Share your Ideas

TheHomebrewConnection · 10-20-2011, 06:41 PM

Here at The Homebrew Connection gluten free brewing is a big part of our recipe book, due to a co-owner having celiac. We just thought it would be good to get together and talk about some of everyones favorite recipes or gluten free grain and adjuncts to use! We are growing a huge respect for malted millet here as it is easy to work with and gives the beer a body that most GF ingredients simply cannot. Let us know the good, the bad, and the ugly of your experiences!

spaced · 10-20-2011, 08:49 PM

Feel free to read my blog. It's got my experiences so far. But having only started brewing this year, I've got a lot to learn.

http://gfhomebrewing.blogspot.com/

aomagman78 · 10-20-2011, 09:52 PM

Are you selling malted millet? If so, are you shipping and in what quantities?

TheHomebrewConnection · 10-20-2011, 10:47 PM

We do. Red, white and pilsner. Orders are limited to 10 lbs... for now.

TheHomebrewConnection · 10-20-2011, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spaced

Feel free to read my blog. It's got my experiences so far. But having only started brewing this year, I've got a lot to learn.

http://gfhomebrewing.blogspot.com/

Do you find that your sorghum based beer is sweet or do you struggle with making you beers darker? What do you use to darken it?

TheHomebrewConnection · 10-20-2011, 11:19 PM

Aomagman... it said your inbox was full!
We have not tested any sugar levels but we will as we begin to carry this grain. What I do know is that the sugar level seems to be low and we still add 3 lbs of sorghum to boost OG with ten pounds of millet in our recipe. We use a step mash process and sparge it just like you would any "regular" brewing grains and add the sorghum half way through the boil. For a clean lager I would probably use 5 lbs of red, to add a touch of color and 5 lbs of the white to give it a clean, subtle finish. We just got this millet and, as you probably know, it is hard to come by so we have just started brewing with it and are still learning how to work it. Testing is in the future and if you find yourself with a good recipe and don't mind sharing we would love to hear how you use it!

spaced · 10-21-2011, 07:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheHomebrewConnection

Do you find that your sorghum based beer is sweet or do you struggle with making you beers darker? What do you use to darken it?

I use demerara sugar and slightly more flavour hops @ 15 minutes to counteract the sweetness.

To change the colour I have had some success with belgian style candy sugar (caramalised invert syrup).

chilort · 10-25-2011, 01:15 PM

I would say that most of us here are fighting the sweet and citrus flavors of sorghum. Most of the sorghum beers on the market are so sweet they are nasty.

I use as much brown rice syrup or dry rice malt (rice solids) that I can get my hands on.

As for darker, I've tried a number of things: black strap molasses, darker colored honey, coffee, chocolate, tea, toasting my own grains, blackberries, you name!

My wife has celiac, which is why I do this. I have some fruit beer recipes that turn out okay. And I made a summer ale that was pretty good but it has not aged well. I find doing this to be challenging and that is somewhat fun. But about 1 in 4 of the beers I make for her turn out okay. Most of the rest stink. The only contaminated beer I've ever made was a GF beer. I know it was a chance occurrence but it still has me down on GF beer making. And the last couple I've made have been nothing but headaches mostly because she complained about the mess.

I wish you the best of luck in coming up with some ingredients that are easy to use. I have probably made my last GF beer until I get something that is more reliable.

andrewdell19 · 11-04-2011, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheHomebrewConnection

We do. Red, white and pilsner. Orders are limited to 10 lbs... for now.

I looked on your website and I didnt see anything about malted millet. Can you send me a link?

andrewdell19 · 11-04-2011, 10:15 PM

Roasting buckwheat, millet, quinoa, rice etc work well to add different flavor profiles to your beer.