Iodophor for Starch Conversion Test?

[mpetty]

Hey there -

Does anyone use Iodophor for their starch conversion testing? It has iodine in it, right?

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Seems like I've heard of people using it. I just bought a small bottle of tincture of iodine for $4-5 at the drugstore...at a drop or two a session it might outlast me.

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

i do. works well. just take a few drops of wort and drop it onto a white saucer with a tad of iodaphor. doesn't take much.

 

[jaymack]

Sorry... the purpose of this is?

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

To determine whether or not the enzymes have fully converted the starch in the mash into sugar. If the iodine turns a dark black/purple color then there is still starch remaining in the mash and the mash continues. If the iodine doesn't change color then the starch has been converted to sugar and you can begin runoff.

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

To determine whether or not the enzymes have fully converted the starch in the mash into sugar. If the iodine turns a dark black/purple color then there is still starch remaining in the mash and the mash continues. If the iodine doesn't change color then the starch has been converted to sugar and you can begin runoff.

again, thanks for the back-up BeeGee. too many Aventinus' last night

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

No problem...my boss has jury duty today.

 

[RushN24]

Just to kind of revive an ancient thread. I'm doing my first PM today and I hadn't even thought about testing for conversion until I stumbled across this. Thankfully I use Iodophor to sanitize so I guess I'll be using it for conversion testing too...

+1 to Iodophor over starsan, starsan can't check for conversion

 

[WildGingerBrewing]

Noob question, but if I put a few drops of wort on a white saucer and add a few drops of iodophor...the wort is already a dark brown color. How am I supposed to see the iodophor?

 

[chrispykid]

You're just testing a very small sample so even a dark beer on a white saucer should be able to display the conversion test. Take a reading as you start your mash to use as a control and the difference between that and the reading you take at the end should be obvious if you've converted your mash.

 

[DeafSmith]

Noob question, but if I put a few drops of wort on a white saucer and add a few drops of iodophor...the wort is already a dark brown color. How am I supposed to see the iodophor?

I put a couple of drops of Iodophor on a white saucer, then add a drop or two of water to dilute it to make it easier to see the color changes, then add a drop of wort.

 

[esarkipato]

I put a couple of drops of Iodophor on a white saucer, then add a drop or two of water to dilute it to make it easier to see the color changes, then add a drop of wort.

Just to clarify for the noobs including me let me be very descriptive of my process (first time):

I'm using iodophor to test conversion on a mash of mine (shooting for OG of 1.050). It spent 20 minutes at 130degF for protein rest and now has been at 150degF for 45m.

I put 3 drops iodophor on a small plate, then added a splash of filtered water and swirled it around. It was then an amber color.

I added a few drops of wort and it kind of made a clear spot in the middle of the amber iodophor. There was no darkening around the border of the iodophor solution and the wort. In fact there was a even lighter area in the center where I had dropped the wort.

Can I assume conversion is complete?

 

[H0tshoe]

I'm replying to this old post because my recent google search on this topic gave a lot of "it should work" but no definite answer. I just tested a slurry of freshly milled malt and water with a drop of straight iodophor and i can say it definitely turned a deep purple. A small amount of swirling was necessary to get the color to show. see photo.