Dry Beer Enzyme

[maltedhopalong]

Don't take everything so personally (I'm not, even though you started the flame). All I said is that you are going to be left with relatively tasteless beer and I don't think you'll find any brewer who will disagree.

I'm not criticising your aim to recreate a commercial beer but as you are a frequent member of this site and apparently an avid brewer, it's very strange that you would want to do it. This forum is focused on helping people make a better beer than anything they can buy and I think if you could start to appreciate some extra flavour in your beers then you'll enjoy the hobby more.

I'm sorry for taking it personally, but as I said I do think there are other ways of saying it. And yeah, it may seem strange that i would want to drink a "lawnmower" beer, but i do and i just get so sick and tired of being criticised for it.

 

[maltedhopalong]

I really shouldn't have bothered, but if other people have isolated the dry enzyme as adding some really strange tastes to their beer, maybe pm me or something. Note to hardcore uber-hardcore brewers, i'm not discussing the difference between dry and non-dry beer, but rather the enzyme itself and the TASTE it imparts (besides dryness).

 

[FazerPete]

I'm sorry for taking it personally, but as I said I do think there are other ways of saying it. And yeah, it may seem strange that i would want to drink a "lawnmower" beer, but i do and i just get so sick and tired of being criticised for it.

Sorry if my first post caused offence, it was meant to be fairly tongue in cheek.

I'm the first to defend people's right to have different tastes and I don't mind a very cold lighter beer on a hot day, but have you tried other beer styles to see if there's something else out there that you might like to make? With the colder weather here now, some of the low hop / high malt english ales are very tasty. :chug:

My trouble is I like everything!

 

[maltedhopalong]

Sorry if my first post caused offence, it was meant to be fairly tongue in cheek.

I'm the first to defend people's right to have different tastes and I don't mind a very cold lighter beer on a hot day, but have you tried other beer styles to see if there's something else out there that you might like to make? With the colder weather here now, some of the low hop / high malt english ales are very tasty. :chug:

My trouble is I like everything!

Yeah, i really appreciate strong malty beers, but i have VERY fickle taste buds when it comes to hops, there are a lot of different hops tastes that make a beer unpleasant to me, hence half the time I drink low hopped beers which are often the lighter ones (read: cat piss)

 

[pint of lager]

Time to do your very own experiment.

Buy a dry lager brew, make it up and divide it eqally between two fermenters. Pitch half the yeast into each fermenter. Pitch the dry enzyme into only one fermenter. Brew under exactly the same conditions and report back. Adam's suggestion of 5 litres is good, but by splitting it you have a bigger sample to work with.

Repeat the experiment as your brewing and beer tasting knowledge expands.

The few times I have resorted to dry enzyme to help a solidly stuck ferment, the brews have not been good quality.

Hop flavour is best with nice fresh hops. Make sure your HBS has fresh hops and stores them correctly. Or check out Ross's range. Old hops, or misusing hops varieties can be nasty.

I know how dry enzyme works, generally when I use it i prime (EDIT: not prime, i mean instead of dex/brew enhancher i use...) with corn syrup and/or a can of unhopped malt, the idea being that it actually tastes "dry".

Corn syrup? This should never be used for priming. Being an Australian site, we try to avoid the American confusion with this product.

In Australia we call it maltodextrin (the yanks call it corn syrup)

The same with dextrose. To avoid confusion use the term dextrose rather than the yank terminology of corn sugar.

 

[SJW]

Who gives a flying duck if people like a beer that's less powerful than the kind of beer you like? Your doing nothing but turn people away. I love this site cos you guys are great at answering all my questions and it's sucha reliable source of information. But I don't know how much more of the elitism i can take.

Pull ya head in maltedhopalong

It's the unfermented stuff that gives beer a lot of it's flavour. Using a dry enzyme to completely ferment everything is going to remove all of that flavour so that all you are left with is yellow, hoppy water with no malt flavours to balance the flavour.

The fact is Fazerpete is 100% correct!

 

[maltedhopalong]

Pull ya head in maltedhopalong

Yes sir. From today, no more commercially bought beer ever again for me and i'm headed down to the bank to take out a loan for an ag setup right now.

All you dopes who asked about dry enzyme, you're flamin' idiots! why don't you just drink cat piss???


[/sarcasm]

 

[AUHEAMIC]

Feel the Luv

 

[SJW]

Yes sir. From today, no more commercially bought beer ever again for me and Im headed down to the bank to take out a loan for an ag setup right now.

All you dopes who asked about dry enzyme, you're flamin' idiots! why don't you just drink cat piss???

