Gluten Free Beer Ingredient List

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DKershner

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"Malt" and Adjuncts:
  • Sorghum, both in raw form, Syrup Extract, and Syrup itself. The syrup extract is the closest thing to barley in terms of FAN, enzymes, and sugar content, but imparts a tangy, bitter, or citrusy aftertaste. This is the most highly used ingredient in gluten free beer. The syrup itself has unknown properties at this time for brewing. Raw form is also fairly unknown. Note: The roots of raw sorghum can contain cyanide and must be removed.
  • Brown Rice Syrup and Solids. Imparts a slight sweetness in taste to the brew, but ferments out similarly to sorghum or malt extract. Little FAN, may have problems converting on it's own.
  • Buckwheat, raw. Imparts a slight wheat-like flavor that can change with how long it is roasted. Often used for color. No enzymes.
  • Chestnut chips. Closest to barley flavor of the gluten free grains. No enzymes, so they must be added, typically amylase is used.
  • Corn Sugar, table sugar, candi sugar, corn syrup, etc. All impart their own colors and flavors and can be used as in gluten beer.
  • Maltodextrin. MOST of the time this ingredient is gluten free, especially in the US, check with your provider to be sure. Used for additional body in the beer.
  • Rice. Minute Rice is suggested to be used due to its ability to convert itself.
  • Oats. Make sure you get ones designated as 'gluten free' or else they could be crop rotated with wheat or packaged using equipment that also does wheat containing products. Used for mouthfeel, body, and head retention.
  • "Light" molasses= 90% fermentable
  • Blackstrap molasses = 50% fermentable
Approximate equivalent gluten free grain by common beer grain as matched by nutritional information*:
Wheat ~ Millet, Teff
Barley ~ Sorghum, Chestnuts
Rye ~ Buckwheat
Oats ~ GF Oats (duh), Quinoa, Amaranth

Hops:
All hops are gluten free.

Yeast:

Yeasts that are completely gluten free:
  • All Fermentis Safale and Saflager Dry Yeasts - US05, S04, S33, T58, WB06, etc.
  • All Danstar/Lallemand/DCL Labs Dry Yeast Products - Nottingham, Windsor, etc.
  • Red Star Wine and Champagne Yeast - Montrachet, Pasteur, etc.

Yeasts that are almost gluten free:
  • White Labs Yeast - All including Wine and Mead Yeast
    [*]This Yeast contains 12ppm in the slurry, a number slightly above the less than 10ppm requirement to be called gluten free. However, the final product (5gal of beer) only has 2ppm.​

Yeasts that are not gluten free:
  • Any Wyeast Yeast, including Wine and Mead Yeast

For strategies on how to reduce or eliminate gluten from yeast, see this link.

Any additions or suggestions, let me know.

Links to other helpful stuff:

* Source: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f164/gf-grain-equivalents-168609/
 
Awesome, although perhaps under the sorghum we should break down the syrup, as there are 2 types: the sorghum liquid extract you can buy from say your HB supply, (from what I understand this is generally from Breiss) and the sorghum syrup you can buy at the grocery store/farmers' market/Amish buggy.

Sorghum liquid extract is made from sorghum grain, and looks and acts a lot like LME.

Sorghum syrup (aka sorghum molasses) from your Amish friend is made by boiling down the juice from crushed stalks, and looks and tastes much more like molasses. I don't know for sure how differently this would react in brewing (I do have half a gallon of the stuff, though, so I'll find out eventually).
 
I was under the impression they were one in the same...I wonder what Briess adds that changes the flavor...
 
I don't think it is that they add anything. I think the difference is that they getting an extract from the grain (seeds), while sorghum syrup is made from the sap.
 
I don't think it is that they add anything. I think the difference is that they getting an extract from the grain (seeds), while sorghum syrup is made from the sap.

Makes some sense I guess. Briess:

Enzymatically produced from the starchy heads of the grain, not the cane, of the sorghum plant, BriesSweet™ White Sorghum Syrup
 
Makes some sense I guess. Briess:
I saw somewhere on their site that they don't malt the sorghum (and I've read a few articles about malting it, and it sounds like a PIA because the grains are so dang small). So if they are extracting enzymatically, that means they're doing a mash with amylase...

