I am new to home-brew and I looking around for a great GF recipe. I found out about a year ago that I was gluten intolerance and was very upset I could no longer drink beer. Since then I have found several commercial gluten free beers, but none that I have found extremely enjoyable. What I am looking for is a really good GF recipe for a pale lager or pilsner. The reason I am going fora lighter beer is mainly because of the ability to drink with almost anything and isn't too heavy. Any recipe suggestions would be much appreciated.
New to homebrew
- Thread starter wolves63
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First, welcome to the obsession, I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into! 
Second, this beer was fantastic when I tried it. It has some age on it though...
I have a brown ale in my dropdown or if you look through the gluten free brewing thread you will find the brew day pics and some other stuff for the American Brown Ale. It was my first brew and it is one of the better ones that I've made. Later today I'll post my double IPA.
Search around on the threads and I'm sure you'll find what you are looking for but I might recommend you start with ales...just my 2 cents.
Second, this beer was fantastic when I tried it. It has some age on it though...
I have a brown ale in my dropdown or if you look through the gluten free brewing thread you will find the brew day pics and some other stuff for the American Brown Ale. It was my first brew and it is one of the better ones that I've made. Later today I'll post my double IPA.
Search around on the threads and I'm sure you'll find what you are looking for but I might recommend you start with ales...just my 2 cents.
Welcome! I'm a couple months ahead of you on this journey, although for me getting diagnosed occurred the Monday after I bought my home brewing equipment
lcasanova's recommendations for recipes are great. If you can't find a GF recipe that fits the style you want, you could try finding an extract recipe and substituting a mix of sorghum and rice for the malt in the recipe. If you are trying to make something light in body, maybe something like 3 or 4 lbs of sorghum to 1 lb of rice (the GF Wit that I've nearly finished off now was about 6:1, plus 1 lb of sugar, and I'm thinking that next time around, I'll do 5:1)
If you have any questions about equipment or ingredients, don't hesitate to ask!
lcasanova's recommendations for recipes are great. If you can't find a GF recipe that fits the style you want, you could try finding an extract recipe and substituting a mix of sorghum and rice for the malt in the recipe. If you are trying to make something light in body, maybe something like 3 or 4 lbs of sorghum to 1 lb of rice (the GF Wit that I've nearly finished off now was about 6:1, plus 1 lb of sugar, and I'm thinking that next time around, I'll do 5:1)
If you have any questions about equipment or ingredients, don't hesitate to ask!
aggieotis
Well-Known Member
Sounds like you're looking for what's essentially a Budweiser clone. However, since you're new to homebrewing, then you probably don't have a full lagering system of chest freezers and temp regulators to make a real lager. As such I looked around the forums and found this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/i-want-brew-budweiser-23302/
Budweiser Clone (BYO) - Modified to be Gluten-Free
by Karl Glarner Jr.
This is a great, easy-to-make pilsner-style beer made with ale yeast — no lagering
required. Comes close to many commercial light pilsners, with just a bit more flavor. (5
gallons)
Ingredients:
• 3 lbs Sorghum Liquid Malt Extract
• 1 5/8 lbs. light honey
• 1 oz. Cascade hops (6% alpha acid): 0.25 oz. for 60 min., 0.25 oz. for 30 min.,
0.5 oz. for steeping
• 1 tsp. Irish moss for 15 min.
• 1 tsp. gypsum
• Safale US-05
or
White Labs WLP001
(WLP001 will make beer that's 2 ppm of gluten, not enough to cause problems for most celiacs...see sticky thread for details)
• 3/4 cup corn sugar for priming
Step by Step:
Bring 2 gal. water to boil. Remove from heat and add dry malt, honey, and gypsum. Return
to boil. Total boil is 60 min. Add 0.25 oz. Cascade and boil for 30 min. Add 0.25 oz. Cascade
and boil for 15 min. more. Add Irish moss and boil for 15 min. more. Turn off heat, add 0.5
oz. Cascade hops, and steep for 2 min. Pour into fermenter and top up with cold, preboiled
water. When cooled below 70° F pitch yeast.
Ferment seven to 10 days in primary at 70° F or below, then transfer to secondary and
ferment another seven days. Prime and bottle.
/end
If you make this though, you have to tell us how it turns out. I doubt there's a single non-commercial beer that's been brewed more than a couple of times, so we'd be interested in your tasting notes.
Budweiser Clone (BYO) - Modified to be Gluten-Free
by Karl Glarner Jr.
This is a great, easy-to-make pilsner-style beer made with ale yeast — no lagering
required. Comes close to many commercial light pilsners, with just a bit more flavor. (5
gallons)
Ingredients:
• 3 lbs Sorghum Liquid Malt Extract
• 1 5/8 lbs. light honey
• 1 oz. Cascade hops (6% alpha acid): 0.25 oz. for 60 min., 0.25 oz. for 30 min.,
0.5 oz. for steeping
• 1 tsp. Irish moss for 15 min.
