GF Brewing with Chestnuts

So far, the chestnuts have been very similar to barley. I just transferred my first Chestnut beer to secondary and am already impressed with the results. After tasting a sample, an impartial party (my wife) told me that it tasted like all the other beers I make. Nothern Brewer's Tongue Splitter has been a staple in my household, and according to my wife, this Chestnut IPA tastes just like it! Well, thats good, as it is the same recipe, minus the barley (scroll back for the subs I made). I am absolutely amazed and excited. I am dry hopping with Cascasde and Sterling and am getting very thirsty. Lee, thanks for all the ideas and help! This will be a good beer. As soon as I keg this one, my thoughts are leaning towards a Sam Adams clone or a porter, or both!

Cheers

Gonoles10 said:

So far, the chestnuts have been very similar to barley. I just transferred my first Chestnut beer to secondary and am already impressed with the results. After tasting a sample, an impartial party (my wife) told me that it tasted like all the other beers I make. Nothern Brewer's Tongue Splitter has been a staple in my household, and according to my wife, this Chestnut IPA tastes just like it! Well, thats good, as it is the same recipe, minus the barley (scroll back for the subs I made). I am absolutely amazed and excited. I am dry hopping with Cascasde and Sterling and am getting very thirsty. Lee, thanks for all the ideas and help! This will be a good beer. As soon as I keg this one, my thoughts are leaning towards a Sam Adams clone or a porter, or both!

Cheers

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Why is it that we just can't wait to sample the beer we make when we know it's not ready and it will do nothing but get better. I even start by tasting the wort before fermentation!! My wife, who's not even a beer drinker, is my sampler too. If she says great, then I know the true end product will turn out okay.

Skol


leeinwa

So Lee, is there any way you would discount the chestnuts if I decided to keep brewing with them? And also how long will they stay fresh? If I were to order a bunch and leave them stockpiled in my closet would they make it very long?

Wow you guys have been busy on here!... Lee, you're getting good press from my post. I hope I can still source chestnuts from you and they're not sold out!... Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut! I'm looking forward to trying the chestnut meal you sent.

In any event, I have a chestnut black lager and a chestnut double IPA in fermentation now. They both look tremendous. The black lager has a touch of sulfur on the nose, but it has only been in fermentation for a little over a week so I'm hoping that clears up. I'll transfer the ale to secondary and dry hop in a few days. Fermentation is still going pretty strong at 65 degrees on the ale.

I do have a chestnut recipe for what I thought was going to be an "american cream ale", but that turned out more wheat-like or more specifically like a Belgian wheat kind of like a Leffe. I used 5lbs light roasted chips and a bit of sorghum for that and noble hops... plus the obligatory corn sugar to get it up to OG. It was a bit too hoppy for the style, but other than that after the harsh sorghum flavor wore off in a few weeks it was very good IMO.

If I was modifying it for a Leffe or Duvel-like beer I'd probably keep the chestnuts the same and just drop way down on the hops. If I make another "cream ale" I'll use less chestnut chips and probably drop the sorghum to get it lighter in body. The 5lbs of chips give the beer a weight.

Regarding yeast, I use mostly SafAle and SafLager yeasts for GF because they're supposedly grown on beets. Most yeasts are not GF, so you have to be careful if you're making it for a celiac or a celiac might drink it. I'm just intolerant to gluten so I could do the other yeasts, but who knows who else would want to drink it and it's a small sacrifice...

Well fellas, I just started soaking my chestnut chips for my Strong Belgian. I also have my starter in the pantry bubbling away. Tomorrow afternoon should be fun!

SexPanther13 said:

Well fellas, I just started soaking my chestnut chips for my Strong Belgian. I also have my starter in the pantry bubbling away. Tomorrow afternoon should be fun!

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I thought Manhatten KS was in a dry county! Just kidding! Good luck and have a great day brewing. Make sure you taste the unprocessed wort before you start. You'll be surprised at the the rich sweet nutty flavor.