If I get around to trying all grain, I might just give that a shot. Of course, it may be that malting it first is worth it, as it may be that some of the flavors we're getting in sorghum extract are the result of extracting from 'green', unmalted, presumably un-kilned and unroasted, grain?

I'm getting to far out on a theoretical limb here. I'd say I need a beer, but I'm someplace I can't have a beer. :(
 
Briess isn't from malted grain. They get it the same way as he "other" syrup, but you don't want to brew with that. I know from experience.
 
I saw somewhere on their site that they don't malt the sorghum (and I've read a few articles about malting it, and it sounds like a PIA because the grains are so dang small). So if they are extracting enzymatically, that means they're doing a mash with amylase...

If I get around to trying all grain, I might just give that a shot. Of course, it may be that malting it first is worth it, as it may be that some of the flavors we're getting in sorghum extract are the result of extracting from 'green', unmalted, presumably un-kilned and unroasted, grain?

I'm getting to far out on a theoretical limb here. I'd say I need a beer, but I'm someplace I can't have a beer. :(

Home malting is a PITA but, I did some sorghum here

And as far as I know, they aren't extracting the syrup we are getting from the grains, but from the stalks themselves
 
Home malting is a PITA but, I did some sorghum here

And as far as I know, they aren't extracting the syrup we are getting from the grains, but from the stalks themselves

Briess isn't from malted grain. They get it the same way as he "other" syrup, but you don't want to brew with that. I know from experience.

BriesSweet™ White Sorghum Syrup 45DE High Maltose is a gluten free, 100% concentrated wort made from the unmalted grain, not the cane, of the white sorghum plant.
From here

While the sorghum syrup you can get at a grocery store:
Sorghum syrup made from cane sorghum is made by squeezing the juice from the cane and cooking off the excess water to obtain a sweet, sticky syrup - a delicacy in many parts of the country.

So, according to Briess, they get their stuff from the unmalted grain, not the 'cane' (stalk).

I'm not sure what the difference is, exactly, but if you pour some of each out, you can tell they aren't the same.
 
"Malt" and Adjuncts:
  • Sorghum, both in raw form, Syrup Extract, and Syrup itself. The syrup extract is the closest thing to barley in terms of FAN, enzymes, and sugar content, but imparts a tangy, bitter, or citrusy aftertaste. This is the most highly used ingredient in gluten free beer. The syrup itself has unknown properties at this time for brewing. Raw form is also fairly unknown. Note: The roots of raw sorghum can contain cyanide and must be removed.
  • Brown Rice Syrup and Solids. Imparts a slight sweetness in taste to the brew, but ferments out similarly to sorghum or malt extract. Little FAN, may have problems converting on it's own.
  • Buckwheat, raw. Imparts a slight wheat-like flavor that can change with how long it is roasted. Often used for color. No enzymes.
  • Chestnut chips. Closest to barley flavor of the gluten free grains. No enzymes, so they must be added, typically amylase is used.
  • Corn Sugar, table sugar, candi sugar, corn syrup, etc. All impart their own colors and flavors and can be used as in gluten beer.
  • Maltodextrin. MOST of the time this ingredient is gluten free, especially in the US, check with your provider to be sure. Used for additional body in the beer.
  • Rice. Minute Rice is suggested to be used due to its ability to convert itself.
  • Oats. Make sure you get ones designated as 'gluten free' or else they could be crop rotated with wheat or packaged using equipment that also does wheat containing products. Used for mouthfeel, body, and head retention.

Hops:
All hops are gluten free.

Yeast:

Yeasts that are completely gluten free:
  • All Fermentis Safale and Saflager Dry Yeasts - US05, S04, S33, T58, WB06, etc.
  • All Danstar/Lallemand/DCL Labs Dry Yeast Products - Nottingham, Windsor, etc.
  • Red Star Wine and Champagne Yeast - Montrachet, Pasteur, etc.

Yeasts that are almost gluten free:
  • White Labs Yeast - All including Wine and Mead Yeast
    [*]This Yeast contains 12ppm in the slurry, a number slightly above the less than 10ppm requirement to be called gluten free. However, the final product (5gal of beer) only has 2ppm.​

Yeasts that are not gluten free:
  • Any Wyeast Yeast, including Wine and Mead Yeast

For strategies on how to reduce or eliminate gluten from yeast, see this link.