• 1 tsp. gypsum
• Safale US-05
or
White Labs WLP001
(WLP001 will make beer that's 2 ppm of gluten, not enough to cause problems for most celiacs...see sticky thread for details)
• 3/4 cup corn sugar for priming
Step by Step:
Bring 2 gal. water to boil. Remove from heat and add dry malt, honey, and gypsum. Return
to boil. Total boil is 60 min. Add 0.25 oz. Cascade and boil for 30 min. Add 0.25 oz. Cascade
and boil for 15 min. more. Add Irish moss and boil for 15 min. more. Turn off heat, add 0.5
oz. Cascade hops, and steep for 2 min. Pour into fermenter and top up with cold, preboiled
water. When cooled below 70° F pitch yeast.
Ferment seven to 10 days in primary at 70° F or below, then transfer to secondary and
ferment another seven days. Prime and bottle.
/end
If you make this though, you have to tell us how it turns out. I doubt there's a single non-commercial beer that's been brewed more than a couple of times, so we'd be interested in your tasting notes.
wolves63
Well-Known Member
Thanks everyone for the quick responses. I am looking at my first brewing experience in about 1 month, don't worry I will definitely be asking a lot of questions between now and when I first start.
wolves63
Well-Known Member
yeah, I was thinking about going with that, only what is the difference between Safale US-05 and White Labs WLP001 and why wouldn't you just chose the one that didn't have the gluten in it to be safe?
That's what I do...Not exactly sure why others would use it but I think for some that fact that is is < 20 ppm is sufficient...I think none would be better :cross:
Yeah, use S-05. No point in using some gluten if its the chico yeast strain.
The point of the chico strain (1056, 001, S05) is to have no flavor or aroma. The S05 has been the most problematic for people, but that is probably a dry vs liquid thing. I cannot tell the difference.
aggieotis
Well-Known Member
The only reason I put the White Labs one in there is that it was a liquid yeast option. For your first beer and to be 100% GF, then just use the S-05 and call it a day.
If you local shop only has White Labs WLP001, then that should be safe too. Just don't use WYeast if you want a GF beer.
If you local shop only has White Labs WLP001, then that should be safe too. Just don't use WYeast if you want a GF beer.
Dry is easier for a beginner, you really just need to toss it in, although rehydrating in some warm (~100F) water can help viability.
Liquid is easier to control and proof and generally has a slightly higher quality level, which is why you will see the more seasoned brewers often use it. Not to mention the number of types available is massive in comparison to dry.
wolves63
Well-Known Member
First of all, I just wanted to say thank you guys for all of the quick posts and responses to my newbie questions. I am definately going to be using dry for at least the first batch since it is simpiler, but will most likely shift to the liquids (if there are any avaliable that are completely GF). That is where my next question comes in, can I get a list of the GF liqiud yeasts and then second to give a description of the yeast and how it affects the beers flavor, body, and aroma. A link will work well also.
Once I have this then we will move on to questions regarding hops for those who are still interested in giving me a hand.
Once I have this then we will move on to questions regarding hops for those who are still interested in giving me a hand.
For some info on GF ingredients, check the Gluten Free Ingredients sticky. As it stands, I don't think there are any longer any 100% gluten free liquid yeasts.
On hops, I find it best to use pellets...but go on and ask your questions! And...we may not have all of your answers but if you look through the forum or search through it you are likely to find what you are looking for.
wolves63
Well-Known Member
That is unfortunate that there are no GF yeasts that are in liquid form, anything I have read on them puts them in a little bit better standing than dry yeasts.
I was definitely going to use a a little bit of both to figure out what information I was wanting for the hops.
So as for my first hops questions, you partially answered my question. Was was wondering about the pellets vs the leaf which was better for flavor, aroma, body, and overall ease of use.
More so, what are the advantages and disadvantages of both types?
I was definitely going to use a a little bit of both to figure out what information I was wanting for the hops.
So as for my first hops questions, you partially answered my question. Was was wondering about the pellets vs the leaf which was better for flavor, aroma, body, and overall ease of use.
More so, what are the advantages and disadvantages of both types?
Try these:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/leaf-vs-pellet-hops-67383/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/hop-pellets-vs-whole-leaf-64280/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f92/pellets-vs-plugs-vs-leaf-hops-137798/
Either one you use, you can buy a large paint strainer from home depot or lowe's or something and place that over your bucket and pour the cooled wort through it. It will filter out the pellet/leaf hops and aerate your wort.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/leaf-vs-pellet-hops-67383/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/hop-pellets-vs-whole-leaf-64280/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f92/pellets-vs-plugs-vs-leaf-hops-137798/
Either one you use, you can buy a large paint strainer from home depot or lowe's or something and place that over your bucket and pour the cooled wort through it. It will filter out the pellet/leaf hops and aerate your wort.
wolves63
Well-Known Member
thanks for that, next thing about hops, would you suggest using one set of hops for the bitterness early in the process, then shifting the hops to something that provides a good flavor and aroma, or would you say to stick with the same hops.
In addition to this question I am looking for a link that provides the typically available hops that are on the market as well as the flavor and aroma profiles they add. The wiki here does not have enough of the information I am looking for.
