Kinetics of β-glucan degradation in wort by exogenous β-glucanases treatment

Three commercial β-glucanases, two fungal (Biobeta P-100 and Filtrase AM) and one bacterial (Finizym 200L) have been studied with regards to the β-glucan hydrolysis in beer. At the temperature (0°C) and enzyme concentrations (5–20 ppm) tested, β-glucan degradation takes place in two stages: the first one consisting of an initial induction period of short duration (ca. 4 hours) and slow degradation rate, and the second following a first order kinetics, the rate constant of which is directly proportional to the enzyme dose. The enzyme doses recommended by the manufacturers are somewhat higher than the enzyme doses needed to lower the β-glucan content of beer, after the usual lagering time, below the filtering troublesome levels. No evidence for synergic or competitive effects between fungal and bacterial β-glucanases have been found.