GF Buckwheat-Beet Ale - Page 2

**PattyC** · 01-24-2012, 01:23 PM

Are there any potential problems with breaking the kilning process into two parts?

The buckwheat about doubled in size so I decided to toss it in the oven last night. After more than an hour it was just beginning to dry, but I was pretty wiped after work and class, so I turned the oven off and left them in the residual heat overnight. This morning they were looking better but still not completely dry. I'll finish them in the oven tonight.

BBBF · 01-24-2012, 05:45 PM

I don't think there is unless they still have enough moisture to keep malting or for mold/bacteria to grow.

MBruno · 01-25-2012, 04:18 PM

a GF maltster! Awesome! I'm not sure, but isn't beligum candi sugar also known as "beet sugar"? I use that a lot in my GF beers for extra fermentables - never used real beets though. I think they'll find their way in to my next batch though

**PattyC** · 01-27-2012, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MBruno

a GF maltster! Awesome! I'm not sure, but isn't beligum candi sugar also known as "beet sugar"? I use that a lot in my GF beers for extra fermentables - never used real beets though. I think they'll find their way in to my next batch though

I have to plead ignorance on that. I'm pretty much a dummy when it comes to belgium ingredients (and GF ingredients, for that matter). I'm going to the farmers market or store after work today to grab some red beets. Also gonna use US-05 instead of Notty, since that's what I have in my fridge.

The recipe calls for a step mash, starting with the buckwheat, then adding the beets later along with the rice hulls. Not sure of the reason, but that's what it says!

jrobidoux · 01-27-2012, 02:46 PM

PattyC,

If you come up with a good way after kilning/dehydrating to remove those shoots from the groats please let us now! I have malted my own buckwheat once before (beer is currently priming in bottles) but I barely "deculmed" at all cause I got lazy. Not sure what negative impact this had on my beer if any.

For the small amount of deculming I did do, I simply would scoop up a handful of groats, rub them between my hands a few time vigourously, and then dumped them in a mesh strainer to let any little bits that came off fall through, in case that helps you at all.

**PattyC** · 01-27-2012, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrobidoux

PattyC,

If you come up with a good way after kilning/dehydrating to remove those shoots from the groats please let us now! I have malted my own buckwheat once before (beer is currently priming in bottles) but I barely "deculmed" at all cause I got lazy. Not sure what negative impact this had on my beer if any.

For the small amount of deculming I did do, I simply would scoop up a handful of groats, rub them between my hands a few time vigourously, and then dumped them in a mesh strainer to let any little bits that came off fall through, in case that helps you at all.

Yep, pretty much what I did. My girlfriend and I sat in front of the TV, rubbed them between our hands and sieved them as best we could. Not a perfect system, but I can't think of a better way. I'm guessing the beer won't suffer much from it.

**PattyC** · 01-31-2012, 03:51 PM

Well, it's in the fermenter. I used US-05 instead of Notty because that's what I had. Fermentation was slow-going but definitely happening. The color reminds me of a framboise, but I think the Amarillo hops will balance out the sweetness nicely.

jgoran · 02-08-2012, 04:03 PM

keep us updated on how this goes! I was planning a buckwheat-based brew with my gluten-free girlfriend and she's all about beets, so this might be a winner!

**PattyC** · 02-13-2012, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgoran

keep us updated on how this goes! I was planning a buckwheat-based brew with my gluten-free girlfriend and she's all about beets, so this might be a winner!

Will do. I intended to bottle this past weekend but I've been hung up on school work. I plan to get to it sometime this week, so I'll post an update in a couple weeks when it's ready for a taste.

**PattyC** · 02-23-2012, 01:22 PM

Finally bottled this last night. The color really belies its taste. It turned out that the Amarillo hops really shine through, and the Nottingham dried it out a lot. I started with a gravity of 1034 and ended at 1002! Probably because I pitched a whole pack of Notty into less than 2.5 gallons. Anyway, I thought it tasted good; just hope my gluten-sensitive friend thinks the same.

The process I thought was fairly straightforward, but I can't say I'd do it again just because of the labor involved. Still, I'm really glad I tried it. It gave me a better sense of the malting and kilning process.