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pwarren · 10-03-2012, 11:32 PM

I've given up on brewing gluten free beers, the ones I've made have tasted really awful, and I just don't have the time or energy to debug what's gone wrong. So, I now brew up some Cider every year, as per Graham's recipe:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f81/grahams-english-cider-107152/

Which is very yummy, and gluten free to boot! I think once the kids are a little older I'll try again with the beer.

**Lcasanova** · 10-03-2012, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwarren

I've given up on brewing gluten free beers, the ones I've made have tasted really awful, and I just don't have the time or energy to debug what's gone wrong. So, I now brew up some Cider every year, as per Graham's recipe:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f81/grahams-english-cider-107152/

Which is very yummy, and gluten free to boot! I think once the kids are a little older I'll try again with the beer.

Sorry to hear that but I know what you mean. Although I always liked the ones I brewed, except for the experimental pumpkin flavor extract ones.

Ever made an oaked sweet cider?

thanantos · 10-05-2012, 11:28 AM

Well, after brewing two variations of your pumpkin spice ales (thanks for that recipe, BTW) I plan to brew an amber ale today.

I have been jumping all around so far with my brewing trying different people's recipes so now I want to slow down and try a good, basic recipe using what I have learned so far. From there I plan to try different variations of that same recipe adding different ingredients along the way like candi syrup, sorghum, honey, etc.

Also, I brewed a light, summer ale this summer that was a big hit with my friends so I figured I'd treat them to something similar again.

Here's what I am brewing today:

6lbs BRS @ 60
1lb Buckwheat honey @ flameout

0.5oz chinook @ 60
1oz cascade @ 30
1oz cascade @ 15
1oz cascade dry hopped for a week

1lb maltodextrin
Yeast nutrient, irish moss and S-05.

OG 1.048, 4.6% ABV and 52 IBU's

philbert · 10-07-2012, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lcasanova

Yes- of course I am bringing this thread back from the dead!

I've gotta say, I've been away from this for quite some time but I really need to get back into it. Looks like there are quite a few new names on here that I didn't see a few years ago.

So- what's everyone brewing now a days?

I'm on of those "new names" that has been reading and digesting whatever other's experiences have been in GF brewing.

My wife was diagnosed with Celiac in the spring. We both discovered we enjoyed the taste of Bards the best but did not necessarily enjoy the cost, just as we don't enjoy the cost of most things GF.

I tried the standard GF brew recipe on my first try with a result of something unfit for man or beast. After more reading I tweaked, modified, and combined several other recipes and came up with something that was quite palatable using sorghum LME as a base, although it is a bit sweet. The next batch I will tweak some more and I hope to have something that anyone would have difficulty distinguishing from "regular" beer.

Safa · 10-07-2012, 01:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by philbert

I'm on of those "new names" that has been reading and digesting whatever other's experiences have been in GF brewing.

My wife was diagnosed with Celiac in the spring. We both discovered we enjoyed the taste of Bards the best but did not necessarily enjoy the cost, just as we don't enjoy the cost of most things GF.

I tried the standard GF brew recipe on my first try with a result of something unfit for man or beast. After more reading I tweaked, modified, and combined several other recipes and came up with something that was quite palatable using sorghum LME as a base, although it is a bit sweet. The next batch I will tweak some more and I hope to have something that anyone would have difficulty distinguishing from "regular" beer.

Once you have this down, I would love to give it a go!

I just brewed a variation on Thanatos' pumpkin spice ale on Wednesday I think and its still happily bubbling away. Have a cider on tap right now, always an easy GF option.

The SWMBO is pretty severely gluten intolerant, but used to drink boatloads of Guinness with me (and then feel inexplicably horrible for days, haha). So ultimately I'm hoping to head in that direction with my GF attempts! Any ideas?!

ChasidicCalvinist · 10-07-2012, 02:11 AM

In all honesty I don't understand the GF hating. At least the homebrew gf hating, especially when it comes to Sorghum. Commercial GF beers stink. But I have had great success with my GF homebrews--and that isn't just my opinion. My beers have been well received by everyone who has tried them. Some of the "testers" were people who have had--because of me, everything from Redbridge to Greens, so they knew what was out there and felt that not only was what I had brewed superior but tasted like "Regular" beer. Indeed, I have actually had requests by 2 individuals to take some of my homebrews home with them, even though they could buy any type or barley based beer on the market and drink those to their hearts content.

Two things are worth mentioning: I brew for myself, not for the satisfaction of others. My wife HATES beer and always has. So it really doesn't matter what others think, I brew so that I can enjoy beer again. And because it is really, really fun. Second, I'm not trying to brag but rather encourage GF brewers. Stop putting yourself down, stop being negative, stop giving up. Not only can you brew good GF beer, but you should!

Safa, here is my Guinness recipe I have come up with. I haven't brewed it yet and I haven't given it any critical attention. My research into Guinness clones is it is incredibly hard to find someone who can tell you the correct hop schedule. But the sour beer *should* be the area where Sorghum shines.

