Larry Horwitz

Regional Brewer
Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant
 Carbohydrate structure
 Enzymes: a special protein
 Hydrolysis: enzymatic breakdown
 Protein if we have time
People have brewed beer
for centuries without
knowing any of what we
are about to talk about
so…

DON’T WORRY!!!
 Biggest process step to
effect finished beer
(other than ingredient
choice)
 Items Controlled:
 Fermentable sugars
 Degree of Fermentability
 Body (sometimes)
 Protein profile (yeast
nutrients and head
proteins)
Starch Degredation

Raw Barley
(Complex Starch)

Malted Barley
(simple Starch)

Mash
(Starch to Sugar) For those that don’t remember
things…like Foley
 Organic compound that
contains Carbon, Hydrogen,
and Oxygen
 Store and transport energy
 Made up of monosaccharides
(single sugars)
 Glucose
 Fructose
 Provide yeast with energy

 In plants are from the SUN

 Glucose Derived Sugars Fructose Sugars
 Glucose (G) 8-10%  Fructose (F) 1-2%
 Maltose (G-G) 46-50%  Sucrose (F-G) 4-8%
 Maltotriose (G-G-G) 12-18%  Raffinose (G-G-F) 0%
 Amylose (G-G…)
 Amylopectin (G-G…) + 1:6 links
 Hexose (6 carbon sugar)
 The simplest sugar in
brewing (monomer)
 Building block of most
other sugars and starch
 Produced by
chlorophyll in plants
 Converted to starch
for storage
 Monomer (single
molecule
1-4 1-4
 Sweeter than Glucose
 Drops straight into EMP
pathway
 Passive transport
through cell wall
 Too much is problematic

Beta D Fructose
 Table Sugar
 fructose + glucose

Enzyme required to
break the bond
This enzyme does not occur in malt
 Plants store glucose as the polysaccharide starch.
(many sugar)
 Stored in granules
 Insoluble in water (cloudy)
 Degraded through a process called hydrolysis,
catalyzed by enzymes called amylases
 Natural starches are mixtures of
 amylose (10-20%)
 amylopectin (80-90%)
 Granules have a
crystalline structure
 Large
 Small
  Starch is bound up in a
granular matrix
 Large granules
 Small granules

6/26/2013 18
6/26/2013 19
6/26/2013 20
 Cells of malt starchy
Cells of barley starchy
endosperm showing cell wall
endosperm showing cell
destruction and protein
walls and large and small
matrix disruption.
starch granules.

6/26/2013 21
 Stops about 3 Gs from the 1:6 bond
What are they?
 Polypeptides: complex proteins
 lower the activation energy of a reaction.
 Have a complex shape that dictates
function
 From malt

Organic “machines” that make things happen

for living organisms
 Form dictates function
 Each Enzyme is a mess of
simple amino acids strung
together in a chain
 Charges (hydrogen
bonding) give it
secondary and tertiary
shape
 Each is folded in a unique
way to work on a
particular substrate
 Enzyme (green
blob) grabs the
substrate
 Changes it in
some way
 Lets it go

Lock and key, and

induced fit
 enzymes break down
or hydrolyze starch
 Here as in the
mash…more later

 *Thank you Palmer

 80 100.0%
70 90.0%
80.0%
60
70.0%
50
60.0%
ºC
40 50.0%
40.0% AE
30

30.0%
20
20.0%
10
10.0%
0 0.0%
1 2 3 4

Ludwig Narziss, at.al Weihenstephan,Abriss der Bierbrauerei. WILEY-VCH

Verlags GmbH Weinheim Germany, 2005
Proteases 50-60C° 122-140°F
Amylase 60-65C° 140-149°F
Amylase 65-70C° 149-158°F

 Alpha: Liquifying enzyme (attacks ungelatinized starch) endo

enzyme. Narrow temp range. 158 is best
 Beta: Fermentability enzyme(exo,non-red) activity slows as
maltose concentration grows in thick mashes. Temperature
sensitive on high end
68°C

66°C % fermentability
%extract

60°C

55.0% 60.0% 65.0% 70.0% 75.0% 80.0%

But… fermentability depends on more
than temperature

 pH –
 time - A longer mash will give the
enzymes more time to break down
starch and dextrines
 water/grist ratio - (at the extremes
only)
 crush
 mash-schedule.
 enzymatic power of the mash – What
is fixed by the maltster?
 With today’s well  In a range….move far
modified malts, the outside of it an you’ll
mash thickness has have problems
little impact on the
fermentability of the
produced wort
[Narziss, 2005]
 PRODUCT ENZYME
INHIBITION DENATURATION
Maltose

Thick Mash Thin Mash

Mash Thickness
 Optimum Temp Optimum pH
Enzyme Function
Range Range
Lowers the Mash pH.
Phytase 86 - 126°F 4.4 - 5.5
No longer used.
Beta
98 - 113°F 4.5 - 5.0 Best gum breaking rest.
Glucanase
Produces Free Amino
Peptidase 115 - 135°F 4.6 - 5.2
Nitrogen (FAN).
Breaks up large
Protease 115 - 135°F 4.6 - 5.2
proteins that form haze
Produces small, highly
Beta Amylase 130 - 150°F 5.0 - 5.6
fermentable sugars.

Produces larger, less

Alpha Amylase 155 - 167°F 5.3 - 5.8
fermentable sugars
 Practical lower sach limit of about 63C
(145F)
 Start at 65C (149F) for highest
fermentable extract
 Use 70C (158F) as upper limit
 Alpha optima…you could go higer
50mg/ltr Calcium adds thermal protection
for enzymes (equivalent to low temp
sach rest)

Ca2+ is an alpha enzyme co-factor

increasing temp stability of alpha above
50 mg/l
ß-glucanase Rest

40-50 ºC (98-113 º F)

-glucanases reduces beta glucan

“gummy substances” and makes
lautering easier.
CAUTION: -glucan solubliase is
more heat resistant than -
glucanase.
What about it?
“ A significant part of the
protein conversion has already
happened during malting.”
 Found in all living
things
 Building blocks of
proteins and enzymes
 DON’T WORRY!!!!!!

Modern malt is so ‘Hot’ that you can spit on it

and it’ll covert!

Go Make some homebrew

 Thank you!
 larryh@ironhillbrewery.com