Spaced Rasberry Beer

Spaced,
Saw your Rasberry Beer on your blog and would like to give it a go. Here is my take (5 gallon boil/batch):

3.0lbs Sorghum Syrup @ 60 minutes
6.0oz Maltodextrine @ 60 minutes
0.5oz Hallertau Hops @ 60 minutes
0.5oz Tettnang Hops @ 30 minutes
0.5tsp Yeast nutrient @ 15 minutes
1.0tsp Irish Moss @ 15 minutes
0.5oz Tettnang Hops @ 10 minutes
3.0lbs Sorghum Syrup @ 0 minutes
1 packet Fermentis S-33 Trappist yeast
6.0lbs Frozen Raspberries (Secondary)

On your blog you say "The calcium carbonate definitely helped to keep the acidity down from the raspberries, otherwise it may not have been drinkable." What, when, and how much? Also, do you have any lessons learned to pass on? Less fruit? Would strawberries work? How long in the secondary? Thanks for your help.

Hi Rlbois1,

More than happy to answer any questions you might have (your Dual Spires beer is fermenting away and looking really good so I owe you one

With the raspberries I didn't do anything to steralise the frozen fruit. To be honest I think the very high acidity / sourness was due to wild yeasts or alike. If I was to brew it again I'd see how the acidity goes. If it gets quite acidic I'd tell people it was a raspberry lambic

Recently I brewed a strawberry blonde. I can't say it's all down to just the strawberries but I didn't like the after taste. It was really easy drinking and others liked it but I wouldn't do it again.

Before you take on the brewing just think about how you are going to strain the fruit. The strawberry beer ended up clogging my tap and I was arm deep in my beer cleaning it out.

With this beer I wanted a simple beer that was dominated with Raspberry. If brewing to style you could drop the fruit down to 2lb's. But it was a really big hit as I brewed it.

Thanks for the feedback; I'm in. I'll let you know how it goes. What would you think of using something like this in lieu of the frozen rasberries?

Yep, sorry I forgot to mention you have that stuff in the states. Definitely recommend using that as it will be already prepped for brewing.

I finally cracked a few bottles of this beer over the weekend and IMO it is probably the best batch of gluten free beer I have brewed in the past year of GF brewing. This is the first GF recipe that I would rebrew with no changes, AND that does not rate a "for a gluten free beer" disclaimer after any praise given to it. Below is the final recipe; the only change from the originally posted recipe is the substitution of rasberry puree for frozen rasberries. Thanks to Spaced for the great recipe. I will be brewing a blackberry version in the near future...

3.0lbs Sorghum Syrup @ 60 minutes
6.0oz Maltodextrine @ 60 minutes
0.5oz Hallertau Hops @ 60 minutes
0.5oz Tettnang Hops @ 30 minutes
0.5tsp Yeast nutrient @ 15 minutes
1.0tsp Irish Moss @ 15 minutes
0.5oz Tettnang Hops @ 10 minutes
3.0lbs Sorghum Syrup @ 0 minutes
1 packet Fermentis S-33 Trappist yeast
3lbs 1oz Raspberry puree (Secondary)

Sour fruit seems to go really well with sorghum. Probably why New Planet made a raspberry beer one of their flagship year-round brews! Might have to give this one a go when the weather warms up.

Very glad this recipe worked out for you. It was a big hit with local brewing club and friends but a bit of a pain (and time consuming) to brew.

Wish we had puree in Australia like you do in the US. And canned "brewing fruit" that isn't full of sugar and preservatives.

On a side note, I should be brewing a black ipa based off your recipe in just over a week. Can't wait.

Hi guys -- I'm intrigued by this recipe, enough to want to try it as my first GF brew!

My only question is about the 2nd 3 Lbs of Sorghum Syrup @ 0 minutes of the boil: Does this mean add it to the boil just before removing it to chill, or adding it to the fermenter when pitching the yeast, or something else entirely?

Thanks!

Right before or right after you turn the heat off. Doesn't matter that much. Its at the step called flameout (0 minutes left in the boil).

Nice -- and thanks! "Flameout" is a new term to me, but I've also been out of the hobby for a few years.

Good to be back -- hopefully, my gluten-allergic GF likes this one!

Just found this thread... I just racked my raspberry out of the primary. It tasted really good at this point!

I used 3lbs sorgum and 2 lbs rice, and about 2.5 lbs frozen raspberry. I don't think I'd want more than that. Can't wait for it to be ready.

Just got this batch into the 1st fermenter -- and a few things occurred to me:

1. I didn't see any OG or FG numbers posted (my OG is 1.053)

2. I don't know what to use, or how much, come bottling time -- got any gluten-free tried and true go-tos?

Thanks again~
Mike

I honestly wouldn't worry too much about the OG of a posted extract brew. 1.053 seems perfectly fine to me. Punch everything into hopville (I guess its brewtoad now) and it will most likely come close to that.

Not sure what you are asking with number 2? Do you mean what to use to carb? Any sugar source will work as long as its not barley, rye, wheat, etc based. Plain old table sugar works fine for me. 4-5oz disolved in water per 5 gallon batch. There are plenty of carb calculators out there. I use brewzr on my phone for simple stuff.

Also the OG of fruit beer is a little tricky. You are adding additional sugar when you add the fruit.

Schlappy said:

Just got this batch into the 1st fermenter -- and a few things occurred to me:

1. I didn't see any OG or FG numbers posted (my OG is 1.053)

2. I don't know what to use, or how much, come bottling time -- got any gluten-free tried and true go-tos?

Thanks again~
Mike

Click to expand...

1. No because I'm lazy, close enough is good enough

2. Use a priming calculator and aim for wheat beer level carbonation

The_Fuzz said:

Just found this thread... I just racked my raspberry out of the primary. It tasted really good at this point!

I used 3lbs sorgum and 2 lbs rice, and about 2.5 lbs frozen raspberry. I don't think I'd want more than that. Can't wait for it to be ready.

Click to expand...

Just wanted to report back that this beer turned out wonderfully. I've had non GF drinkers want some, which I always consider a good sign. Great for the sunny summer patio season. If it would just stop raining.

The_Fuzz said:

Just wanted to report back that this beer turned out wonderfully. I've had non GF drinkers want some, which I always consider a good sign. Great for the sunny summer patio season. If it would just stop raining.

Click to expand...

Glad to here it was a success. Can't go past a fruit beer in summer.