Adapting a recipe to gluten-free

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

l3lackEyedAngels

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2006
Messages
89
Reaction score
0
I've got this recipe that I really enjoy and I would like to make a gluten-free version. I realize that a straight-up conversion may not be possible, but I would be satified with an approximation.

I suppose that I need some more education on gluten-free brewing first. From what I've gathered thus far, between various threads and Brooklyn Brew Shop's Beer Making Book by Shea and Valand, unless I intend to malt some gluten-free grains myself, I will have to do a partial mash with sorghum extract syrup. Am I on the right track so far?

Anyway, please comment on the recipe and make some suggestions as to how I might adapt it:

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Gestalt
Brewer: Kurt Padilla
Asst Brewer: Kathleen Frey
Style: Belgian Blond Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 5.22 gal
Post Boil Volume: 4.34 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.066 SG
Estimated Color: 5.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 16.2 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 73.5 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
9 lbs Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 67.9 %
2 lbs Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 15.1 %
8.0 oz Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 4 3.8 %
1.00 oz Styrian Goldings [3.80 %] - Boil 60.0 mi Hop 5 10.5 IBUs
0.25 oz Styrian Goldings [4.90 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 7 0.7 IBUs
1.0 pkg Belgian Strong Ale (Wyeast Labs #1388) [ Yeast 9 -
1 lbs Rye, Flaked (2.0 SRM) Grain 3 7.5 %
0.75 oz Styrian Goldings [4.90 %] - Boil 15.0 mi Hop 6 5.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 2.0 mins) Spice 8 -
0.50 oz Juniper Berries (Primary 0.0 mins) Spice 10 -
12.0 oz Candi Sugar, Clear (0.5 SRM) Sugar 11 5.7 %


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 13 lbs 4.0 oz
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 14.75 qt of water at 165.1 F 150.0 F 60 min

Sparge: Drain mash tun, Batch sparge with 2 steps (1.64gal, 1.64gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
------
Derived from the Rose Cheeked and Blonde recipe in this source: Erica Shea; Stephen Valand, Jennifer Fiedler (2012) (Paperback). The Brooklyn Brew Shop's Better Beer Cookbook 52 Seasonal Recipes for Small Batches. (First ed.). New York: Clarkson Potter. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-307-88920-1.

Created with BeerSmith 2 - http://www.beersmith.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Hops and yeast can stay the same, as well as the clear candi sugar and other adjuncts.
I'd do 2lbs of sorghum syrup
1lb honey
1lb of rice syrup
and 8oz of maltodextrine
 
Cool. Has anyone tried it?

Please read the sticky on clarity ferm/clarex. That should explain enough.

You won't be able to use that yeast without washing. Wyeast is a no-no in gluten free brewing. White labs adds a smidge of gluten.(2ppm per 5 gallons) Belgians really require a good yeast. Belgian dry yeast isn't that great in my opinion. Your choice though.

I would add some peppercorn. Its not gonna be like the spicy the rye adds but, it will still be good. Maybe some oats too. Do you have access to any gluten free grains (not malt) to steep?
 
Seems like a great recipe. Totally stealing it and adapting it to gluten free all grain. ;)
 
I misread the yeast--osedax is right. I thought it said white labs but it clearly doesn't. I would use a white labs version (assuming they have a belgian one).
 
Please read the sticky on clarity ferm/clarex. That should explain enough.
Thanks for referring me to that sticky. The beer is primarily for my father-in-law who was diagnosed with Ceiliac's this Summer. Even though he often enjoys gluten-reduced beers like Omission and Daura, his condition was mostly asomptomatic so I think I would feel better about staying away from barley and not having to depend on an additive. I never use clarifying agents in my beer anyway. I myself have been screened and I apparently do have a very minor reaction to gluten/gluten-parts, so maybe I will consider ClarityFerm for my regular brews. Then again, I always cold-crash so maybe I am already ahead of the game.

You won't be able to use that yeast without washing. Wyeast is a no-no in gluten free brewing. White labs adds a smidge of gluten.(2ppm per 5 gallons) Belgians really require a good yeast. Belgian dry yeast isn't that great in my opinion. Your choice though.
I thought so. I did however brew a version of this beer with pale ale yeast (Wyeast 1056, I think) and it came out great. I'm sure that I can find a suitable gluten-free pale ale yeast if I cannot find a good Belgian alternative.

