Using Beano in the Brewing of Beer
If you thought Beano was just a digestive aid, think again! The way Beano works in your digestive system also lends itself to another process, and one you might not necessarily think of . . . the brewing of beer.
Who has not heard of Beano? Certainly you have heard of it or references to it but what does it actually do on your digestive system? Beano refers to a natural dietary supplement that is helpful to prevent the formation of intestinal gas in the digestive tract. It comprises alpha galactosidase that results in the breakdown of oligosaccharides such as raffinose.
Alan Kligerman developed Beano in 1990 after thorough research into “gas causing” vegetables. The idea for the product was given out in the 1780s in one of Benjamin Franklin’s essays, “A Letter To A Royal Academy.” GlaxoSmithKline acquired it from Block Drug in 2001 and now owns the patent of Beano.
Beano contains the enzyme alpha galactosidase that has been derived from Aspergillus niger. This enzyme breaks down the complex sugars such as polysaccharides and oligosaccharides present in vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, cabbage, beans, and peanuts that are present in your digestive tract. The enzyme causes the complex sugars to break down into simple sugars in your body, hence making the foods much more digestible for your body and reducing stomach flatulence.
The malting process of Beano results in the production of simple sugars that eventually lead to the production of beer. The yeast does not break down the sugars, which is taken in by you drinking beer resulting in flatulence. Home brewers have found that they can add Beano to the brew and produce a kind of beer that will not cause flatulence. The Beano causes the complex sugars to break into simple sugars. These in turn are worked upon by yeast resulting in the production of alcohol. And the result for you is less blowing and gas after drinking beer.
When you add Beano to the brew it brings down the content of the complex sugar in the final product. This brings down the carbohydrate content in the beer and at the same time increases the alcohol content that is present. Some disadvantage you will find from adding Beano is that lower carbohydrates cause lesser head retention of the beer. Also due to the loss of sugars there is less sweet flavor found in the final product. While the use of Beano in producing your homebrew beer causes a low flatulence and low carbohydrate beer it also changes the flavors of the drink.
Those of you who use Beano while fermenting your beer would see less final gravity readings than can be seen in another recipe. You should therefore wait till you are able to obtain two identical readings before coming to the conclusion that the fermentation is over.