Skol
leeinwa

Ok so I don't think I got the best conversion on my chestnuts, I soaked them for 12+ hours with amylase and pectinase but I couldn't keep the temp up at 140-150 and I couldn't be around to heat it up when it dropped down. It never went below 120 F but it usually wasn't in the ideal range. You guys think this is going to screw up my brew? My SG was only .1060 and Yooperbrew says thats mostly the added sugar. So do you think I'm going to have an ass tasting beer?

SexPanther13 said:

Ok so I don't think I got the best conversion on my chestnuts, I soaked them for 12+ hours with amylase and pectinase but I couldn't keep the temp up at 140-150 and I couldn't be around to heat it up when it dropped down. It never went below 120 F but it usually wasn't in the ideal range. You guys think this is going to screw up my brew? My SG was only .1060 and Yooperbrew says thats mostly the added sugar. So do you think I'm going to have an ass tasting beer?

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Every thing will be just fine.You got the aroma and flavor you from the chips that will make the beer. Most of you fermenrables will come from you corn sugars. Hang in there!

leeinwa

To quote the godfather of homebrew, "Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew." I'm sure it will be good. What route did you decide to go with the starter?

I just used like a 1/4 cup of corn sugar and candi sugar boiled down and let it go for about 30 hours until it calmed down. My batch is bubbling away right now. I'm sure it will turn out fine. Has anyone else's Chestnut only brews turned out alright?

Well I used nothing but 20 pounds of chestnuts and 5 pounds of honey for a ten gallon IPA recipe almost a month ago. I took a different route then some others and tried to get most of my fermentables from the chestnuts, rather than adding other sugars. I did everyting you did with the chips, minus the pectinase. I did bring it back up to 150 for an hour before I sparged, but I don't really know if it was necessary after further reading. I tasted it before dry hopping it a week ago and it tastes great. I hope to keg it in a week or so. I am interested to hear how yours turns out.

Well I heated it back up to 145F for the last hour. I tried to filter it through a thin cloth into my brew kettle, and I think that might have grabbed some of my sugars because it was too fine.

If I do it again I think I'm just going to get a large mesh bag and do it BIAB style. I really need to find a cheap 10gal pot to use as my brew kettle. I have a 2.5gal and a 5.0gal right now and they just aren't cutting it. I want to do my whole batch in one vessel.

I tasted the wort and it wasn't awful. The hops were pretty strong so it made it hard to gather other flavors but I'm sure they will mellow with a couple weeks in the fermenter. I went with an extra .5 oz of sterling for the last 15 min of the boil. I was only going to do 1 oz for 60 min.

I just got my chestnut chips today (I just ordered them on Friday!). I'm excited about this brew. I had a question about the soaking, though. I was planning on soaking the chips in a nylon bag I have. Do I soak them in the brew kettle for the 12+ hours? There was some comments about not being able to keep the temp at 150, is this much of a problem, or just make sure you bring the temp back up before sparging? Also, I have some extra hops from previous brews, are there any hop varieties that WON'T work with the chestnuts?

Thanks

I did mine in two five pound mesh bags in a 2.5 gallon kettle. Bad idea IMO. The chestnuts swell up pretty good so they didn't get very good contact with the water/enzymes if they were in the middle of the bag. I would suggest using a very large bag if you have one in a very large pot. That way you can have plenty of room to stir them around every once in a while.

If you want to keep the temp up on it during the 12 hours then do it while you are awake because I did mine over night wrapped in towels and they still lost too much heat. So during the day would be best so you can keep an eye on the temp and heat it up every once in a while.

As for hops I used Sterling but that was experimental and I don't know how it will turn out.

I soaked mine overnight in the mash tun (converted keg), wrapped in that metal looking thin insulation you can get at Home Depot. They never went below 120, which worked out fine for me. As for hops, Lee reccomends the citrusy type hops. I used Summit, Cascade and Liberty. It tastes and smells great.

