain produce that is responsible for biotransformation, so it’s literally the same thing, turns one compound into another through enzymatic reaction. This is the new science coming out about thiols and other flavor and aroma

 

[Vale71]

Do you have any scientific source for that or is it just what everybody is saying now (i.e. marketing)?

Here is a study showing that out of 153 S.cerevisiae strains only one showed possible glycosidase activity. Other more exotic yeast species can express this enzyme however it generally appears that glucose concentrations and PH values typical of beer wort would strongly inhibit that.

Seems to me like somebody reinvented gas stripping of volatile compounds during primary fermentation and gave it a fancy name in order to sell more beer but of course I could be wrong.

 

[Dgallo]

Do you have any scientific source for that or is it just what everybody is saying now (i.e. marketing)?

Here is a study showing that out of 153 S.cerevisiae strains only one showed possible glycosidase activity. Other more exotic yeast species can express this enzyme however it generally appears that glucose concentrations and PH values typical of beer wort would strongly inhibit that.

Seems to me like somebody reinvented gas stripping of volatile compounds during primary fermentation and gave it a fancy name in order to sell more beer but of course I could be wrong.

@Northern_Brewer do you still have the link to the articles that discuss which yeast strains biotransform hop compounds and which compounds become unlocked. I’m almost certain it was you who posted the articles

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Do you mean the Sapporo ones like Takoi et al 2014 (building on their 2010 paper on the basics of which hops have which terpenols and how they respond to boiling)?

It's worth noting that people use "biotransformation" in two different ways, and I wish we could come up with vocabulary that reflects the difference. For want of anything better I use "biorelease" to describe what glucosidases like Aromazyme are doing, releasing hop compounds that are otherwise bound up in (tasteless) glucosides that are not otherwise available to the wort. In effect they are "turning up the volume" of existing flavours.

(from Serra et al 2020, a nice recent paper on what different Brett species do to glucosides)

Whereas Takoi et al are talking about what I call "bioconversion", various processes typically using oxidoreductases that take those hop compounds and turn them into something else - they are changing existing flavours into something else (and since the process is not 100% efficient, you often get some reduction in "volume" of flavour.)

Personally I can't get too worked up about people using products like Aromazyme - as has been mentioned Aspergillus glucosidases (which is what this is) have been widely used for donkey's years in the wine world and elsewhere. This GRAS document from DSM gives some background (although each individual product uses a different mix of enzymes, the general principle is the same).

 

[HopsAreGood]

Do you mean the Sapporo ones like Takoi et al 2014 (building on their 2010 paper on the basics of which hops have which terpenols and how they respond to boiling)?

It's worth noting that people use "biotransformation" in two different ways, and I wish we could come up with vocabulary that reflects the difference. For want of anything better I use "biorelease" to describe what glucosidases like Aromazyme are doing, releasing hop compounds that are otherwise bound up in (tasteless) glucosides that are not otherwise available to the wort. In effect they are "turning up the volume" of existing flavours.
View attachment 706913
(from Serra et al 2020, a nice recent paper on what different Brett species do to glucosides)

Whereas Takoi et al are talking about what I call "bioconversion", various processes typically using oxidoreductases that take those hop compounds and turn them into something else - they are changing existing flavours into something else (and since the process is not 100% efficient, you often get some reduction in "volume" of flavour.)
View attachment 706911

Personally I can't get too worked up about people using products like Aromazyme - as has been mentioned Aspergillus glucosidases (which is what this is) have been widely used for donkey's years in the wine world and elsewhere. This GRAS document from DSM gives some background (although each individual product uses a different mix of enzymes, the general principle is the same).

This is a great explanation, thank you. So in your opinion would you say that Aromazyme would effectively assist in “bio release?” I personally am not interested in attempting to alter or change hop flavors and aromas via bioconversion, but if simply adding this enzyme with some hops during fermentation can “turn up the volume” on existing flavors, then I’m certainly interested in that.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

So in your opinion would you say that Aromazyme would effectively assist in “bio release?”

