My first batch ....

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Androshen

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OK .... I have the grains roasting and I hope to have this started tomorrow evening ....

Here is what I have put together from here and advice from my local home brew store:

1 lb white quinoa (roasted)
1 lb buckwheat groats (roasted)
6 lbs white sorghum syrup
8 oz molasses
8 oz maple syrup
4 oz dark candi sugar
1 oz hops (Williamette) - pellets
2 pkts yeast (Muntons)
1 tsp Irish moss


Boil 2.5 gallons of water for 1 hour ...
add sorghum after 15 minutes
start steeping grains after 30 minutes
also at the 30 minute mark ... add hops, maple syrup, molasses and the sugar
at 50 minutes add the irish moss

after this has been cooled and racked into the primary, add the yeast.

Any corrections would be welcome as the countdown has begun!
 
OK .... I have the grains roasting and I hope to have this started tomorrow evening ....

Here is what I have put together from here and advice from my local home brew store:

1 lb white quinoa (roasted)
1 lb buckwheat groats (roasted)
6 lbs white sorghum syrup
8 oz molasses
8 oz maple syrup
4 oz dark candi sugar
1 oz hops (Williamette) - pellets
2 pkts yeast (Muntons)
1 tsp Irish moss


Boil 2.5 gallons of water for 1 hour ...
add sorghum after 15 minutes
start steeping grains after 30 minutes
also at the 30 minute mark ... add hops, maple syrup, molasses and the sugar
at 50 minutes add the irish moss

after this has been cooled and racked into the primary, add the yeast.

Any corrections would be welcome as the countdown has begun!

I do have some suggestions:

1. After roasting the grains, let them sit for a week or so in a paper back so that some of the harsh aromatics mellow out- I don't think it is necessary, but it's not a bad idea
2. Heat your 2.5 gallons to about 150-F and place the grains in to steep. If you want, turn your oven to warm and place the pot in there while the grains are steeping to keep the temp regular. After 30 min. strain then heat until you get the boil going.
3. When you add the sorghum syrup, maple syrup, molasses and the candi sugar, make sure you take the pot off the heat so it doesn't scorch. Once you get them added and dissolved, but it back on the heat and continue your boil.
4. I don't know if Muntons yeast is gluten free. Check here for some more info. I use any Lallemand, Danstar or Fermentis dry yeasts.
EDIT: 5. I would add the hops for the full 60 minute boil, otherwise it might be a really sweet beer...

Hope this helps rather than hinders...what batch size is this? 2.5 or 5 gallon?
 
PB040130.JPG

My roasted quinoa ....

PB040123.JPG

My roasted buckwheat groats ...
 
Oh- I bought some black quinoa the other day, I'm going to steep it in boiling water and see what color I get. Then I'll try to roast it and see if that changes anything. Found it at Whole Foods...about $6 for a lb
 
You will want to crush the grains, to answer your question
 
Oh- I bought some black quinoa the other day, I'm going to steep it in boiling water and see what color I get. Then I'll try to roast it and see if that changes anything. Found it at Whole Foods...about $6 for a lb

Let me know how that turns out .... I chose white as I read in the forums that it actually has more flavor ....
 
You will want to crush the grains, to answer your question

+1, stick them in a paper bag or something, and use a rolling pin or a pot to crush them

As for your process, I would change it to something like this:

- Bring x gallons of water (the most you can fit in your pot and bring to a boil) to about 150 degrees
- Place crushed grains (in a bag) in your pot for about 30min (can do as lcasanova and throw the whole kaboodle in the oven for that time)
- Remove grains, bring to boil
- Add all your hops
- After 45minutes, add in all your syrups and Irishmoss (being sure not scorch)
-After 15 minutes, remove from flame and cool down (also remove hops at this point)
Pitch yeast when cooled

Good luck
 
+1, stick them in a paper bag or something, and use a rolling pin or a pot to crush them

As for your process, I would change it to something like this:

- Bring x gallons of water (the most you can fit in your pot and bring to a boil) to about 150 degrees
- Place crushed grains (in a bag) in your pot for about 30min (can do as lcasanova and throw the whole kaboodle in the oven for that time)
- Remove grains, bring to boil
- Add all your hops
- After 45minutes, add in all your syrups and Irishmoss (being sure not scorch)
-After 15 minutes, remove from flame and cool down (also remove hops at this point)
Pitch yeast when cooled

Good luck

I like this advice, the late addition really steps up the IBU's.