Hey Lee,
I'm going to be brewing up your chestnut recipe you referenced. After looking at the write up I was wondering is there a reason you take the brewpot off the burner for the last hop addition? Do you leave it off or do you bring it back to a boil? Plus, I have some left over hops (fuggle, styrian goldings, chinook, willamette, and liberty) and most are about half ounce each. I don't know anything about hop combinations so any suggestions?

Looking forward to brewing this up Saturday.

Thanks

Blackhawkbrew said:

Hey Lee,
I'm going to be brewing up your chestnut recipe you referenced. After looking at the write up I was wondering is there a reason you take the brewpot off the burner for the last hop addition? Do you leave it off or do you bring it back to a boil? Plus, I have some left over hops (fuggle, styrian goldings, chinook, willamette, and liberty) and most are about half ounce each. I don't know anything about hop combinations so any suggestions?

Looking forward to brewing this up Saturday.

Thanks

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Letting the hops "steep" the second time with out boiling is to release the oils, aromas and flavors without volitilizing them. Just like brewing a cup of tea.

Type of hops are up to the brewers taste. I would use the lower alpha-acid hops to start with. I've used fuggles and willamette, but I have found that cascades and centenials give a good balance and a pleasant citrusy flavor that most people like. Might take several batchs find your palate compatability.

I have my chestnut chips steeping as we speak! I put them in my large grain bag and filled my MLT cooler with 165 degree water to warm it up and added the chips at 161. I thought the MLT would hold the temps a bit better than the brew pot. As soon as I put the chips in a nice dark amber color rose up. Look delicious already.

Blackhawkbrew said:

I have my chestnut chips steeping as we speak! I put them in my large grain bag and filled my MLT cooler with 165 degree water to warm it up and added the chips at 161. I thought the MLT would hold the temps a bit better than the brew pot. As soon as I put the chips in a nice dark amber color rose up. Look delicious already.

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Taste it and you'll also have palate delight.

leeinwa

I finished this brew up a few hours ago. It went extremely well. I ended up with a little over 5 gallons of wort. The sample was very sweet, I guess from the 5 lbs. of corn sugar. The starting gravity was 1.060 going into the fermenter. I used 1 ounce of cascade and 1 ounce centenial. Does this beer come out kind of sweet? I pitched the yeast dry at about 60 degrees.

We shall see.

Blackhawkbrew said:

I finished this brew up a few hours ago. It went extremely well. I ended up with a little over 5 gallons of wort. The sample was very sweet, I guess from the 5 lbs. of corn sugar. The starting gravity was 1.060 going into the fermenter. I used 1 ounce of cascade and 1 ounce centenial. Does this beer come out kind of sweet? I pitched the yeast dry at about 60 degrees.

We shall see.

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Shouldn't be to sweet. I always use 5 # CS and end up with a 7. -8 % alcohol content. It isn't a sissy beer. A good yeast will use up most of the sugar.

leeinwa

What fermentables did you have in there?

SexPanther13 said:

What fermentables did you have in there?

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Usually get a 3 1/2 to 4 1/2% brix from chestnut chips. 5 pounds corn sugar brings 6 gals to about 12-13 % brix. Post fermentation brix at about 4 %. I've always used Lallamend's Windsor Ale yeast following packet instructions. Usually done bubbling in 4-5 days.

Lee,
Is there a lag time for fermentation to start on this brew? I usually get some airlock activity on my regular beers within 24 hours, but it's bee over 24 for this one and no activity. I have it sitting at around 68 degrees. This only thing I did differently is that I did not rehydrate the yeast. Would this cause the lag time, or am I just getting paranoid?

I wouldn't worry about it, give it at least 24 more and then take a hydrometer reading. If it's still the same gravity then repitch.

Blackhawkbrew said:

Lee,
Is there a lag time for fermentation to start on this brew? I usually get some airlock activity on my regular beers within 24 hours, but it's bee over 24 for this one and no activity. I have it sitting at around 68 degrees. This only thing I did differently is that I did not rehydrate the yeast. Would this cause the lag time, or am I just getting paranoid?