That is what it is being pitched as - I've not tried it so I can't say whether that particular product is effective or not at delivering on that promise.

 

[Dryyourbeers]

I’ve got two NEIPAs fermenting side by side now. Identical wort in each FV but one has this product added. It seems to have made a pretty big difference to attenuation. The beers are almost 9 gravity points apart right now.

 

[brewers droop]

Got 2 fermenters conditioning at the moment, split 100ltr into 2 fvs FV1 with Aromazyme finished at 1.009 FV2 1.012 both with Meuteka hops. The aromazyme was dosed at 2.5g in 50ltr, the bitterness is certainly smoother, will see when its packaged.

 

[Hemavol]

Hey guys, please come back with your results

 

[brewers droop]

Right so the experiment with Aromazyme has been completed.
There is a definative difference between the 2 beers,infact it is obviously different.
Mouthfeel of the enzyme dosed beer is a smooth bitterness, no puckering bitterness if you know what i mean.
Mouthfeel smooth,
Aroma is mellowing and smooth, no astringent or grassy taste. This is one test i have been waiting for, and can honestly state its a definative conclusion that this stuff enhances the aroma and smooths out the bitterness.

 

[HopsAreGood]

Right so the experiment with Aromazyme has been completed.
There is a definative difference between the 2 beers,infact it is obviously different.
Mouthfeel of the enzyme dosed beer is a smooth bitterness, no puckering bitterness if you know what i mean.
Mouthfeel smooth,
Aroma is mellowing and smooth, no astringent or grassy taste. This is one test i have been waiting for, and can honestly state its a definative conclusion that this stuff enhances the aroma and smooths out the bitterness.

How and when did you dose the batches? My limited understanding of this was that it supposed to be used for dry hopping during fermentation. Is this how you used it?

Also, what was your recipe like? What was the total amount of hops you used and when if you don’t mind me asking?

 

[marc1]

Right so the experiment with Aromazyme has been completed.
There is a definative difference between the 2 beers,infact it is obviously different.
Mouthfeel of the enzyme dosed beer is a smooth bitterness, no puckering bitterness if you know what i mean.
Mouthfeel smooth,
Aroma is mellowing and smooth, no astringent or grassy taste. This is one test i have been waiting for, and can honestly state its a definative conclusion that this stuff enhances the aroma and smooths out the bitterness.

How is the no enzyme beer?

 

[brewers droop]

So both batches dry hopped with 5g per ltr at day 3.
Aromazyme was dosed at the same time the wort was transferred from the kettle at 20 degrees,so no hydrating prior.
Both batches had been dosed with yeast nutrient (yeast vit) and antifoam.

Grain bill was
100% pale malt
1.057 into fv

32 ibu 60 min boil
15 ibu 15 mins
Both simple beers, both nice beers, but the Aromazyme has a distinct advantage.
For the cost of £17 for 100g its a winner.

 

[Dryyourbeers]

Apologies for delay but I finished my side by side experiment too. First thing to mention, is mine was not a simple comparison of Aromazyme vs non-Aromazyme.

Long post below, so if you want the findings in a glance scroll down to the bolded statement.

Why not?

Because I have previously done side-by-sides of different hopping regimes, including DH during fermentation and DH during soft crash. I've previously found I prefer the flavour and aroma I get from using the specific soft crash DH regime I've currently settled on. So what I didn't want to do here was just compare two beers hopped during fermentation, one with Aromazyme and one without. The reason being is that even if I ended up preferring the Aromazyme beer, I wouldn't really have learnt anything I could immediately apply to my NEIPA process. I would have just been left wondering if Aromazyme beer is better than my currently preferred soft crash process. Hopefully that makes some sense!

So what did I find?

The FGs differed wildly. I was brewing a 3% NEIPA as I wanted something absolutely smashable on tap, and so I mashed very high (71C, as recommended by Other Half for their low ABV IPAs). However, whilst the non Aromazyme beer came in as expected at 3%, the Aromazyme beer sailed right past it to 4.2%. Perhaps part of this was because I deliberately choose Amarilo as part of the dry hop, as Scott Janish recommends this as a hop which has high potential for increased biotransformation - so in theory this could have exaggerated the impact of the enzyme on FG.

