30g Pectolase (Pectin Enzyme)
Hello you lovely lot. We use a helluva lot of Pectolase when using fruit in our brews, and we thought we could help out all you lovely brewers with (what we think is) a great deal ;) We thought about 'sexing up' the pectolase blurb below, but I really don't think it's possible? Is it? :/ Anyway, it comes in a resealable zip lock, hot sealed pouch for easy storage and here's Tom's short and long on it.
Tom's 'to the point' take on it - "Used to ensure maximum yield of juice and flavour from
fruits and prevent pectin hazes in wine and cider. Dosage? 1 heaped teaspoon
per 4.5L (1 Imperial Gallon). Enjoy ;)!"
And his uncharacteristically long winded user guide – “Pectolase breaks down the pectin found naturally occurring
in fruit, releasing juice, colour and flavour and enhancing yield. If pectin is
not destroyed then there’s a fair chance your finished wine will remain
"hazy" and never clear, even with the use of finings later on. It is
recommended you add 1 heaped teaspoon of enzyme per gallon (4.5 Litres) of wine
to prevent hazes. If your fruit has been heat treated then double the dosage
rate. Enzymes need to be kept fresh, use up and replace every 6 months if
possible, definitely every year, old enzymes may not work.
Pectolase is usually added before fermentation is allowed.
Add at the same time as the addition of Campden allowing 12-24 Hours for them
all to work together before either straining fruit juice from pulp to continue
on to do a juice fermentation or adding the yeast in with the pulp itself to do
a pulp fermentation.”
Some useful Q&A's below
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Some (Not so silly) Q & A’s – Q. Mr Sam Adams asks – I’ve got this stubborn
"hazy" wine that just isn't clearing even with the use of finings.
What the hell can I do?!? A. Old Tom says - You may have a Pectic Haze. You can try
adding 2 heaped teaspoons of pectic enzyme per gallon of hazy wine to see if it
will destroy it, but this is not always successful.
Q. Ms Sharon Donnay asks - “Do you have to use it? I've been
told that I could adapt a gooseberry wine recipe for use with kiwis, but the
recipe calls for pectolase, some places says it clears the wine, others say it
is for breaking down the pectin so come on Old Tom, educate me. I’m a woman
possessed! J A. Old Tom’s answer (with his serious hat on) - Most hazes are dealt with by fining, but there are a
couple which finings won't touch - a pectin haze being one of them. The ONLY
thing that pectic enzyme (pectolase) does is break down pectin. It's the
effects of that breakdown which provide the different reasons for using
it. ... Because the structure of the fruit is "softened" by the action of
the enzyme, it can increase juice yield. ... Fruits having a high pectin content (kiwi fruit, for instance) obviously
produce wine with a high pectin content. Sometimes (but not always) pectin held
in the wine can coalesce around particles of just about anything - including
yeast cells - and produce a haze. If it's really bad, the coalesced particles
can grow quite large, producing the famous frog-spawn effect. Including the
enzyme (pectolase) prevents this by reducing or even eradicating the pectin
before a haze can form.
So the answer to your question is that you never HAVE to use it - but it may be
advisable to do so. The presence of pectin doesn't guarantee that a haze will
form and, even if it does, it won't harm you or affect the wine in any way
other than appearance. |