"God and Guinness" 5 gallon batch

1lb Dark Roasted Amaranth
2lbs Dark Roasted Millet
2lb Dark Roasted Oats
2lb Dark Roasted Quinoa

3lb Brown Rice Syrup
1.6lb Sorghum
1/2lb Buckwheat Honey (flame out)
1/2lb D-180
1/2lb D-90
1lb maltodextrin
1oz East Kent Goldings at 60

Nottingham Ale yast or possibly Irish Ale yeast

Bottle with ½ cup corn sugar

Note, Irish Ale yeast is not GF, but in a 5 gallon batch is 2ppm before washing the yeast.

thanantos · 10-07-2012, 02:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChasidicCalvinist

In all honesty I don't understand the GF hating. At least the homebrew gf hating, especially when it comes to Sorghum. Commercial GF beers stink. But I have had great success with my GF homebrews--and that isn't just my opinion. My beers have been well received by everyone who has tried them. Some of the "testers" were people who have had--because of me, everything from Redbridge to Greens, so they knew what was out there and felt that not only was what I had brewed superior but tasted like "Regular" beer. Indeed, I have actually had requests to by 2 individuals to take some of my homebrews home with them, even though they could buy any type or barley based beer on the market and drink that to their hearts content.

Two things are worth mentioning: I brew for myself. My wife HATES beer and always has. So it really doesn't matter what others think, I brew so that I can enjoy beer again. And because it is really, really fun. Second, I'm not trying to brag but rather encourage GF brewers. Stop putting yourself down, stop being negative, stop giving up. Not only can you brew good GF beer, but you should!

Well said. The beer I have been making (extract brews from a novice brewer altogether) have been really good. Not to say I haven't made some I wouldn't brew again, but overall my success rate has been high. Every GF beer I have made has been better than any GF beer I have had from any commercial brewery.

I will continue to brew GF and would encourage others to do the same. IMHO, it's the only way that us GF folks are going to get any decent beer.

Safa · 10-07-2012, 02:46 AM

Quote:

So it really doesn't matter what others think, I brew so that I can enjoy beer again.

Second! Well well said! Thanks for the recipe, I'll probably try that out very very soon and just leave it sitting in a secondary until I have keg space for it! Beware, you will probably be getting a PM from me with questions!

Edit: I see your message inbox is full, so at the risk of taking this thread completely off topic..:

Thanks again for the recipe!

Some questions if you don't mind, I'm very new to this so I like to be clear because otherwise I'll make mistakes with what other guys see as obvious.

1lb Dark Roasted Amaranth
2lbs Dark Roasted Millet
2lb Dark Roasted Oats
2lb Dark Roasted Quinoa

Where do you get all these grains, and do you roast them yourself? I just had a quick (albeit not extensive) google search and it yielded nothing with Amaranth and Millet. Are you doing a full mash with them? I'm still in the extract/mini mash stage, so I guess I'd need help mashing them if so

3lb Brown Rice Syrup - Do you think that 3lb of BRS solids would work equally as well? Its all I can find at my LHBS. If not, I'll likely be ordering the grains anyway, so adding in the syrup wont be a big deal.
1.6lb Sorghum - Do you mean syrup to be added @60, or grain for steeping pre-boil?
1/2lb Buckwheat Honey (flame out)
1/2lb D-180 - Do you add the d180 and 90 at the start of the boil (i.e. @ 60)? + Do you dissolve them in hot water first?
1/2lb D-90
1lb maltodextrin - @ 60?
1oz East Kent Goldings at 60

Nottingham Ale yast or possibly Irish Ale yeast

philbert · 10-16-2012, 03:28 PM

I finally got around to brewing another batch last night. I didn't have time to do everything I wanted to do but I still should end up with something that is quite good regardless. As I had said previously, the batch I made a few months ago was drinkable but a bit on the sweet side. After looking over my ingredients and the recipes of those before me, I realized I had used way too many fermentables.....the yeast could only go so far. A recurring theme in the other recipes were approximately five pounds of fermentables per five gallons of brew. Mine ended up being closer to eight pounds of fermentables so no wonder it was sweet!

The other trick I've learned - based on other's comments - is to use about half of the fermentables in the boil and the remainder at flame out. I think this really helps with the weird after taste that many have described.

5 Gallon batch
Boil Time 60 minutes

2 gallons of water
2 pounds of sorghum syrup
.5 pound of rice solids
.5 oz cascade hops 60 minutes
.5 oz cascade hops 15 minutes
1 Whirfloc tablet 15 minutes
1 pound sorghum at flameout
.5 pounds rice solids at flameout
.5 pounds Belgian Syrup at flameout
.5 pounds honey at flameout
4 oz Maltodextrin at flameout
Safelager 34-70 yeast
dry hop .5 oz cascade hops

Next time I will toast some quinoa and steep. Brewing GF, just as baking GF food, is trial and error in many ways.

Fairly simple recipe.

thanantos · 10-20-2012, 05:07 PM

I made some cider i plan to dry hop.