I think U just need to understand that this is a Homebrew web site. You should not expect much support for megswill beers no matter how much u like them. We all understand that these beers a light and inoffensive and taste great after mowing the grass on a 40+ day, but 99% of blokes on this site are trying to make a better HOME BREW.
Dont be such a tosser, I think poor ol Alan asked a very fair question in an environment where you would expect a lot of people to have had an experience with the stuff. Before u go calling Alan a DOPE and an IDIOT read his question. CLOWN!

hi,
Does anyone have experience using dry beer enzyme. (e.g. brewcraft brand) and what final gravity reduction might I expect by using it. note dryness in winemaking implies final gravity around 1.000 .
any help or comments would be appreciated.

cheers alan

 

[maltedhopalong]

You're telling me to read people's questions??? I noticed you deleted the part where I said i was being sarcastic ([/sarcasm] means "end of sarcasm")

what i was saying is that YOU guys are the ones calling people idiots and dopes for wanting to use dry enzyme because as soon as u mention dry enzyme or some commercial clone, the inevitable response is: "why bother, tastes like cats piss, why don't you drink a real beer? blah blah blah"

anyway, sorry for what you guys have perceived as a flame, just wanted to say, if you don't like what someone's asking, please just think of a different way of telling that person they have no taste because that's just your opinion.

 

[FazerPete]

Yeah, i really appreciate strong malty beers, but i have VERY fickle taste buds when it comes to hops, there are a lot of different hops tastes that make a beer unpleasant to me, hence half the time I drink low hopped beers which are often the lighter ones (read: cat piss)

I think you'll find that using a dry enzyme will accentuate the hop flavour so I don't think you should use it. What you want to do is add more malt and use a low attenuating yeast like Windsor to get a higher FG. More malt will balance the hop flavour.

I assume you're a K&K guy like me so have a go at a Morgans Amber Ale or Muntons Scottish Ale with no added hops and 1-1.5kg of malt and I reckon you'll have a high FG beer that is really good.

 

[Stuster]

Settle now. I think you got some good answers actually, maltedhopalong. Adam's answer was detailed, answered your question, and was not offensive that I can see. Pete certainly did not call you an idiot in his original post. If (to him) such beers do not taste good, I think he should be able to say what he likes about them. If you like them, go ahead and ask about them. Not everyone will be complimentary about the beers you like though, as you weren't about the kind of beers many on here prefer.

but unless you really are craving after a super-hoppy, chocolate brown syrup, style dark ale, it'll make you throw up (the super-hoppy beer, i'm talking about, not the corona).

Anyway, hopefully we can get on with it and not worry too much about everyone else's taste buds.

 

[maltedhopalong]

I think you'll find that using a dry enzyme will accentuate the hop flavour so I don't think you should use it. What you want to do is add more malt and use a low attenuating yeast like Windsor to get a higher FG. More malt will balance the hop flavour.

I assume you're a K&K guy like me so have a go at a Morgans Amber Ale or Muntons Scottish Ale with no added hops and 1-1.5kg of malt and I reckon you'll have a high FG beer that is really good.

Thanks for that, that actually was really helpful and i hadn't even specifically asked for your help. You've effectively made me look like an angry old man, and i appreciate that, and i deserved it. Thanks mate, hope i didn't offend you, just had my button pressed one too many times.

oh and btw, stuster, i wasn't saying anything derogatory about anyone else's beers, just the fact that if you HAVE been out mowing the lawn in 40+ then you're hardly gonna wanna sit down to a 9% thick gooey chocolate beer served at 8degrees are you?

 

[SJW]

oh and btw, stuster, i wasn't saying anything derogatory about anyone else's beers, just the fact that if you HAVE been out mowing the lawn in 40+ then you're hardly gonna wanna sit down to a 9% thick gooey chocolate beer served at 8degrees are you?

I could drink a Bock at any time.
Ok everyones cool now

 

[Stuster]

oh and btw, stuster, i wasn't saying anything derogatory about anyone else's beers, just the fact that if you HAVE been out mowing the lawn in 40+ then you're hardly gonna wanna sit down to a 9% thick gooey chocolate beer served at 8degrees are you?

That's true. I certainly do know what you're saying. Another thing you might want to take a look at is Belgian beer. They can be lightly hopped, bursting with flavour but with a dry, refreshing finish as the yeasts have great attenuation.

 

[maltedhopalong]

ta. i hang out on sports forums a lot and it's an unusual feeling to have ppl not hold 'having a different opinon' against u, thanks guys.

 

[FazerPete]

Thanks for that, that actually was really helpful and i hadn't even specifically asked for your help. You've effectively made me look like an angry old man, and i appreciate that, and i deserved it. Thanks mate, hope i didn't offend you, just had my button pressed one too many times.

No worries mate, we've all had days like that and it takes a lot to offend me.

Good brewing!...no matter what you like to drink

 

[Steve]

group hug now please

 

[FazerPete]

group hug now please

Could this be called a Kodak moment? Aaahhhh

Is it time to go home yet? I need a beer. :chug:

 

[peterbulger]

While being new to this site, I have been brewing a fair while. What keeps me brewing is that you can brew to ANY taste. I have and do use dry enzymes. My wife likes the lighter dryer beers while I like the darker maltier drops.

However, drinking great malty beer all the time may result in that a spare tire growing around your waste. Not only does the enzyme produce a drier beer, there are also less carbs.

..and I have had final SG down to 990 and sometimes a bit lower

Cheers to variety and choice

Pweder