bluc wrote:Urrazeb wrote:Yeah it's the enzyme included gear for non malt mashing, pretty much means you can convert anything really
How do you mash non malted i wouldnt think there would be much starch to convert :geek:
All grain has starch mate, malted grain contains the enzymes in natural form to convert the starch (locked away) contained in that grain to sugar to feed the new shoot (plant) due to the grain being started under specific conditions and then forced to cease by drying or kilning.
When the malting (sprouting) occurs, smaller carbohydrates, amino acids and lipids are produced, and open up the seed's starch reserves. This is known as modification. The amount of enzymatic starch conversion potential that a malt has is referred to as its diastatic power or DP. This can be analysed in a lab and given a rating in Degrees Linter, you want to make sure any mash you are making is sitting at 70 degrees linter or above for full conversion of all available starches. The kiln drying of the new malt denatures a lot of the different enzymes, but several types remain, including the ones necessary for starch conversion and mainly this is the Alpha and Beta Amylase that we want.
Aside from getting into kilning temps and the many variations associated with producing malted grain the reason is basically for the enzymes, as well as the obvious flavour profile different malts bring to the table.
Isolated enzymes take a lot of the guess work out of malt that has not been analysed for DP.
When using malt, the DP of that malt should be known so as to ensure the ratio of malt to unmalted grain is optimised. Although certain malts hold a predisposition to a certain amount of enzyme, there are just too many factors involved in malting to be sure you have what the grain has intended without lab testing the malt for actual DP.