Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

Hi,

I've tried malting my own grain, then mashing with multiple rests, but I've found this a frustrating experience.

The porridge-like mash doesn't liquify very easily, and I have great doubts that I'm getting much starch conversion. Add to that the time involved in actually getting the grain to malt, and I'm over it already.

I've been doing some research into external enzymes with a view to simplifying the procedure and maximizing my returns. There is an outfit in the USA (Specialty Enzymes) which supply one product (SEBstar HTL) which is "A heat-stable, liquid alpha-amylase enzyme used in the alcohol industry for high-temperature liquefaction of starch containing grain mashes (corn, sorghum, rice, etc.)" and another product (SEBamyl GL) which is "Glucoamylase or Amyloglucosidase enzyme that works at lower temperatures to break down larger sugars into smaller sugars for yeast to eat. Also contains alpha-1,6 side activity to increase fermentability of the mash even further"

They only come in 25 litre drums (each), but 500ml of each is sufficient to treat 1 metric tonne of grain. That's a lot of washes!!! They don't have an aussie outlet.

I've not yet been able to find any similar Australian outfits. And the only small scale sellers in the US don't post to Australia.

At this point I'm seriously considering getting 25 litres of each and dividing it up into 500 ml bottles and onselling to other all grain brewers and distillers. Still tossing and turning over that, as it might be an expensive initial outlay.

Has anyone else used external enzymes in AG washes? If you have, could you let me know where you got them and what they are worth. Did they work as advertised?

$1-$2 from the local HBS :handgestures-thumbupleft: It's dried alpha-amylase, and I use 2 packets for 50L.



Have you tried leaving your mash overnight for conversion? With a smaller amount of enzymes in a mash with non-malted grains, you will find that you wont get the standard 60 minute conversion like with 100% malted barley. Then it's all a function of time, can take 6-8 hours, and with a well insulated mash tun, leaving overnight will be beneficial for you... :think:

The grain guy reckons these dried enzymes could convert 100% corn if you gave it enough time...but you're probably talking about being able to hold it in the temp range for 24 hours?...

I've used alfa from brew craft and it thins the mash instantly :handgestures-thumbupleft:
its about 4 bucks for a for 4 gram packet and does for me a 14kg grain wash

just thinking some more on alfa amylase from the hbs
I've held it at 72-69deg for 4 hours and have only noticed a very slight sweetness in the mash, so i don't think it would convert all the starches to sugar
for this you would need beta, but i haven't found any beta for sale yet other than in malt

So, how would this compare to something like bread improver?
http://shop.coles.com.au/online/nationa ... d-improver

Ive used bread improver. It does work but not very high conversion

These are the stats of the two enzymes I've been looking at. See if they make any sense to you ('cos I'm a bit foggy all the time)

SEBstar HTL®
Heat-Stable Liquid Bacterial Alpha-Amylase

Description:
SEBstar HTL is a heat-stable, liquid alpha-amylase enzyme. It is produced by controlled fermentation of a non-GMO strain of Bacillus licheniformis. This enzyme is food-grade, Kosher Certified and can be used to produce certified-organic beverages. SEBstar HTL is an endo-amylase that randomly hydrolyzes alpha-1,4-glycosidic bonds in gelatinized starch. The prolonged action of SEBstar HTL rapidly reduces the viscosity of gelatinized starch and produces large amounts of lower molecular weight dextrins.

Application:
SEBstar HTL is used in the starch industry to continuously liquefy and dextrinize gelatinized, wet-milled corn and wheat starch for the production of low-dextrose (DE 7 – 15) starch syrups. Because of its heat stability, broad pH tolerance and low calcium requirement, SEBstar HTL can be used to liquefy starch slurries at temperatures as high as 90oC without the addition of calcium. In the alcohol industry it is used for high-temperature liquefaction of starch containing grain mashes (corn, wheat, barley, sorghum, rice etc.) for production neutral spirits. In the brewing industry, SEBstar HTL is used to rapidly liquefy and reduce the viscosity of grain adjuncts.

