2.5 gal Gluten free IPA Recipe Thoughts?

Looking to try a second batch of Gluten free for my wife and need some input.
My first batch turned out like grapefruit juice and I really need this one to turn out better.
Can anyone see pitfalls in this?

Name Type %/IBU
8.0 oz Candi Sugar, Amber (75.0 SRM) Sugar 8.3 %
2 lbs Rice Extract Syrup [Boil for 60 min](7.0 SRM) Extract 33.3 %
0.25 oz Magnum [14.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 22.6 IBUs
2 lbs Sorghum Syrup Extract [Boil for 15 min](3.0 SRM) Extract 33.3 %
1 lbs Rice Extract Syrup [Boil for 15 min](7.0 SRM) Extract 16.7 %
1.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 16.8 IBUs
1.00 oz Saaz [4.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 5.2 IBUs
6.00 oz Malto-Dextrine (Boil 5.0 mins) Other
1.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) [50.28 ml] Yeast
8.0 oz Honey [Boil for 2 min](1.0 SRM) Sugar 8.3 %

I'm no expert but I have used 4oz of malto in 5 gal batches with similar sorghum and rice syrup and Candi syrup ratios. So I'd think adding honey and more malto might make it too sweet.

Maltodextrin is pretty much just food starch. It adds mouthfeel, not sweetness. Honey will actually dry a beer out. Add some roasted grains for complexity.

Those hops are not going to give you an IPA. More like a pale ale. I would spread the hops out over 20 min. Plently at 0 and a hop stand. I would also use a clean bittering hop at 60 and something to dry hop.

Correction. Missed the magnum at 60. I would still recommend a hop stand and dry hops.

I want to stay away from the citrusy hops because of the grapefruit tendencies of sorgum anyway, would you recommend more Magnum or Saaz at flame out and dry hop?

Is it hard to roast your own grain? I'll have to look. And do most people just get those at the grocery store, like Quaker Oats? I have all these other ingredients on hand and don't have a local HomeBrew store.

It's quite easy to roast your grains. If you don't want to malt them, just stick them in the oven. Some people like to soak them a little, first. But I would always encourage people to start malting grains. It's fun to do and you know you have done the beer pretty much completely from scratch.

I say go with a dry hop. Why not? What's the worst that can happen? I have pretty much become addicted to dry hopping recently.

I'd suggest dry hopping with Saaz.

Light roast and steep the grains, this will add a little more complexity and depth to the beer. More of a backbone for the hop bitterness to balance against.

How the heck are you guys getting honey to dry a beer out? If I use over 8 oz in a 3-gallon batch, it's like I might as well be drinking a mead.

To the OP: chinook is pretty citrusy, if you're avoiding citrusy hops I'd say swap it out for something else. It'll overwhelm the saaz, too. I might suggest sorachi ace, it would play well with the saaz. Horizon also comes to mind, for a sweet and spicy--but not fruity--character. Santiam would be interesting, too--I recently tried an IPA that Harvester made as an R&D batch that was all santiam, and it was really interesting, kinda minty and herbal.

Am I reading this right, that you have hops added only at 60 min and 5 min, for a total of around 45 IBU? I would recommend moving those 5-min additions up to 10 minutes, or moving one up to 15, or doubling them if you're hell-bent on only putting in additions that late. Or downgrade the recipe to "pale ale" status, cuz with that hop bill, you're quite a ways off from an IPA (at least by west coast standards).

Also, are you using candi sugar or candi syrup? They are VERY different in flavor.

igliashon said:

How the heck are you guys getting honey to dry a beer out? If I use over 8 oz in a 3-gallon batch, it's like I might as well be drinking a mead.

Click to expand...

Maybe I won't use Honey in this batch as she doesn't really like honey anyway?

igliashon said:

To the OP: chinook is pretty citrusy, if you're avoiding citrusy hops I'd say swap it out for something else. It'll overwhelm the saaz, too.

Click to expand...

I'll probably just use Magnum and Saaz and move those additions up as I have a pound of each waiting to be turned into some juicy goodness. :fro:

igliashon said:

Also, are you using candi sugar or candi syrup? They are VERY different in flavor.

Click to expand...

I was going to make my own candi syrup just for some color. Maybe If I toast my own oats or other other grain I can achieve some color.

Went to an organic food store today and picked up some quinoa, millet, and steel cut oats.

I'm thinking about using the millet and toasting it for an earthy type flavor. As far as how much??? Would a pound be sufficient?

Would you guys recommend using some of the other grains I got or just keep it simple?

After toasting, I just steep them like I would a specialty grain in a regular brew, right?

cank said:

Maybe I won't use Honey in this batch as she doesn't really like honey anyway?

Click to expand...

Oh, I definitely recommend keeping the honey in. I never make an extract-only beer without it! Just don't expect it to dry the beer out, especially if it's raw unfiltered honey.

I'll probably just use Magnum and Saaz and move those additions up as I have a pound of each waiting to be turned into some juicy goodness. :fro:

Click to expand...

If you're just going to use those two, and you have a pound of each, I'd say go wild with the saaz. I'd do an oz of saaz each at 15, 10, and 5 min, then dry-hop with another oz if you're going for something like an IPA. I've heard tales of all-saaz IPAs that sound pretty awesome, I think you'll be pleased.

I was going to make my own candi syrup just for some color. Maybe If I toast my own oats or other other grain I can achieve some color.

Click to expand...