Any additions or suggestions, let me know.



GOOD ARTICLE! For good nutritional info on a lot of foods go to nutriondata.com They really have good complete break down and nutritional info. You are right about chestnuts being very close to malted barley. The only real difference is the sugar availability. And unlike some other grains they contain very little fats. About 3-4 percent, about the same as barley, hence the amylase.

leeinwa
 
Guess I'm telling my age on this one. Back in the 40's when I was a wee laddy I remember watching my grandpa press sorghum cane through a large cast iron gogged press powered by a long pole with a mule walking around in circles. The sap was then taken to a big cast caldron and boiled down to the right consistency and trasferred to a large wooden barrel. I was just back to the Ozarks in Missouri for a visit and my cousin has a simular one decorating his yard. I tried using sorghum as a supplemental bee food one winter and was told not to use it because of high ash [mineral] content. Both the sorghum seeds and the sorghum syrup[made from the cane sap] are VERY high in mineral content. This is probably why they impart a bitter taste, especially from the potassium and iron. Also, sorghum seed contains about 10% fat. Twice the amount of barley.

As I said previously, go to nutritiondata.com to find out what's in some of the non-gluten ingredients you want to use in your brews. You might find things that really effect the flavor and overall chemistry.


Skol

leeinwa
 
dkershner mentioned GF oats. Bob's Red Mill Barn a big supplier on many grain products in Portland OR, used to have GF oats but the last time I checked he had stopped because he could not find any source that would dedicate land for oat production only, and even at that, many times certified oat seed will contain wheat seed from the past. It's hard to detect in fields because the oats are so much taller. If a person REALLY wanted it, he could grow a small patch in his garden if he had one. He could hand sort his seeds to make sure there were no foreign seeds. It wouldn't take much space to grow a half bushel or so.


leeinwa
 
dkershner mentioned GF oats. Bob's Red Mill Barn a big supplier on many grain products in Portland OR, used to have GF oats but the last time I checked he had stopped because he could not find any source that would dedicate land for oat production only, and even at that, many times certified oat seed will contain wheat seed from the past. It's hard to detect in fields because the oats are so much taller. If a person REALLY wanted it, he could grow a small patch in his garden if he had one. He could hand sort his seeds to make sure there were no foreign seeds. It wouldn't take much space to grow a half bushel or so.


leeinwa

I saw Bob's Oats in the store just the other day, I think they are back.
 
Both the sorghum seeds and the sorghum syrup[made from the cane sap] are VERY high in mineral content. This is probably why they impart a bitter taste, especially from the potassium and iron. Also, sorghum seed contains about 10% fat. Twice the amount of barley.

As I said previously, go to nutritiondata.com to find out what's in some of the non-gluten ingredients you want to use in your brews. You might find things that really effect the flavor and overall chemistry.

I put a post sorting some of that out here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f164/gf-grain-equivalents-168609/

Bottom line was:
Wheat ~ Millet, Teff
Barley ~ Sorghum, Chestnuts
Rye ~ Buckwheat
Oats ~ GF Oats (duh), Quinoa, Amaranth
 
Mods, please sticky this thread!

Here's a brief flowchart that can be useful for beginners too:
GFBrewingFlowchart.png


Note:
I need to update the grain equivalents to be the following
Wheat ~ Millet, Teff
Barley ~ Sorghum, Chestnuts
Rye ~ Buckwheat
Oats ~ GF Oats (duh), Quinoa, Amaranth
 
You know, as long we are discussing various GF ingredients, maybe we should list their 'specs' PPG, srm, fermentability?

What I've found online is in the past:

NB Sorghum extract: 37 ppg
Rice syrup solids: 40 ppg
 
Can anyone tell me if after gelatinizing steel cut oats to extract the starches, would it be alright to steep them with other specialty grains for 30 miniuts prior to an extract based brew?
 
Stink. That's pretty much all the GF grains. Which means all the enzymes will be denatured unless you first pull off some of the wort at 150-160, then add water, boil, cool, re-add the wort you originally pulled off and let sit at 158F for awhile.