Very subjectively, I would say the Aromazyme beer was a bit better than my beers that undergo standard hopping during fermentation but that statement is riddled with bias and I didn't have a direct comparison. What I can say for sure is that I was still able to consistently pick out the non Aromazyme beer vs the Aromazyme in a triangle test. I still prefer the aroma and flavour profile of my current soft crash hopping regime. I did NOT prefer the beer dry hopped during fermentation with Aromazyme. It had less flavour and was simply less 'fresh', citrusy and zesty versus the soft crash hopped beer.

Bottom line: If the Aromazyme did have an impact, it didn't have enough of an impact to make dry hopping during fermentation better than dry hopping with my current soft crash regime without Aromazyme, and that's what I wanted to discover.

I won't be starting to dry hop during fermentation using Aromazyme.

What I'd like to test next is doing a split batch using my current soft crash hopping process and adding Aromazyme to one of the batches to see if it brings out more flavour from the hop oils already present in the wort from the whirlpool.

 

[Hemavol]

Apologies for delay but I finished my side by side experiment too. First thing to mention, is mine was not a simple comparison of Aromazyme vs non-Aromazyme.

Long post below, so if you want the findings in a glance scroll down to the bolded statement.

Why not?

Because I have previously done side-by-sides of different hopping regimes, including DH during fermentation and DH during soft crash. I've previously found I prefer the flavour and aroma I get from using the specific soft crash DH regime I've currently settled on. So what I didn't want to do here was just compare two beers hopped during fermentation, one with Aromazyme and one without. The reason being is that even if I ended up preferring the Aromazyme beer, I wouldn't really have learnt anything I could immediately apply to my NEIPA process. I would have just been left wondering if Aromazyme beer is better than my currently preferred soft crash process. Hopefully that makes some sense!

So what did I find?

The FGs differed wildly. I was brewing a 3% NEIPA as I wanted something absolutely smashable on tap, and so I mashed very high (71C, as recommended by Other Half for their low ABV IPAs). However, whilst the non Aromazyme beer came in as expected at 3%, the Aromazyme beer sailed right past it to 4.2%. Perhaps part of this was because I deliberately choose Amarilo as part of the dry hop, as Scott Janish recommends this as a hop which has high potential for increased biotransformation - so in theory this could have exaggerated the impact of the enzyme on FG.

Very subjectively, I would say the Aromazyme beer was a bit better than my beers that undergo standard hopping during fermentation but that statement is riddled with bias and I didn't have a direct comparison. What I can say for sure is that I was still able to consistently pick out the non Aromazyme beer vs the Aromazyme in a triangle test. I still prefer the aroma and flavour profile of my current soft crash hopping regime. I did NOT prefer the beer dry hopped during fermentation with Aromazyme. It had less flavour and was simply less 'fresh', citrusy and zesty versus the soft crash hopped beer.

Bottom line: If the Aromazyme did have an impact, it didn't have enough of an impact to make dry hopping during fermentation better than dry hopping with my current soft crash regime without Aromazyme, and that's what I wanted to discover.

I won't be starting to dry hop during fermentation using Aromazyme.

What I'd like to test next is doing a split batch using my current soft crash hopping process and adding Aromazyme to one of the batches to see if it brings out more flavour from the hop oils already present in the wort from the whirlpool.

What is your soft crash hopping process? If I may ask.

 

[Dryyourbeers]

What is your soft crash hopping process? If I may ask.

1. I wait until fermentation is done. Drop to a proper crash temp (let's say 2C) for a couple of days, so as much yeast as possible drops out (I dump this).
2. Raise back to anywhere between 10-14C. Dry hop the beer. Hold temp for 2 days. If I can be bothered I push CO2 through to coin a couple of times to help keep the hops in suspension.
3. Crash back to 2C. Hold for 2 days. And transfer to keg.