So...when there is 15 minutes left of your 60 minute boil, add the sorghum syrup. Don't forget though, take it off the heat when you add the syrup to avoid scorching!

And you will want to top up your fermenter to 5 gallons and stir really well to mix everything and aerate everything.
 
My advice for cooling/topping off. Is to cool down your wort as much as you can (at least to 100 or so) before you top up. Then you can mix in cold water to top it up. Much faster to cool down without a chiller that way.
 
It is in the bucket and bubbling already! All went smooth ...

OG: 1.064

So - I take it that I rack to secondary in 1 week and bottle 1 week later .... right?
 
I racked this to secondary today, SG was 1.024
I was puzzled by the appearance though ... based on everything I have read about brewing beer I expected a thick layer of "trub", but what I found was a thick layer on top and a thin lees-like layer on the bottom.
The flavor seemed more wine-like than beer-like .... not a bad flavor though .... not sure yet if I will be wild about the flavor, but since it was not disgusting I am classifying this a success so far.
 
I believe that would be krausen...you get a nice layer of yeast/trub in the secondary too, mine has packed down pretty hard although I don't know about that Muntons yeast you used.
 
It was still plenty cloudy when I racked it ... what if it is still cloudy when I go to bottle it? Do I let it stay in the secondary until it clears?
 
Well, I bottled last night ... just 40 bottles. I was hoping for closer to 50 - but, hey .... half of them are 16oz flippies so I guess I cannot kick.
Now just to wait the 3 weeks ..... hoping they are a success.
The flavor right now is OK so it certainly is not a failure.
Any idea how to get the beer to come out clearer? It is rather cloudy and I am anticipating sediment in the bottles.
Also ... the flavoring sold by home brew stores ... anyone know if they are GF or not? I am certainly hoping they are as I want to play with them ...


Bump
 
A.) Any idea how to get the beer to come out clearer? It is rather cloudy and I am anticipating sediment in the bottles.

B.) Also ... the flavoring sold by home brew stores ... anyone know if they are GF or not? I am certainly hoping they are as I want to play with them ...
 
A.) Any idea how to get the beer to come out clearer? It is rather cloudy and I am anticipating sediment in the bottles.

B.) Also ... the flavoring sold by home brew stores ... anyone know if they are GF or not? I am certainly hoping they are as I want to play with them ...

A.) Did you pour everything from your brewpot into your fermenter? That might be why its cloudy- I did that with my first beer and it never cleared. Now I attempt to "whirlpool" with my spoon after it has cooled and I siphon from the side leaving most of the sediment behind. I don't know if secondary really helps clear gluten free beers anymore than leaving it in primary. Also, before you rack to your bottling bucket, move the fermenter to the space and let it settle again if you agitated it during the move.

B.) I'd look at the flavorings and try to contact the manufacturer.
 
Here is what my first experiment looked like!
My SWMBO went absolutely nuts!! I assume I can call it a success.
The flavor was very good and the color was beyond anything I hoped for!
We actually cracked this a week early ... but we could not wait! :rockin:

PC050134.JPG


You can see the sediment in the bottle .... I need to work on resolving that in future batches .....:(
 
Looks great, I just moved my first batch to a carboy after 2+ weeks in the bucket and I've found the same thing with there being a lot of sediment. Very little trub was left in the bucket. It looks like it doesn't want to settle out. If it doesn't clear in a week or two, I'll give it a small cold crash outdoors for a day or two and see if that helps.
 
I am gonna try leaving my next batch in the secondary alot longer ..... I am hoping to learn more about using clarifying agents as well - like I keep hearing about adding some sort of gelatin to help clear it up.
 
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