So much for there being an 'easy' way.
 
Stink. That's pretty much all the GF grains. Which means all the enzymes will be denatured unless you first pull off some of the wort at 150-160, then add water, boil, cool, re-add the wort you originally pulled off and let sit at 158F for awhile.

So much for there being an 'easy' way.

Can't you just add enzymes after preping your grains/adjuncts? ( pardon my ignorance, I've never ventured into the GF stuff before). Commercial enzymes are available (alpha and beta amalyse). [in fact, I have some that I've never used]
 
Can't you just add enzymes after preping your grains/adjuncts? ( pardon my ignorance, I've never ventured into the GF stuff before). Commercial enzymes are available (alpha and beta amalyse). [in fact, I have some that I've never used]

I've never seen beta availible. I have some alpha and gamma amylase than I need to start experimenting with, but my goal is still get get the grains to convert on their own.
 
Sorry, was sleeping on the job. Chart is in the main post.

Forgive me, why cant you just mash at 158? That seems to be a common point for most of them...

Nevermind, answered my own question.

It does say 'benefits' though. Perhaps you could convert without?
 
Forgive me, why cant you just mash at 158? That seems to be a common point for most of them...
I think it's that the starches need to be gelatinized before they can properly convert, and the gelatinization point for all the grains with an * is up near boiling (85C or so).

Once gelatinized, then there's no issue with the conversion, but you'll have to do a decoction cooling or something like that, plus, getting the grain to gelatinize seems to take a LOT of water, which means you've got a pretty full pot of grain. Add to that the GF grains love to make the sparge get stuck...definitely not the easiest way to make beer.
 
I think it's that the starches need to be gelatinized before they can properly convert, and the gelatinization point for all the grains with an * is up near boiling (85C or so).

Once gelatinized, then there's no issue with the conversion, but you'll have to do a decoction cooling or something like that, plus, getting the grain to gelatinize seems to take a LOT of water, which means you've got a pretty full pot of grain. Add to that the GF grains love to make the sparge get stuck...definitely not the easiest way to make beer.

Looks like tapioca is the key!
 
has anyone ever tried using blackstrap molasses? I don't want to do it if it's already failed. Or milk. What about milk? I've heard of fermented dairy products although I've never tried any.
 
has anyone ever tried using blackstrap molasses? I don't want to do it if it's already failed. Or milk. What about milk? I've heard of fermented dairy products although I've never tried any.

Molasses is a by-product of white crystaline sugar production from sugar beets or sugar cane. Brown sugar is brown because it is un-refined and when it is refined you get white crysaline suger and molasses. Blackstrap is really from the 3rd boiling or refineing stage. It's got that bitter sweet taste. I think "beer" has been made from every fermentable known to man, including low alcohol fermented milk.

Out west, we use black strap in big 100 pound "licking blocks" as an high energy source in the winter for range cattle

leeinwa
 
Molasses is a by-product of white crystaline sugar production from sugar beets or sugar cane. Brown sugar is brown because it is un-refined and when it is refined you get white crysaline suger and molasses. Blackstrap is really from the 3rd boiling or refineing stage. It's got that bitter sweet taste. I think "beer" has been made from every fermentable known to man, including low alcohol fermented milk.
leeinwa

I thought gluten came from wheat but if there's yeast with gluten maybe I've got to re-think things.
Hey how about OJ? I luvs me some Orangina, if it came with a kick I think that'd be stellar! :rockin:
 
I thought gluten came from wheat but if there's yeast with gluten maybe I've got to re-think things.
Hey how about OJ? I luvs me some Orangina, if it came with a kick I think that'd be stellar! :rockin:

Glutens come from wheat and other cereal grains. If yeast is grown on barley or wheat media it will contain small amounts of glutens. Companies like Lallaimend's grow their brewing yeasts on potato starch base and they are gluten free. Check with the company where your yeast comes from.

leeinwa
 
has anyone ever tried using blackstrap molasses? I don't want to do it if it's already failed. Or milk. What about milk? I've heard of fermented dairy products although I've never tried any.

I put a bit of molasses in my gluten-free wit. I don't know if it was enough to make a significant difference in taste, but I could see the difference in made in color.
 
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