BEANO: Pre treating your extract?

[LibertineAle]

I have been reading a lot of user's successes and failures with Beano, and it seems that all the failures have to do with too dry a beer, and more frequently, the unpredictability of when the enzyme will stop simplifying sugars (and thus never knowing when the fermentation is truly done), resulting in bottling too early (enzyme still working) and then ultimately gushers. How would this work: boil up your recipes malt extract (for instance 7 lbs) with just one or two gallons of water, just enough to dissolve it and thin it out. Throw it into a a clean and seald bucket and when cool, add your crushed beano tablets. Let the beano work the "pre-wort" for a week or more (time to be experimented with) and then when you are really ready to brew, boil up that pre-wort again and continue with your recipe. THe long hard boil of the actual brewing would kill the enzyme and fermentation of the resulting beer would follow a more predictable pattern since all enzyme action has ceased? Basically, you are pre treating your malt extract and increasing it's fermentability before brew day, and then killing the enzyme on brew day.
Any thoughts?

 

[billtzk]

I haven't tried it, but why not just put four or five drops of Beano in your beer when your pour it? I doubt you could taste it. That won't interfere with carbing and the enzymes will be nice and fresh.

 

[Mutilated1]

I only tried it once, and basically what I did was just follow what I understood that the person who posted here did - add the Beano when the wort was cool before pitching yeast. Worked just fine for me, but honestly I'm not sure it would have been any different without Beano at all.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

What is the obsession with Beano? If you want more fermentable wort, use more fermentable ingredients (i.e., extra light DME). If you want enzymatic action, do a partial mash.

 

[billtzk]

Uh, I never heard of using beano before. I assumed it was to help avoid the homebrew flatulence effect. My bad.

 

[LibertineAle]

Not an obsession, just a curiosity, recognizing that Beano may be a useful tool, if only it can be controlled, kind of like the atom. For instance, i would like to make a 10+% IPA from extract with minimal use of adjunct sugars. I would like the FG to be below 1.015, preferable below 1.010. I am looking for a pale, dry, alcoholic hop monster. Not a syrupy barley wine. I have never used Beano but I am thinking it could help me achieve my goal.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Given your goal, I suppose the use of Beano may be warranted. So long as your sanitation is very good, your method should work. Please post the results!

 

[McKBrew]

I don't think the 10% low FG extract IPA is going to be possible. If it really is that important to you, you could try your method- you would definately be a pioneer. I'm no scientist, but I think pre-treating your extract/wort would result in a lower gravity extract which would defeat the whole purpose.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

McK, the Beano won't change the gravity, it will just break some of the longer starch/sugar chains, making the wort more fermentable. Given a highly alcohol-tolerant yeast strain, the logic is valid.

 

[McKBrew]

McK, the Beano won't change the gravity, it will just break some of the longer starch/sugar chains, making the wort more fermentable. Given a highly alcohol-tolerant yeast strain, the logic is valid.

I see where he's coming from. It's totally possible it will work, and definately worthy for someone to try. I wouldn't be the one to try it though. One bad experience with Beano was enough for me.

 

[Donasay]

I would be to worried about infection over the course of a week to try this. It might be possible to dilute the extract only enough to get the beano to work, but leave it to sugary to discourage growth of other organisms in it, but I don't know if that would work.

 

[phissionkorps]

Sugar doesn't discourage growth of other organisms. EtOH conc and pH do that.

 

[JoMarky]

Sugar doesn't discourage growth of other organisms. EtOH conc and pH do that.

Haven't seen it put like that since organic chemistry. brrrr, bad memories.

 

[Saccharomyces]

I like the idea. As far as the preservation of the wort during the conversion period, you can add a crushed Campden tablet per gallon of wort, that will kill any nasties and preserve the wort (as long as it is in a sanitary container with an airlock, of course). When you're ready just boil it up and proceed as usual.

 

[Donasay]

Sugar doesn't discourage growth of other organisms. EtOH conc and pH do that.

If something is to sugary, to much sugar in suspension, it causes the cells of many types of bacteria to rupture through osmosis as the water from the bacteria escape the cell and dehydrate it, think fruit preserves and maple syrup, they hardly ever get bacteria.

 

[LibertineAle]

I will do an experiment. OG and FG of a few half gallon samples. Identical extract and yeast. One of the sample worts will be beano'd for a week, one for two weeks and one no beano at all. Should be interesting.

 

[phissionkorps]

If something is to sugary, to much sugar in suspension, it causes the cells of many types of bacteria to rupture through osmosis as the water from the bacteria escape the cell and dehydrate it,

The same could be said about any organic solute (in that example). That has nothing to do inherently with sugar. Anyway, something would have to be pretty damn sugary to do that. Pure honey works that way, but its about 16g of sugar per 14mL, while syrup only has 24 per 118 mL.

think fruit preserves and maple syrup, they hardly ever get bacteria.

Just because they're not pathogenic bacteria doesn't mean bacteria aren't there. I assume you have never taken a micro class?* This isn't even good logic. I guarantee you many beers/wines/whathaveyou (unfermented) with more sugar than syrup can get bacterial infections in a jiffy. Maple syrup only has 24g of sugar per serving (at least the kind in my fridge). You know why it doesn't get any pathogenic infections (usually)? Ingredients: ....sorbic acid and sodium benzoate, sodium hexametaphosphate, citric acid.


*a classic experiment almost every micro class does is culturing a sample from your condiments, just to see how ridiculously disgusting they are.