In side-by-side tests, I've found this really helps because the beer is on the hops for less time. I don't get any grassy or off flavours from leaving on the hops, but I've found the hop flavour ends up being less fresh/juicy/citrusy.

 

[brewers droop]

1. I wait until fermentation is done. Drop to a proper crash temp (let's say 2C) for a couple of days, so as much yeast as possible drops out (I dump this).
2. Raise back to anywhere between 10-14C. Dry hop the beer. Hold temp for 2 days. If I can be bothered I push CO2 through to coin a couple of times to help keep the hops in suspension.
3. Crash back to 2C. Hold for 2 days. And transfer to keg.

In side-by-side tests, I've found this really helps because the beer is on the hops for less time. I don't get any grassy or off flavours from leaving on the hops, but I've found the hop flavour ends up being less fresh/juicy/citrusy.

Exactly what i do in normal circumstances.
With the Aromazyme, i have done another batch, with hop additions at whirlpool, and no dry hop. The aroma and bitterness is in my opinion much better.You also get a dryer beer as the Attenuation is lower, so for an ipa its pretty damn good stuff.

 

[Dryyourbeers]

Exactly what i do in normal circumstances.
With the Aromazyme, i have done another batch, with hop additions at whirlpool, and no dry hop. The aroma and bitterness is in my opinion much better.You also get a dryer beer as the Attenuation is lower, so for an ipa its pretty damn good stuff.

I did a side by side and found moving to DH during fermentation with aromazyme inferior for my tastes (obviously taste is personal) vs the DH process I describe above.

Given that aromazyme is a product targeting bio-transformation, something largely associated with NEIPA, I don’t think producing a dryer beer is desirable for most use cases (dryer is subjective, so I’m not completely sure what was meant by that). I have other variations/test I want to try but ultimately I’m looking to make the best tasting beer for me - absolutely never saying it will work for everyone

 

[SanPancho]

I did a side by side and found moving to DH during fermentation with aromazyme inferior for my tastes (obviously taste is personal) vs the DH process I describe above.

Given that aromazyme is a product targeting bio-transformation, something largely associated with NEIPA, I don’t think producing a dryer beer is desirable for most use cases (dryer is subjective, so I’m not completely sure what was meant by that). I have other variations/test I want to try but ultimately I’m looking to make the best tasting beer for me - absolutely never saying it will work for everyone

You ever do the straight-up /ECP side by side? See results like droop had?

 

[stealthfixr]

For those that have tried Aromazyme, when did you add it? Did you rehydrate it beforehand, or just sprinkle on the wort/beer?

It seems the 5g/hltr equate to about 1 gram per 5 gallon batch. Seems I could add that with the yeast, or later with the dry hops. As I pressure ferment many Chico fermented hoppy batches, adding with the dry hops is problematic.

 

[biertourist]

I wanted to chime in with a theory here on why Dryyourbeers saw significantly increased attenuation.

A few strains of Aspergillus also produce alpha amylase that is also purified and sold to the brewing industry, but for the purpose of increasing attenuation. (It can enable a lower, dry finishing gravity in lagers mashed with only a simple, short single infusion mash.) Fungal α-amylase - 1kg | BSG CraftBrewing | Bulk Brewing & Beer Supply Company

My theory is that the process used to extract the β-glucosidase enzymes, is also bringing some alpha amylase enzymes from the aspergillus strain used for Aromazyme production.

I REALLY like the idea of using this product in a lager with a good "kettle hop flavor" AND a nice crisp, dry FG, now...
(Yet another enzyme not available in home brewer quantities...)


Adam

 

[biertourist]

Well... my theory was NOT correct.

Lallemand has clarified with me that because the enzyme is breaking apart the glycosides that are a combination of aromatic terpenes and glucose molecules, and the yeast then consumes that now released glucose, it is the freeing of and fermentation of that "bound glucose" that is ultimately driving the FG lower.

So although the focus of aromazyme is on freeing these "bound terpenes" to drive more hop terpene-derived aroma, it's also freeing "bound glucose", which drives the FG lower. Both seem like a good thing for West Coast IPA, for sure.

