Enzymes are the unseen, underappreciated workhorses of distilled spirits. Yeast, distillation techniques, special ingredients, or unique barrels may be what get the spotlight, but without enzymes, a distiller is left with starchy, unfermentable mush.
Enzymes aren’t living organisms like yeast are, but they are a biological catalyst for reactions within living organisms or organic matter. There are thousands of known enzymes that help facilitate a wide variety of chemical reactions within all types of living things, from plants and animals to bacteria and fungi. They are molecules that act as keys, fitting into specific compounds to help—in the case of distillers as well as brewers—break them down into constituent parts.
Get to Know Your Enzymes
The primary enzymes that distillers rely upon are amylases, which break complex starches down into fermentable—or more fermentable—sugars, while a small group of secondary enzymes help improve processability and potentially provide for a slight boost in yield.