What the Best Gluten Free Grain(s)

Now that we can get malted Gluten free grains from a couple of sources to use for our beers. I would like to open up a discussion. Which malted Gluten free grain in the opinion of home brewers here is the best or maybe a combination of grains to make a great tasting beer. I would like to know for example which Gluten Free grain closely resembles non gluten free grains as far as "Malty" tasting, color and aroma. For example. I recently did a partial mash.:fro:

2.5 malted millit
2.5 lbs malted buckwheat
3 lbs BRS
3 lbs Sorghum
1 oz Galena Bittering
1 oz Cascade aroma
1 oz Cascade Dry Hop

OMG!

I haven't been able to nail the maltyness I am looking for quite yet. Though I like the combination of malted millet, buckwheat, and quinoa. The quinoa especially for the nuttyness it provides, but I tend to use proportionally less buckwheat. Igliashon has posted some great recipies, so search for his threads.

Also, the gluten-free light lager (recipe is in the forums) I made (which is all syrups) oddly enough had the best maltyness. Maybe it was the yeast or the lagering process, but it came out quite nice.

I have had success with a blend of toasted Oats, millet and sprouted buckwheat. I sprouted, dried, toasted and malted myself. Not too hard, just time consuming. Specifically for malt character, dried chestnut chips are supposed to add a true "Beer Flavor" to gluten free beers. Unfortunately, they are very expensive. I've been thinking of making some myself this winter when chestnuts are available. Unfortunately, its hard to get away from Sorghum syrup for gluten free beers, and that will give you a sharp tart fruit flavor, and no malt.

I'm thinking that with the GF grains and in conjunction with BRS and also I am only using 3 lbs of Sorghum it wont be the dominant flavour. I also dry hopped for a total of 3 oz of hops. Also this is my first grain/extract so we shall see. But when I was racking to secondary and I took a little taste test and aroma test. I think this is going to be my "Best batch ever". I will post results.

To be honest, I am coming to the conclusion after much experimentation (and much sampling of commercial GF beers like Harvester and Green's) that variety is NOT the key. The more variety of grains you use, the less of any of them you'll taste, and the more the strong-flavored ones like sorghum will dominate. The best beers I have made, with the most prominent malty flavor, have been made with pale and crystal millet and nothing else. Unmalted millet is not even in the same ball-park. Adding other grains, like roasted oats, malted buckwheat, rice, etc., only diminished the malty flavor of the millet. The only thing is that lacing and head retention are still a bit low; I am presently experimenting with the addition of some flaked oats or flaked quinoa, as well as maltodextrin (much as I *hate* the idea of "cheating" with additives at this point).

Buckwheat malt I have found to contribute next to nothing in terms of flavor unless moderately-to-heavily roasted, and heavily-roasted it is quite nice for a dark beer. Quinoa malt I haven't tried yet and have some curiosity about, but the beers I've done with sprouted quinoa did not impress me too much. It's also much more expensive than millet and I have a hard time imagining it's worth it.

Chestnuts I have found to taste like, well, chestnuts. I've had just about every beer Harvester has ever made, and done a few batches myself with chestnuts, and while it is a nice flavor, it is NOT in any way comparable to barley. It does help out sorghum beers quite a lot, in terms of making them taste *better*, but it does not make them taste like *barley*. It makes them taste like *chestnuts*. And chestnuts taste better than sorghum, IMO.

I definitely agree keeping it simple is the way to go, and millet is the best I've found. I can brew without adding any enzymes using the decantation mash method but others here have found that to be unnecessary. With CMC's I've found kilning part of the grain bill a bit more at a low temperature (200F or so for an hour or two) improves maltiness further, as would be expected.

Any addition of sorghum or brown rice syrups will dilute malt flavor, since they themselves are made from unmalted grain. They may be generally similar in profile, but without the kilning step it lacks the crucial toastiness of a good malt.

Rookie question, but for gluten free oats, which should I be using? Bob's Red Mill gluten free offers steel cut oats and rolled oats? Which are the ones I should be toasting to steep? does it matter? which would be better for a gluten free oatmeal stout?

Thanks for the help!
Matt in Atlanta

2.5 malted millit
2.5 lbs malted buckwheat
3 lbs BRS
3 lbs Sorghum
1 oz Galena Bittering
1 oz Cascade aroma
1 oz Cascade Dry Hop

Nice looking beer! That head looks real nice, thick, and creamy. Does it have good staying power?

Not all of it which is expected with GF beers but lacing stays. Really good beer and tastes like "regular" beer. Very happy with it

Nice looking brew there, man. Well done. With regards to head retention, try adding some flaked grain such as flaked millet. I have just done an American Amber with a hand full of I untoasted oats. It's only been in the keg two days, but the wee sample I pulled off had a whooping head on it and stayed. So I am thinking if it had been bottled, it would have been even better once poured. You can also try different candi syrups for colouring, too. Other that advice, all looks good.

Which exactly grains do you use. I'm assuming also GF and a handful a cup or a pound. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I use buckwheat. Malted and roasted. I find I get more flavour from them by using mostly crystal. The amount I use is dependant on the brew size. For a 5 Imperial Gallon batch I use 2kg of grain, along with other adjuncts to increase alcohol and add colour.