betaglucanase???

[slowashell]

were playing around with adding betaglucanase to the mash with the objective of speeding up lauter times. has anyone experimented with this enzyme or any other enzymes during the mash in or lauter?

[dick murton]

I have used it in large breweries - 170 US brl up to about 1000 US brl, but never in micros of 10 to 30 brl

Yes it works to some extent, but probably the main reason the big brewers use it widely is to reduce the risk of poor fining action (if used), slow beer filtration and hazes in filtered beer. Addition can also give a noticeable improvement of extracts. The big boys also use it to help ensure lautering times are maintained religiously otherwise the cost of even a few minutes every brew due to a set bed in the lauter can seriously affect utilisation and costs of a major brewhouse. For something small, unless you are using poorly modified malt or awkward adjuncts, then a few minutes time loss is probably less than the cost of the Beta glucanase. For effective use, you need a separate mash mixer and wort separation system, rather than a single system for mashing and sparging.

Having said all of that, if you find it improves things, then, unless you are claiming to be Reinheitsgebot standard, then why not? Addition rates will vary greatly according to malt type/quality and mash conditions, but for well modified UK malt, a typical large brewery addition rate is around 0.5 kg / tonne malt, but may be as low as zero, and up to 1 kg / tonne malt.

[brewmaster 2011]

Can you raise the temp to mash out 70c. the there really is no need if not it might help. are you having a stuck mash issue? Are you using alot of wheat?

[Bainbridge]

We've been experimenting with White Labs Viscobuster enzyme after we noticed some filtration issues on some of our finished beer. I don't have experimental data collected or anything, but it seems like filtration is better and yield has improved a bit. My head brewer commented that the mash looked 'weird' after we started adding it, which I figure is a result of lower wort viscosity. We did have a couple poor lauter runs but that seems to have sorted itself out with adjusted lauter speeds. But at about 50 cents or so per standard strength 10bbl batch, it's not hurting our bottom line to try it out and if it helps more than 50 cents in time or yield, sweet.