The only thing I don't fully get with this product, is that many yeast strains that are commonly used for IPAs already have their own beta glucosidase and already do this on their own, so when / how does Aromazyme help?

Seems like if you really needed to use a yeast strain that was low in beta glucosidase activity, then this could help in a hoppy beer that required using a yeast strain low in beta glucosidase activity?


Adam

 

[Dgallo]

Well... my theory was NOT correct.

Lallemand has clarified with me that because the enzyme is breaking apart the glycosides that are a combination of aromatic terpenes and glucose molecules, and the yeast then consumes that now released glucose, it is the freeing of and fermentation of that "bound glucose" that is ultimately driving the FG lower.

So although the focus of aromazyme is on freeing these "bound terpenes" to drive more hop terpene-derived aroma, it's also freeing "bound glucose", which drives the FG lower. Both seem like a good thing for West Coast IPA, for sure.

The only thing I don't fully get with this product, is that many yeast strains that are commonly used for IPAs already have their own beta glucosidase and already do this on their own, so when / how does Aromazyme help?

Seems like if you really needed to use a yeast strain that was low in beta glucosidase activity, then this could help in a hoppy beer that required using a yeast strain low in beta glucosidase activity?


Adam

The yeast strains that do it are no where near as effective as the enzyme itself. Also, I believe the enzyme was originally marketed purely for efficiency reasons and then more recently has been rebranded for aroma enhancing, which why I think it’s gaining popularity.

Does anyone know of any NEIPA breweries using this currently? I’d be interested to see their results

 

[biertourist]

I saw where Lallemand found that with the enzyme they saw a 300% increase in the release of bound Terpenes vs. a regular fermentation with just BRY-97, which I believe has the most beta glucosidase activity of any of Lallemands yeast strains, AFAIK, so it DOES seem like it's the "amount" of release that's the benefit.


Seems like most NEIPA breweries are focused on releasing the maximum bound thiols right now and Terpenes just aren't that cool, by comparison. I tend to agree with them as the beer flavor is really transformed pretty dramatically by small quantities of thiols; not sure how noticable some extra terpenes are, by comparison...


Adam

 

[Dgallo]

I saw where Lallemand found that with the enzyme they saw a 300% increase in the release of bound Terpenes vs. a regular fermentation with just BRY-97, which I believe has the most beta glucosidase activity of any of Lallemands yeast strains, AFAIK, so it DOES seem like it's the "amount" of release that's the benefit.


Seems like most NEIPA breweries are focused on releasing the maximum bound thiols right now and Terpenes just aren't that cool, by comparison. I tend to agree with them as the beer flavor is really transformed pretty dramatically by small quantities of thiols; not sure how noticable some extra terpenes are, by comparison...


Adam

I agree. I personally won’t use aromazyme in a NEIPA due to the over attenuation but I would give it a shot in a WCIPA

 

[ihavenonickname]

I’d love to try out Aromazyme or an equivalent enzyme for a west coast IPA. Anyone try it out? Is there a homebrew size available?

Looks like lallemand sells a big quantity for $60 - I might be willing buy and repackage if I can get 5-10 who want to try it out.

If you need inspiration:

Alvarado st. makes some of the best WCIPA out there, intense flavors and aromas.

 

[SanPancho]

I’d love to try out Aromazyme or an equivalent enzyme for a west coast IPA. Anyone try it out? Is there a homebrew size available?

Looks like lallemand sells a big quantity for $60 - I might be willing buy and repackage if I can get 5-10 who want to try it out.

If you need inspiration:

Alvarado st. makes some of the best WCIPA out there, intense flavors and aromas.

i can send you some to try out if you'd like. its a nice add to a brew in most cases, a few cases i didnt notice much difference. but i dont do hazies, so just talking ipas and lagers mostly. problem with lagers is that its lower temp bound is like 60F, so you gotta warm them up a bit and then let them sit a bit so it has time to do its work.