Using Amylase to simulate spit

[kl.Gray Owl]

I got some brewers Amylase via Midwest Homebrewing, this is an enzyme naturally present in spit which hydrolyzes starches to sugars, my idea is to simulate some of the biological properties of spit without having actual spit in the kava as that is a bit beyond my gross-out threshold.  The Amylase is probably isolated from rennet or cow spit (so much better, eh?) or it could be of bacterial or yeast origin, but it is purified.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006O93SYQ/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details

In brewing, Amylase is used to sweeten wort or speed up the malting process.  By rights, I "should" be testing this with a Vanuatu or Fiji kava, but I'm in the mood for something a bit milder, so I'm brewing up some HKC Micronized Mahakea, I'll try some Vanuatu next time.

62 g HKC Micronized Mahakea
3 g lecithin
1/2 tsp Amylase powder
700 ml coconut water

1 tsp is supposed to treat 5 gallons of wort, so that is probably way overkill, maybe it will come out sickly sweet, we shall see.

Update:  It was a tad sweeter, but not overwhelming, and a bit milder tasting somehow, it was different, but at least as strong.  I'm definitely going to try this with a stronger-tasting Vanuatu soon.

 

[Bula Kava House]

So originally when people began studying kava drinking and kava itself they observed ni-Vanuatu chewing the root to a pulp before passing water through it to make a very strong drink. This observation made many people assume that a compound in saliva was somehow activating the kavalactones. More recently though, one of the foremost experts in kava, Vincent Lebot, deduced that what made Vanuatu kava so strong was actually the pressure put on the root by chewing which was releasing the kavalactones from the pulp. Consider it safe to put away the cow spit! I so love your experimental spirit and that of everyone else on this forum. Hats off to you!

 

[Vekta]

If you try that you're a much more adventurous guy than me. (smiley: laugh)
The moment I read "from rennent or cow spit" I said oh hell nah.(smiley: sick)