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mcbethenstein · 04-08-2011, 06:49 PM

Ok, here's what I have available to me. Let's come up with a great and easy recipe. Please keep in mind that I'm crazy enough to attempt to make this beer and a sweet stout for my man on the same day, and I'm breastfeeding a 7 month old... I know. I'm crazy.
So I went to sendik's and got a bunch of bob's red mill GF stuff. Some for baking, but some I thought could be used for beer. I got (for baking) brown rice flour, sorghum flour, and tapioca starch (this is different than the tapioca solids I've seen mentioned right?). Potentially for use in brewing cornmeal (coarse ground), steel cut GF oats, and millet. Each bag is 28 oz. I still plan on using the sorghum syrup and the 1# bag rice syrup solids. I plan on 1 oz. Hersbrucker hops @ 60 min and either the danstar Munich or brewferm Blanche yeasts. I am open to suggestions, but was hoping to brew tomorrow/Saturday, so I don't have a lot of time for malting or roasting my own grains at all... So basically if you think it will work I'll steep/partial mash and use the dried rice syrup solids and the liquid sorghum.

**Lcasanova** · 04-08-2011, 07:30 PM

I did a blood orange hefe around this time last year and it came out nice. Blood oranges should be in your area since they are in mine. I get them from Whole Foods.

mcbethenstein · 04-08-2011, 07:31 PM

I'm so impatient. Here's what I'm thinking. Tell me if you think it will work.
Steep at 145-150 for 45-60 min
1# millet
1# coarse cornmeal or flaked maize
1# GF oats
Strain/ sparge and bring volume to 3 gal
Add 3 lbs white sorghum syrup
1# rice syrup solids
8 oz bag maltodextrine
Bring to boil
Add 1 oz hersbrucker hops @ 60 min
Super moss at 10 min
Chill
Transfer to fermenter bring to 5 gal volume. pitch yeast. Add DAP. Ferment out. Rack to secondary over 3 lbs of blueberry purée.

Do I need to crack the millet, or can I use it as is?

DirtbagHB · 04-08-2011, 07:39 PM

beware using flour..BEWARE. in readings and experiment. i did a damn good job at making glue, but that was about it.

id crack the millet.

id also toast the grain for some yummy nutty flavors

mcbethenstein · 04-08-2011, 08:15 PM

I really have no intentions of using flour, just thought I'd double check. Can I toast the millet on a baking sheet? Time/temp recommendations? And do those #'s look good?

**Lcasanova** · 04-08-2011, 08:41 PM

I use a baking sheet when I toast my grains. I start my oven at the lowest setting and increase 25 degrees every 30 minutes or so until I get the color I want. Rinse the grains first.

Usually when I roast my grains I let them waft for a week or 2 but I think if you are doing a light "toast" you would be fine to use them the next day.

mcbethenstein · 04-08-2011, 09:36 PM

Cool, I think I'll toast the millet and GF oats. I don't think I'll worry about toasting the corn meal.

**Lcasanova** · 04-08-2011, 09:49 PM

I wouldn't toast it either

DKershner · 04-08-2011, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dorklord

I don't think you'd really be looking at 'off flavors' from putting fruit in primary, I've just heard that the fruit flavor doesn't come through as strong (volatiles and aromatics being scrubbed out with the CO2, more of the sugars being broken down, etc etc). But, you know, that's just stuff I've heard from guys on the internet, right?

You could try making banana beer, I know I read about it somewhere online (I think the dude was doing a millet and banana beer, something about the enzymes that ripen the bananas being the right ones to convert the grain in a mash...)

Well, it'd be something to test, adding fruit pre-ferment and post-initial-ferment. I dont think there would be much of a difference though.

I thought noontime was using bananas to increase head retention, I thought sweet potatoes was the enzyme producer...so confusing.

mcbethenstein · 04-09-2011, 10:08 PM

So brew day went smoothly. I started at 10 am and just finished here at 4:30. Brewed the GF base first, and as that was boiling I was mashing the sweet stout. The only casualty was my hydrometer that I smashed while I was washing out the brew pot to get the stout on the stove. I did run and get a new one while the stout was boiling... I had a helper watch it

We only started all grain with our last batch and yesterday I got the false bottom for our mash tun (5 gal rubbermaid), so I'm super impressed with the efficiency I got on the stout. After the boil I was only at 4.5 gal, but the starting gravity was up over 1.060, so I topped off to 5 gal and got a 1.057. (the target was 1.054)
On a side note I did get a migraine mid brew day. I was stirring the stout and it came on quick, so I'm wondering if that's a gluten detox symptom or if I'm that sensitive to handling gluten. Come to think of it I did get a migraine on another brew day too! I did my best to wash my hands in-between beers and didn't use the same utensils on them. that's why I brewed the GF first... Didn't want gluten residue on anything.

The GF fruit beer base went as follows:
Steeped 1# coarse ground cornmeal, 1# GF toasted oats & 1# millet for 1 hour in 2 gal spring water. started the hour at 170, finished at 142. ( I toasted the millet and oats last night starting at 175 and ending at 325. I raised the temp 25 deg every 20 min. This am cracked grains in a bag with a rolling pin)
Sparged grains with 1 gal of 160-170 deg water. Added maltodextrine, rice syrup solids and 3 lbs sorghum syrup. It seemed pretty light and I was concerned about not hitting a high enough starting gravity so I poured in another 1# of sorghum. Started boil and added 1 oz 2.4% AA hersbrucker hops (60 min). At 10 min I added 1/4 tsp super moss and 1 tsp DAP and my chiller. Cooled and topped to 5 gal. OG 1.048. Pitched 1 packet danstar Munich yeast.

I have extremely high hopes for this. I might even try to bottle 3 or 4 when I rack to secondary to see how this comes out without the fruit. It smelled AMAZING. I'll let everyone know how it comes out. I even photo-documented the whole process to show to friends and co-workers. If it's good I'll have to post my photo story.

I also learned the trick to brewing with a baby in the house... Start early in the day when they are still happy and hope for good long naps!