Morebeer's Brew Chat

by **Rick Bowman** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 4:35 pm

My local brew guy, Phoenix - What Ale's Ya - told me about using Beano when I ferment to aid in attentuation. He is often either tipsy or pulling my chain... so, any truth to this? If Beano is a yeast, then maybe so??

by **Monster Mash** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 4:50 pm

Yes beano can be used to help attentuation. I have never used it but I have heard it can cause off flavors. Most people only use it if they get a stuck fermentation.

by **JamesC** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 5:21 pm

It works, beano is just an emzime that convers dexitrins into fermentable sugers .

by **Rick Bowman** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 6:44 pm

Think I'll give it a try sometime... James, does your website have any? Might be a worthwhile to offer it.

Rick

by **jamilz** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 9:56 pm

Most folks use Beano when they're trying for a lite, low carb beer.

Really, you don't want to use it. If you think you need it, the problem lies elsewhere, IMHO.

by **Triple Freak** » Sat Jun 26, 2004 3:21 am

I do not recommend using Beano under any circumstances. It denatures the enzymes that provide mouthfeel in your beer. When it starts, it doesn't stop until there are absolutely no starches left to convert, leaving you with a thin, rocket fuel beer. Especially if you started with a high OG.

by JP » Sat Jun 26, 2004 9:57 am

I know Chuck from what ales ya. Talked to him on the phone a lot. Nice guy ...

by **Chris Colby** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 7:56 am

Beano is good at turning dry beers into very dry (low-carb) beers. Beano doesn't contribute any off flavors, but it does thin out the mouthfeel of the beer.

As a general aid to attenuation, it is very unpredictable. It may shave a few points off your FG or it can drop your FG to almost zero, leaving you with thin, alcoholic "rocket fuel" instead of tasty, tasty homebrew. Unless you're making a very dry or low-carb beer, there's no reason to use Beano.

To ensure proper attenuation, you should aerate your wort thoroughly and pitch an adequate amount of yeast.

Chris Colby
Bastrop, TX

by **Rick Bowman** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 9:09 am

Chris Colby wrote:Beano is good at turning dry beers into very dry (low-carb) beers. Beano doesn't contribute any off flavors, but it does thin out the mouthfeel of the beer.

Ok, thx Chris. I do prefer a dry, not sweet beer. I can't drink dark beers, too sugary for me. To offset the extreme dryness, maybe additional malto-dextrin?

Rick

by **Rick Bowman** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 9:10 am

JP wrote:I know Chuck from what ales ya. Talked to him on the phone a lot. Nice guy ...

Yeah he's a good guy, got a great bike (Harley).

by **Beach Brewer** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 9:51 am

To offset the extreme dryness, maybe additional malto-dextrin?

It's my understanding that the Beano enzymes will convert all sugars regardless of their complexity. This includes dextrose, and maltose (maltodextrin) among others. Adding more maltodextrin will just give the enzymes more food giving your beer even more of a "rocket fuel" flavor.

by **Chris Colby** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 10:15 am

Rick Bowman wrote:Ok, thx Chris. I do prefer a dry, not sweet beer. I can't drink dark beers, too sugary for me. To offset the extreme dryness, maybe additional malto-dextrin? Rick

You can make a dry beer without using Beano. Here's how:

Start with a recipe that contains few or no specialty grains. Substitute a smaller amount of more highly colored crystal malts for lots of light crystal malts if you want to retain the same color (but be aware the hue will change somewhat).

As an option, you can use corn or rice as a mash adjunct to increase the wort's fermentability. You can also use sugar in the kettle for this.

Mash at the low end of the starch conversion range 148-152 ?F. You may also want to rest at 140 ?F for 30-60 minutes before moving to the conversion rest.

Use a highly attenuative yeast strain, make a big yeast starter and aerate the wort well (with oxygen, if available).

If you want your beer more dry than the above steps make it, THEN add Beano.

Chris Colby
Bastrop, TX

by **the4th** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 11:55 am

Beano will not ferment Lactose so you could use a little of that to build up some mouthfeel. The problem would be the sweetness you're trying to get rid of. I made a beer that started as a darker Scottish Ale that was going to have a pretty sweet finish. I used beano and the beer turned out great. It did dry the beer out, but it fits with the other flavors that are there. Gravity went from 1.079 to 1.003. (10.1% ABV)

by **Rick Bowman** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 5:39 pm

the4th wrote:Beano will not ferment Lactose so you could use a little of that to build up some mouthfeel. The problem would be the sweetness you're trying to get rid of. I made a beer that started as a darker Scottish Ale that was going to have a pretty sweet finish. I used beano and the beer turned out great. It did dry the beer out, but it fits with the other flavors that are there. Gravity went from 1.079 to 1.003. (10.1% ABV)

Cool.... thx, I'll give it a try. Guess I'll experiment around with just a single tablet, maybe a few extra grains.

Morebeer's Brew Chat

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