Have you used this? Liquid pectic enzyme

[Alchemywunderkid]

Has anyone used this? Just added it to a beer that was finished with two quarts of mango nectar.

http://www.rebelbrewer.com/shop/chemicals-additives/liquid-pectic-enzyme/

Into the keg, this beer was practically opaque. I just added the recommended dosage of 5 drops per gallon to the keg in hopes of clearing it up a bit. My only experience with pectic enzyme has been with powdered enzyme in cider. I've used it both pre- and post-fermentation, so I'm pretty sure I have no idea how it operates.

Anyone have a bit more insight into this stuff?

Details of the beer: mostly Maris Otter with equal parts white wheat malt, light munich, special roast, and flaked barley. 2 qts of mango nectar (50% juice) added at 5 mins to flame out.

[ziggy]

Powdered versions of enzymes are the same or very similar to their liquid counterparts except for dose. All enzymes start as liquids and then are either sold that way or sprayed onto a granulate. Once you put the granulate in your beer it goes into solution just like the liquid form. So you might have given your beer a higher dose by using the liquid.

Enzymes all have temperature and pH optimums that you need to hit. Pectic enzymes are generally designed for the juice and wine industry and they process at about room temperature and a pH near that of beer so it should work. You might need some time and agitation.

You can do a simple pectin test by adding 1 part beer to 1 part 70% ethanol or propanol and seeing if there is gel. The more gel there is the more pectin.

[siwelwerd]

I've used it in a fruit lambic. Seemed to do what it was supposed to. It should work about the same as the powdered stuff--reducing the pectins that set when you boiled the juice.

[Alchemywunderkid]

Thanks for the replies. As an update...

After about 3 weeks (half at room temp, the other half in the fridge under serving pressure) once the enzyme had been added, it really cleared up. As I mentioned above, it was nearly opaque when in went into the keg, so this was a welcome result. It wasn't crystal clear brilliant, but it went from a murky yellow-orange haze of a beer to one that looked appealing in the glass with a decent translucence.

Ziggy, I like the pectic test thing. If I had done that with the beer pre-dosing and then again a few weeks later, I guess it would show if it worked or not? Assuming of course that the pre-dose test shows enough gelling to compare it to.

I forget where, but I had read somewhere that alcohol concentration is a factor in the action of these enzymes. Is that just "something I've read" or does anyone have a more detailed knowledge of the workings?