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Sexpanther had a correct answer. Give it another day. I never dry pitch yeast. I like to see that's it's a good working yeast before I add to wort. I usually add a packet to 2 cups warm water with a teasp. of corn sugar and don't stir for about an 1/2 hour. After I stir I'll wait about another hour and by then it will be working with a little foam. I've seen some yeasts that were not any good even though they had not expired. Lallamend rep says as any dry yeast gets with in 30 days of expiration date you'll start seeing half life deterioration. Some times you'll shock the yeast if not following directions on container. Let me know.

Thanks SexPanther13 and Lee. I'll keep an eye on it for the next day or so and let you know.

So I tasted my chestnut beer when I took the hydrometer reading today. The FG was was 1.000 so I knew before I tasted it that it was going to be dry, but WOW was it dry! lol. So I think I'm going to mix in 8oz of Maltodextrin powder when I go to prime it, and hope it conditions up in the bottle. Any other ideas on what I should do to save my 6%ABV Super Dry Gluten Free beer?

Also it was pretty cloudy still, would it be too late and the wrong temp to pitch some pectinase? I can't clear it up with gelatin because I'm a vegetarian.

SexPanther13 said:

So I tasted my chestnut beer when I took the hydrometer reading today. The FG was was 1.000 so I knew before I tasted it that it was going to be dry, but WOW was it dry! lol. So I think I'm going to mix in 8oz of Maltodextrin powder when I go to prime it, and hope it conditions up in the bottle. Any other ideas on what I should do to save my 6%ABV Super Dry Gluten Free beer?

Also it was pretty cloudy still, would it be too late and the wrong temp to pitch some pectinase? I can't clear it up with gelatin because I'm a vegetarian.

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Concentrated Irish moss powder works well.

Malto will add body and a certain amount of sweetness with out blowing bottles.. Must have had a really good high alcohol tolerant yeast.

Do you bottle carbonate? I add 1 level teasp. corn sugar to each bottle rather than batch mix.

I've had beers that were really cloudy but after a couple of weeks they settle out really good. Since there are no glutens that bind the foam, I often add a a head retainer.

leeinwa

Leeinwa said:

Concentrated Irish moss powder works well.

Malto will add body and a certain amount of sweetness with out blowing bottles.. Must have had a really good high alcohol tolerant yeast.

Do you bottle carbonate? I add 1 level teasp. corn sugar to each bottle rather than batch mix.

I've had beers that were really cloudy but after a couple of weeks they settle out really good. Since there are no glutens that bind the foam, I often add a a head retainer.

leeinwa

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Yeah I bottle carbonate, but I usually rack onto my priming sugar in my bottling bucket. It is kind of early to be bottling so next weekend it should be less cloudy. I might cold crash it for 48 hours before bottling to clear it up some more.

SexPanther13 said:

Yeah I bottle carbonate, but I usually rack onto my priming sugar in my bottling bucket. It is kind of early to be bottling so next weekend it should be less cloudy. I might cold crash it for 48 hours before bottling to clear it up some more.

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Sugar works either way. Just my old habit of doing it that way.

I usually add malto for the body.

Let me know how the cold crash works.

leeinwa

Blackhawkbrew said:

Thanks SexPanther13 and Lee. I'll keep an eye on it for the next day or so and let you know.

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Any yeast bubbles?

Leeinwa

When I got home this afternoon there was still no activity in the airlock. I opened the fermenter to check for any krausen and ther was some! When I closed the lid the airlock bubbled over from the air releasing and then started to bubble. So I think I'm on my way.

I noticed the use of maltodextrin at bottling time, does this lend much to the final product? Also, I've never heard of head retainer. What is it.

Blackhawkbrew said:

When I got home this afternoon there was still no activity in the airlock. I opened the fermenter to check for any krausen and ther was some! When I closed the lid the airlock bubbled over from the air releasing and then started to bubble. So I think I'm on my way.