Don't expect a whole lot of color from home-toasted grains. I've roasted grains as dark as they can get in the oven without burning and I rarely get more than maybe 40 SRM out of them. I recently got some professionally-roasted millet from Grouse Malting Co. in Colorado, and the difference is really night and day. They're 200 SRM, easy--1/2 pound gave me about twice the color of the 2 lbs of the white quinoa I roasted myself to black. If you want color, you're better off with the homemade candi syrup. Plus home-roasted grains often develop a harshness or astringency if you take them too dark. And they're really easy to burn if you're not careful. Seriously, once they pass a certain point, if you take your attention from stirring them away for even a few seconds, BAM, ruined.

Also don't expect steeped unmalted grains to work the way steeped specialty barley works. You won't get sugars out of them for one, and there's no point in cracking/milling them for the same reason. You need to be careful NOT to gelatinize them, or else you'll end up with starch in your beer (which is no good). IOW, don't steep any hotter than 150°F. Don't expect a ton of flavor, either. They can help add a bit of dimension, but the contributions are pretty weak overall. Millet, oats, and buckwheat are the ones with the most to contribute in terms of flavor; roasted unmalted millet has a corn-like sweetness, oats give some bready notes, and buckwheat has some nutty and almost cinnamon-spice like flavor (which is reeeeeaaaaaaally subtle unless you use a TON of it).

Dry is a relative term. A dry beer may taste sweet and a higher FG beer may taste dry. Honey attenuates more fully than malt. I find that it gives a smooth, roundiness. Honey is always great to add.

Off topic: How is grouse co? I got ahold of them one time. Super nice. However, I tried placing an order but never got a response. I assume they don't need business that bad. I was going to buy hundreds of pounds if the quality was there.

I am not convinced that honey attenuates more fully than sorghum or rice extract. Perhaps it does if you use a lot of yeast nutrient, but most of my honey beers finish on the higher side if I use more than 10% honey. And not to pick nits, but I was under the impression that the term "dry" referred more to flavor than to specific gravity. "Dry" as I'm used to using it is an antonym for "sweet". To say a dry beer tastes sweet is a contradiction. But maybe that's a misuse of the term on my part.

Grouse seems to be a one-person show right now, but it appears she's in the process of scaling up. I am impressed with their roast malts, not so impressed with the crystal malt, not sure about the pale malt (the beers I've made with their malts are all still fermenting, so ask me again in a month). I did a brew today with all millet malts, a step infusion mash that either got me ~68% efficiency, or else the PPG on their millet is lower than my ballpark of 34. I suspect it's the latter, as proportionally millet's hull contributes more weight than that of barley or buckwheat. In any case, the sense I get from their proprietor is that a) she brews with her own malts and knows them inside and out, but b) the interest has been overwhelming and scaling up is difficult. It was definitely a long waiting period before she finally got back to me to take my order, but once she did, she shipped out promptly. I appreciate the fact that her malts are organic, but they are pricier than CMC. I think that in a few months, once the process is dialed in and the new facilities are up and running, she'll have a great business going.

I've got some samples coming from Colorado Malting Company, too; they're just rolling out some GF roast and crystal malts, which is exciting, because they're great to work with. Word is their new secondary malt barn is going to be dedicated gluten-free. Unfortunately I won't have time to take their malts for a test run until fall, as August and September are going to be very busy months for me. But I encourage everyone else to hit them up. The fact that we GF brewers can order specialty malts now is a tremendous boon, it's high time we all left the sorghum extract behind and got on board with figuring out this all-grain business.

I have a recipe under my brew toad for a simple IPA that was a Huge hit for a good friends wedding. Used BRY-97, which is my favorite yeast right now. Had great body, flavor and head, but wish I could bring out more aroma. Wedding started with two ponies, both emptied that night with tons of non GF to spare.

Have you tried keg hopping. I've found it makes for great aroma and flavour.

Spaced- its in the plans, but the kegs were borrowed from a friend. I don't actually have the capability yet, but hopefully soon.

Cainepolo12 said:

Spaced- its in the plans, but the kegs were borrowed from a friend. I don't actually have the capability yet, but hopefully soon.

Click to expand...

You'll be happy when you move to kegging. Easily the second best upgrade after temperature control. You can dry hop in primary if you want. I recommend the panty hose method to reduce the risk of gushers.

So I've toasted 1lb of millet, now do I just need to steep it at 150 for 1/2 hour or an hour? Or do I need to crush or grind it before I steep it? I have a rolling pin and a coffee grinder if I have to go that route.

If it's not malted, you don't need to crush it. You want to do your best to PREVENT any starch getting into the wort, which means keep the grains whole, and don't steep too hot or too long. 30 minutes at 150 should do it, feel free to go longer if you want, but no more than an hour. Though FWIW 1 lb of millet won't give you very much. Back when I was just steeping unmalted grains without using enzymes, I'd use between 2 and 4 pounds in a 3-gallon batch. And I can't say I got much out of even that, except a bit of color and a very mild flavor.

Oops. I rolled a rolling pin over the bag and cracked them a little
After I steeped them in a gal of 150 deg water for 30 min. It smelled good and had a light pale color

After all was said and done I think I'll be happy, well my wife should be happy, with how this turned out because the wort does not taste like grapefruit juice!!!

I'll post pics and updates as things turn out.

You will be fine. Extra starch won't ruin your beer. Keep this updated. Thumbs up so far!

Noob question. Does a 2.5 gal batch finish sooner than a 5 gal batch. I pitched a whole pack of US 05 and my OG was 1.08.

No, batch size has no effect on fermentation speed (or if it does, it's negligible). Pitch rate might have some effect...but I do 3-gallon batches, and pitch a full pack of yeast, and generally hit FG in 5-7 days tops.