Gone with the wheat first timer

Hi, i have completed my first batch of 'gone with the wheat' which was a czech pilsner style lager. I have just tasted a sample after 3 weeks of conditioning and it tastes discusting!!!
It has a horrible after taste which ive found unbearable.

The ingredients include sorghum extract which seems to be all i can taste.

Has anybody ever had the same experience as me? Does anybody have a different way of making gluten free beer that they would like to share with me.

As mentioned, im a beginner.

Thanks guys.

That off flavor is probably the "sorghum twang" that you will see mentioned again and again...I agree with you...its nasty, I have stoped using sorghum.

It does get better with bottle aging, in 6 months your batch will be less discusting; but that flavor will still be there to some degree.

I have made some great beers with rice syrup (get it from Annapolis homebrew), but it makes a paper thin beer with little malt charicter. So you should do a partial mash with 3 ish pounds of rice malt or millet malt to add flavor. Adding a 1/2 lb of maltodextrine also helps to add some body to the beer.

This will get you close.

Thanks legume,

Sadly i have only brewed this 1 beer which was an easy to use no boil kit. As im a beginner i wouldnt know the first thing about mashing.

No boil brew kit ?!?! I have never tried that, but my guess is that a beer brewed with that method is likely to suck no matter if it is barley or gluten free ingredients.

I would guess judging a beer with that method would be like making a glass of milk from powdered milk and deciding that you don’t like milk or deciding you don’t like coffee from drinking instant before having some fresh brewed coffee. I would at least brew a “true” extract batch with boiled wart and hop additions before deciding you don’t like it!

There are some big differences in people’s preferences, likes and dislikes for sure. The sorghum twang is real and most of us take steps to hide it, but honestly I don’t think it is that bad. I like to keep the sorghum 50% or less of the fermentables, but sorghum does have some positive aspects.

If you want a kit, my recommendation would consider Brewer’s Best Gluten Free Ale kit.

http://www.brewersbestkits.com/pdf/1009 2013 Gluten Free Ale Recipe.pdf

Personally, I would put more hop flavor and aroma additions, but I think it is fair to say that if you don’t like a recipe like that, then there is a good chance that you are really one that cannot stand sorghum.

Chris,

Thanks for your valuable information, i will certainly try this recipe. The instructions seem quite straightforward for a beginner which is excellent.

If you have any other recipes in your bible like this i would greatly appriciate if you could send them through.

Thanks again guys.