I noticed the use of maltodextrin at bottling time, does this lend much to the final product? Also, I've never heard of head retainer. What is it.

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Maltodextrin adds body to a beer, I really don't know about flavors. Lactose does the same thing but I thing it actually adds sweetness.

Blackhawkbrew said:

When I got home this afternoon there was still no activity in the airlock. I opened the fermenter to check for any krausen and ther was some! When I closed the lid the airlock bubbled over from the air releasing and then started to bubble. So I think I'm on my way.

I noticed the use of maltodextrin at bottling time, does this lend much to the final product? Also, I've never heard of head retainer. What is it.

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Good on yeast activity.

Malto-d is a non fermentable sugar that adds "body" to beer.

Heading powder is generally gum arabic, which is a common food additive. It adds viscosity to a product and in beer that viscosity helps the head stay longer. Glutens act much the same way, but since we brew GF we need a little help.


Of Note:

My wife uses a spot remover in her dish washer. These are surfactants that break down surface tension and doesn't allow the water to "bead" on the glasses and leave spots when they dry. They leave a residue on the glass and glasses washed with this will cause the head to loose it's head by breaking down the surface tension of the bubbles. With a strong movement to lower the phosphate levels in dishwasher detergents they might start adding these surfactants to the soap itself. Run your beer glasses through a soapless hot water cycle only to remove this residue.

So Lee, when do you add the head retainer? Do you do that when bottling?

SexPanther13 said:

So Lee, when do you add the head retainer? Do you do that when bottling?

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I usually re-rack just before I bottle and I add it durning that step .

leeinwa

Ok, I'll give that a try when I add the Maltodextrin.

You guys have again been busy! Sorry been traveling.

SexPanther - definitely cold crash. It has worked wonderfully for me. I don't even have to use my 1-micron filter when I crash to 30-ish F for 48 hours.

Also just have to mention that the pectinase enzyme worked incredibly well. I have a double IPA right now that is crystal clear.

On the sweetness, I find my chestnut beers do have more sweetness than my barley-based beers of old. I actually think that a less citrus like hop works better with the chestnuts. I tried columbus actually with a nice result and I think chinook might work well. Cascade in my opinion is a bit too sweet with the chestnuts. This comes from my latest brew - my IIPA with cascades is done and is really good, but maybe a touch too sweet. It fermented for a month with no SP movement the last week and has over 8%, but still has a sweet taste... It fermented to just over 1... lower than I expected and lower than the category.

My first chestnut lager will be done in a week. I can't wait to see how that tastes! In the meantime I'm enjoying a cold chestnut cascade IIPA!

mattinboston said:

You guys have again been busy! Sorry been traveling.

SexPanther - definitely cold crash. It has worked wonderfully for me. I don't even have to use my 1-micron filter when I crash to 30-ish F for 48 hours.

Also just have to mention that the pectinase enzyme worked incredibly well. I have a double IPA right now that is crystal clear.

On the sweetness, I find my chestnut beers do have more sweetness than my barley-based beers of old. I actually think that a less citrus like hop works better with the chestnuts. I tried columbus actually with a nice result and I think chinook might work well. Cascade in my opinion is a bit too sweet with the chestnuts. This comes from my latest brew - my IIPA with cascades is done and is really good, but maybe a touch too sweet. It fermented for a month with no SP movement the last week and has over 8%, but still has a sweet taste... It fermented to just over 1... lower than I expected and lower than the category.

My first chestnut lager will be done in a week. I can't wait to see how that tastes! In the meantime I'm enjoying a cold chestnut cascade IIPA!

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Wondered if you were still around. Hadn't heard anything from you in awhile. Glad you're making progress. I started with Cascades and Cenntenials because I get them FREE from my nephew. Since I'm not a beer expert on taste, you guys will have to figure out what you like in taste.

Here awhile back some one said chestnuts were a little spendy. I don't think I've met anyone yet who home brews to save money. The main reason they brew is to get something they like and to get the ohs, aws and atta boys from their fellow brewers and freinds.

leeinwa