Gluten-Free Oatmeal Stout - Feedback?

So my brother-in-law is a celiac and really misses good, dark beers, so I thought, since his birthday is coming up, I'd brew him up a gluten-free oatmeal stout.

I have absolutely no idea how this will turn out, but from my research, I've pieced together this recipe:

FERMENTABLES

6.6 lbs Sorghum Extract
1 lb Blackstrap Molasses
1 lb Dark Candy Sugar
2 lb Gluten-Free Instant Oatmeal (Steeped)
6 oz Dark Roast Coffee (10 min)
4 oz Baking Cocoa (10 min)
8 oz Maltodextrin (5 min - for body & mouthfeel)
1 tsp Yeast Nutrient (5 min)

HOPS

60 min - 0.75oz Chinook
30 min - 0.25oz Chinook
15 min - 0.5oz Fuggles
YEAST
Safale S-04

Does anybody have any criticism/feedback on this recipe? I really want this to turn out well for him, since I know he really misses having good beer to drink! Redbridge doesn't cut it.

First, not sure S-04 is gluten-free (or is it only the liquid yeast that has gluten?)

Also, you're not going to get much out of the oatmeal if it's not mashed with a base malt that has active enzymes.

S-04 is gluten free. I would cut the sorghum if half and use brown rice syrup. A 50/50 mix of BRS and sorghum would be fine, there will be enough other flavors going on to cover up the sorghum.

I've tried something very similar (with S05). The recipe can be found on this website.

I have to say in truth; it was interesting, but I didn't like it very much. Very sour (from the Sorghum) and licorice-like taste (from the molasses). Plus, the color was rather pale (from the Sorghum). I agree with the other brewers.

My suggestions:
- completely replace the Sorghum with a mix of dark candi syrup (D or D2) and BRS
- decrease the Molasses. You will have plenty of color and taste with dark candi syrup.
- mash the oatmeal with amylase supplements. You won't need malto IMHO.
- add toasted oatmeal if you want; if you do, you may let go of the cocoa and coffee, since toasted oatmeal has a lot of those aromas.

You may want to ask for the input of senior members!

You may try this recipe -> GF Double Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

Ah, my bad. Didn't realize S-04 was GF... I'm getting the hang of it, still trying to knock-out the gory details

And to Gengis: I'm not saying your wrong but wouldn't it be a bad idea to remove even more grain and replace it with sugar? I feel like the beer would be far too cidery and have a very hot alcohol bite to it. Grains aren't just fermentables like sugar is... there's also yeast nutrients, stabilizing proteins/ions, etc.

You can also try quinoa. I make pizza and bread with it and I love the flavor... it may translate well into beer.

Reno_eNVy_446 said:

Ah, my bad. Didn't realize S-04 was GF... I'm getting the hang of it, still trying to knock-out the gory details

And to Gengis: I'm not saying your wrong but wouldn't it be a bad idea to remove even more grain and replace it with sugar? I feel like the beer would be far too cidery and have a very hot alcohol bite to it. Grains aren't just fermentables like sugar is... there's also yeast nutrients, stabilizing proteins/ions, etc.

You can also try quinoa. I make pizza and bread with it and I love the flavor... it may translate well into beer.

Click to expand...

I didn't recommend decreasing grains at all. I would personally increase the oats and replace the Sorghum extract (molasses) by dark Belgian candi and BRS. You get plenty of yeast nutrients in oats (less in BRS); those nutrients being absent in Belgian candi syrup. Oats would also bring non-fermentables and protein for texture/body and head retention. True, Belgian Candi would increase the alcohol levels, but they bring very interesting aromas (dried fruits, caramel, cocoa) and color, which are needed for a good stout. IMHO, it makes more sense to use BRS with Dark Belgian Candi in order to make a stout rather than struggle with Sorghum...

Just my 2 cents

p.s. Oh, and I'm starting to love malted quinoa as a source of fermentables...

Indeed. Maybe one day I'll make a SMaSH with quinoa malt :rockin:

Gengis said:

I didn't recommend decreasing grains at all. I would personally increase the oats and replace the Sorghum extract (molasses) by dark Belgian candi and BRS. You get plenty of yeast nutrients in oats (less in BRS); those nutrients being absent in Belgian candi syrup. Oats would also bring non-fermentables and protein for texture/body and head retention. True, Belgian Candi would increase the alcohol levels, but they bring very interesting aromas (dried fruits, caramel, cocoa) and color, which are needed for a good stout. IMHO, it makes more sense to use BRS with Dark Belgian Candi in order to make a stout rather than struggle with Sorghum...

Just my 2 cents

p.s. Oh, and I'm starting to love malted quinoa as a source of fermentables...

Click to expand...

Just a note, sorghum extract and sorghum molasses are 2 very different things...