Benefits:
 Excellent thermal stability for liquefaction of steam jet-cooked starch.
 Produces low-viscosity, liquid dextrose syrups in 90 minutes at 80 – 90oC.
 Whole corn or grain liquefaction at pH 5.8 and 80 - 85oC
 Increases wort yield and grain adjunct cooking capacity
 Produced by fermentation of non-GMO, organism. All natural, non-synthetic ingredients

Enzyme Properties:
SEBstar HTL is a brown liquid. The enzyme has a slight odor typical of fermented products. It is completely soluble in water. When used to liquefy cereal grain starch, the optimum pH pH 5.6 – 6.5. SEBstar HTL has a temperature range of 50 – 90oC. For liquefaction hold times longer than 30 minutes, the optimum temperature is 80 – 85oC. Temperature inactivation begins to occur at or above 95oC and pH 6.5. SEBstar HTL can be completely inactivated in 5 minutes at pH 4.0 and 95oC. The activity of SEBstar HTL is stabilized by the presence of Ca++ ions and is inhibited by high concentrations of heavy metals.

Dosage:
The optimum dosage of SEBstar HTL depends on:
 nature and dry solids (DS)% of the substrate to be liquefied
 final starch-syrup dextrose equivalent (DE, %) required
 liquefaction temperature and pH
 liquefaction time (typically 30 – 120 minutes)
 recommended dose: 200 – 800g/metric ton starch DS or whole grain.

Packaging:
SEBstar HTL is available in 25kg Jerry Cans, 225 kg Drums and 1,100 kg tote-bins.



SEBamyl® GL
Liquid GlucoAmylase

Description:
SEBamyl-GL is an enzyme produced by controlled fermentation of a non-GMO strain of
Aspergillus niger. This enzyme is food-grade, Kosher, non-synthetic and can be used to produce
certified-organic beverages. SEBamyl-GL is considered an exo-alpha-amylase, glucoamylase or amyloglucosidase enzyme. It acts to hydrolyze the alpha-D-1,4-glycosidic bonds on the non-reducing end of liquefied starch. In addition, SEBamy-GL has side alpha-D-1,6 glycosidic activity to increase hydrolysis of starch and amylopectin branch points. The prolonged action of SEBamyl-GL produces large amounts of glucose.

Application:
SEBamyl GL is used in the starch industry to produce glucose from liquefied starch. It is used in the distillery and fuel-alcohol industries for saccharification, and for simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of whole-grain mashes. In the brewing industry it is used to reduce residual grain-starch dextrins in the production of low-carbohydrate beer.

Benefits:
 Excellent temperature range of 30 – 65oC
 pH range of 2.8 – 5.5
 Produces high-DE, glucose syrups in less than 48 hours
 Whole-corn or grain starch saccharification
 Produced by fermentation of non-GMO, organism
 All-natural, non-synthetic ingredients

Enzyme Properties:
SEBamyl GL is a brownish liquid. The enzyme has a slight odor typical of fermented products. It is completely soluble in water. When used to saccharify starch, the optimum pH range is pH 2.8 - 5.5. pH inactivation occurs at a pH below pH 2.5 or above pH 5.5 SEBamyl GL is stable over a temperature range of 30 – 65oC. For saccharifications longer than 24 hours, the optimum temperature range is 55 – 60oC. Temperature inactivation occurs at or above 75oC. Complete inactivation can be achieved by heating to 95oC for approximately 10 minutes at pH 4.5 or to 75oC for 40 minutes.

Dosage:
The optimum dosage of SEBamyl GL depends on:
 Nature of the substrate to be saccharified
 Dry substance (DS) percent of the starch substrate
 Final syrup DE, % glucose required
 Saccharification temperature and pH
 Saccharification time (typically 24 – 96 hours)
 Recommended dose: 400 – 800 mL/metric ton starch DS (2,200 lbs.)