In addition to this question I am looking for a link that provides the typically available hops that are on the market as well as the flavor and aroma profiles they add. The wiki here does not have enough of the information I am looking for.
It really depends on the beer you are making. In general, high alpha acid hops are good for bittering and low taste and smell better. But, this is homebrew, so do whatever you want!
I use mostly whole leaf hops, but I find that pellets are better (Cheaper) for bittering and that whole hops are better for flavor and aroma. Plus, a mix of the two makes a nice filter bed at the bottom of the boil kettle, whereas pellets clog my system to hell when alone.
Of course, if you aren't pumping wort out of a ball valve on your boil kettle, you can strain them in any numbers of ways, so the difference matters even less. 5gal at a time is liftable and you can just dump through a strainer.
http://www.freshops.com/hops/variety_descriptions
Bitterness is directly related to AA% and time in boil.
I only know places to purchase in volumes of 1lb or more, but then I could help.
There is a vendor or two on here that have pretty decent per oz prices, especially on Fridays. Check the Vendor Showcase forums.
Synovia
Well-Known Member
IIRC,
WLP yeasts aren't gluten free, but the beer made from them is (if you use gluten free grains). Essentially the vial of yeast itself has a little gluten, but when you brew beer, its well below the threshold that can be legally considered gluten free.
EDIT: Could be Wyeast I'm thinking of.
As to Pellet vs Whole, its funny that you have a problem with pellets clogging your system, because I have the opposite one. Whole hops clog the crap out of my system, and pellets are fine. C'est la vie.
wolves63
Well-Known Member
only reason i was asking is because I noticed the http://www.freshops.com website sells hops in 1oz increments and for a better price than one other site i was looking at. Figured talking to the experts would give me and idea where to go for the best hops at a good price.
Freshops is great, order away.
Correct on the White labs statement. 12ppm in vial, 2ppm in 5gal finished beer. Legally gluten-free, but not actually. Regulations range from 10-20ppm.
The answer is...rarely. Only one way to find out.
wolves63
Well-Known Member
Now we have discussed yeasts and hops I would like to move on towards the grains that are GF. I know which GF materials can be used for the malting process, but I was wondering the benefits of each as well as the flavor, aroma, body, and head retention of each and overall how they effect the whole.
Personally, I think I'm going to stick to dry yeast from here out, unless I try making a style of beer that I can't get the right dry yeast for. And then only if I try it with the 'closest thing' I can find, and even then, I'll probably do something to reduce the gluten level (make a starter using only part of vial, then build the starter up real big, then pull only part of that starter...)
But, that said, I have a trippel aging right now that was made with a vial of white labs. I'm going to try it, if it does cause a problem, I'll be quite heartbroken.
But, that said, I have a trippel aging right now that was made with a vial of white labs. I'm going to try it, if it does cause a problem, I'll be quite heartbroken.
I will.
To be honest, from what I've seen and read, the only reason to use liquid yeasts is that a greater variety of strains are available. If I would have found the S-33 Trappist yeast before I started making that batch of trippel, I would have used it. There are so many yeast cells in a dry packet, that for ordinary gravity beers you can just rehydrate a packet and pitch. And since you can get 2 or 3 dry packets for the cost of one liquid, if you are making something that requires more yeast (very high gravity, big batch, whatever), it isn't a big deal to pitch more than one packet.
aggieotis
Well-Known Member
Read the top sticky in this board, that has most of the answers you're looking for. Honestly, that question is what most of us are trying to figure out right now.
Best bet for beer flavor seems to be Chestnuts, but those also appear to be retardedly expensive.
With GF grains you have to mix and match. Sorghum is a bit too strong, Rice is a bit too weak, Millet is a bit earthy, Quinoa tastes good but has the consistency of oatmeal, buckwheat some like but many are put off by the taste (myself included), Chestnuts taste perfect but don't have the enzymes needed and then there's the cost, Amaranth tastes nice but best of luck finding it, Corn honey and sugar are too fermentable on their own and will dry everything out...Essentially they all have pieces of the right stuff, but none can stand on their own.
I think you have a good start for your first batch. Keep the first one simple so that you can have a good baseline, and from there add in one or two things at a time, let us know what you like/don't like and help us make the GF Beer process even easier for the next guy* that comes along.
*Statistically though, "the next guy" is 2x more likely to be a gal than a guy.
wolves63
Well-Known Member
So pretty much, just play with it until you get what you like the best.....most likely it will be a mix of 3 or so GF grains just so that you can get the best of everything you are looking for. Does that sound about right?
aggieotis
Well-Known Member
Just so you know I've only used liquid yeasts and none of the people that have drank any of my beer have had any problem. Using liquids gives you much more variety.
Personally I found that the time I used S-05 versus the time I used WLP001 the S-05 seemed to leave more of a yeasty flavor and the WLP001 was really clean.
If you harvest your yeast at the end of a batch that was using liquid yeast then you can have 2 ppm then diluted in 5 gal which means your next batch starts faster, tastes (arguably) better, and has undetectable levels of gluten.