I would add some peppercorn. Its not gonna be like the spicy the rye adds but, it will still be good. Maybe some oats too. Do you have access to any gluten free grains (not malt) to steep?
Doesn't sorghum extract have some kick to it? I can probably get my hands on some gluten free grain. Would steeping it be like doing a partial mash? I can see the oats helping with the lace. Would it help with anything else?
 
This is what my recipe would look similar to. Needs a little tweaking but, its close. I get my malts shipped in from Colorado. It would be intensive to malt enough. Many have done it with success. However, I would rather have someone do it for me. The mash is the tricky part anyway.

Hmm... forgot to add the peppercorn...

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Stolen Blond
Brewer: Osedax
Asst Brewer:
Style: Belgian Blond Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.00 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.50 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.25 gal
Estimated OG: 1.068 SG
Estimated Color: 6.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 15.8 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 77.9 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
14 lbs White Millet (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 75.7 %
1 lbs Corn, Flaked (0.7 SRM) Grain 2 5.4 %
1 lbs Light Roasted White Millet (20.0 SRM) Grain 3 5.4 %
8.0 oz Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 4 2.7 %
2 lbs Candi Sugar, Clear (0.5 SRM) Sugar 5 10.8 %
0.50 oz Styrian Goldings [5.40 %] - Boil 60.0 mi Hop 6 10.7 IBUs
0.75 oz Styrian Goldings [5.40 %] - Boil 15.0 mi Hop 7 4.3 IBUs
0.25 oz Styrian Goldings [5.40 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 8 0.9 IBUs
1.00 oz Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 5.0 mins) Spice 9 -
0.50 oz Juniper Berries (Boil 0.0 mins) Spice 10 -
1.0 pkg Belgian Golden Ale (White Labs #WLP570) Yeast 11 -


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 18 lbs 8.0 oz
 
Replace the malt with this to get to gravity.

I'd do 2lbs of sorghum syrup
1lb honey
1lb of rice syrup
and 8oz of maltodextrine

Sorghum does have some "kick". Some metallic-y kick. There are ways to combat this. Other people have good insight on this.

Steep a bit of slightly toasted oats and/or millet, buckwheat, or quinoa for 30 min. Throw a tablespoon of peppercorn in and it should be tasty! :mug:
 
I haven't really brewed with the CMC or Grouse malts yet but I've actually wrote your recipe down to try in the future. Here is what I would plan on:

9 lbs Pilsner => 9lb CMC Red Proso Millet Pale Malt
2 lbs Cara-Pils/Dextrine => 12oz Maltodextrin
8.0 oz Aromatic Malt => 10oz CMC White Quinoa Munich Malt
1 lbs Rye, Flaked => 1lb Flaked Buckwheat

The rest I'd keep the same, making sure to wash the yeast or swap out with something like SafBrew T-58
 
That sounds pretty good. It would probably be more like 15lbs of red proso however. Rest seems solid.

I really wanna do this recipe now. My saison is almost out. 2 bottles left. :(
 
Alright, I did some shopping today and picked up some liquid sorghum extract, some maltodextrin, some gluten-free oats, some sprouted quinoa, some millet, and some black rice. I guess this recipe is turning into another derivative rather than an adaptation and I think at this point I am more interested in learning how to work with these grains to make a gluten-free beer.

Can I just do a cereal mash with these grains or do I have to malt some of them first?

Any advice on putting these ingredients into Beersmith2?
 
Sorry man. Wish I could help more. I don't have that much experience steeping grains. I only did a few extract batches before I went all grain.

Most of it will end up as unfermentable starch. I would roast a bit for flavor. Don't assume any of it as fermentables. The ppg for sorghum syrup is easy enough to find. Maltodextrin is a bit trickier. I just write it in as lactose.

Good luck!
 
Sorry man. Wish I could help more. I don't have that much experience steeping grains. I only did a few extract batches before I went all grain.

Most of it will end up as unfermentable starch. I would roast a bit for flavor. Don't assume any of it as fermentables. The ppg for sorghum syrup is easy enough to find. Maltodextrin is a bit trickier. I just write it in as lactose.

Good luck!
The enzymes from the sorghum won't make those unfermentable starches fermentable? should I consider adding enzymes?
 
The sorghum won't do anything to the other grains. You can try enzymes if you can get a hold of some. No one seems to have any success with that approach. Malting produces the best results.
 
The extraction of millet is much lower than pilsner malt. You would just need more to get to gravity.
 
Back
Top