Packaging:
SEBamyl GL is available in 25-kg jerry cans, 225-kg drums, 1,100-kg tote-bins, and in bulk.

Enzyme Solutions have all that in Melbourne, I don't know about minimum quantities or anything though. I'd be interested in some if you do buy bulk

Enzyme Solutions don't deal with the public, so they say. They might consider a group buy, but once again, we're looking at large volumes. I'm about to purchase 1 quart (about 1.2 litres) of both the enzymes I've mentioned from a site in the US. $US60 per quart = $US120 with $US55 postage. Should give me enough for the rest of my days, but I don;t think the stuff will last that long. We'll see.

Petulance wrote:Enzyme Solutions don't deal with the public, so they say. They might consider a group buy, but once again, we're looking at large volumes. I'm about to purchase 1 quart (about 1.2 litres) of both the enzymes I've mentioned from a site in the US. $US60 per quart = $US120 with $US55 postage. Should give me enough for the rest of my days, but I don;t think the stuff will last that long. We'll see.

Pretty sure it has a shelf life of 12 months mate, was talking to someone (cant remember who) about this only recently, so decided not to go ahead with it.

Yep, 12 months is about what I'd expect.

Anyone want to buy some of my excess? I've no idea at this point what the prices are. Once I've figured that out I'll let you all know.

I know many AG brewers/distillers like to malt their own grain and running their cooking with all the prescribed rests. One of my personality traits is laziness. Surely their are others who share my love of little work! Oh come on, yes you do!!! No really!!!

i would be keen for some for sure :handgestures-thumbupleft:

As much as I hate saying this, I have great conversions using an alpha amalyse enzyme from the hbs. I'm pretty sure it's still spirits 4g satchel.

It does smell a bit like blood and bone but works really well in the absence of available malted grain.

Found this web page

http://stillspirits.com/products/alpha- ... -sachet-4g
Alpha Amylase Enzyme

To use this -

Make up a soup with 15 L of water and 4 kg of starch.

Add the 4 g sachet of Alpha Amylase and keep at 70 degrees C overnight and your starch will be converted to sugar.

Measure using a refractometer or simply taste for sweetness.

If you want a higher temperature, our Alpha Amylase unlike many others can handle temperatures up to 85 degrees before denaturing.

To be used with Distiller's Yeasts when starch is used in your recipe.

SEBstar HTL and SEBamyl In large quatities will be subject to import tax, which will more than double the price.

Those products are available in 2oz kits ( 1 bottle of each) and 4 oz bottle which I have been informed, can be sent via post. Although this can be hit and miss.

I attempted to get a similar powdered enzyme imported ( 500g of each) and had it seized at customs due to lack of documentation.
The supplier offered NO assistance and the goods where destroyed. ( I only needed a manufacturers deceleration, but the company had already got my money)

The service was "kilometres low" :laughing-rolling:

I hope you get lucky, keep us posted as I would love some gluco- amylase

That is a good warning about customs .Getting a Material Safety Data Sheet and having it posted by someone who is not so ignorant would help .

All these enzymes are available in AU, no need to go OS for them.

I'll keep my eye on this thread. 2015 will be the year I try AG, some much to learn with rests and enzymes etc.

TheMechwarrior wrote:All these enzymes are available in AU, no need to go OS for them.

Ok........ Detail would be appreciated
Specifically Glucoamylase would be awesome
Thanks

The enzyme suppliers in OZ only deal in bulk (25kg minimum). I'll likely do a group deal in 2015, stay tuned.

For those who don't wish to wait I suggest you go here: https://enzymash.biz/index.php?route=pr ... ry&path=33
If you approach the US enzyme supplier directly you will be directed to the above link anyway.

eBay:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/like/2215542 ... 107&chn=ps

AU
For those that are dead keen on contacting the AU suppliers:
http://www.enzymesolutions.com.au/
http://www.deltagen.com.au/
You can find more, but the story is the same.

Cheers,

Mech.