Belgian Graff (Gluten Free)

Well, I brewed this up today. I kind of made the recipe up spur of the moment so I hope it turns out okay.

3 1/2 gallons of apple juice poured in the primary bucket

30 minute boil
At 30 add 1lb 5oz brown rice syrup
At 30 add 1oz Saaz
At 10 add .5oz Saaz
At 5 add .5oz Cascade
At 5 add 3 teaspoons coriander and peel of 1 orange
1lb of Candi Syrup (Golden) at flame out

Pour into the apple juice

When cool pitch S-33

After 2 weeks transfer to secondary and dry hop 1oz centennial

I like this!

I have been toying with the idea of adding more hops to Graff after having hopped mead.

Let us know how it turns out!

Just thought you should know--S-33 isn't actually a Belgian yeast, it's a British yeast (the old Edme strain, to be exact), and gives a nice bready flavor with very little in the way of esters. I really wish Fermentis would stop calling it Belgian, because it doesn't give a flavor or aroma profile even remotely similar to a Belgian-style beer. I usually use S-33 if I'm trying to bring out the grain flavor of what I'm brewing. WB-06 and T-58 are what you want for some of that spicy/fruity Belgian yeast character. WB-06, in my experience, is more fruity/banana/clove, like a Hoegaarden, whereas T-58 is more spicy/peppery/phenolic; T-58 seems a little harder to work with, though, as twice when I've used it the phenols have gotten waaaaay out of hand. Once, though, it made a fantastic beer. I plan to try it again closer to summer in a low-gravity saison.

Nevertheless, I think there's enough spicy/fruity stuff going on in your recipe that your end result will probably be quite satisfying. Keep us posted!

Igliashon, while that is helpful information...it is also a huge bummer!

Eh, don't worry about it--it may not turn out like you were expecting/hoping, but that doesn't mean it won't be delicious! So many of my beers didn't turn out like I imagine, but I've learned to like or love most of them for the unique individuals they are. Brewing is kind of like being a parent in that way....

I know in the original Brandon-O thread on Graff that his intent was to utilize DME to add a certain amount of non fermentables and reduce the dryness of Ed's original Apfelwine. My understanding is that brown rice syrup is fully fermentable (although lacks nutrients). Are you planning on backsweetening?

Additionally, the biggest challenge trying to pull over the original graff recipe into GF is replicating the use of 60L or 120L to reduce the "hoochyness" of the brew. Are you trying to get their with the Candi Syrup?

Sorry for the pointed questions but I really want to make a good gluten free graff.

No, your questions are fine. Let me just restate, I literally just threw this together. I didn't think much about the fermentables (brown rice syrup)...

Initially I made a cider and dry-hopped it with cascades. I really like that cider. Then I read a thread about making a cider with Belgian yeast and adding orange peels and coriander and I thought that sounded good. I thought I'd make it more "Belgian" by using candi syrup instead of table sugar (what I usually use with my ciders)...then the day I went to make it I found some saaz hops and cascade hops that needed used up, and thought what the heck and threw in the rice syrup. I called it "Belgian Graff" because I was somewhat familiar with graff through the GF forum. I haven't ever actually tasted Graff, however, and I haven't studied the Brandon O recipe so that's all I got. I hope that helps!

Thanks. Please let us know how it turns out.

I racked this, this past Friday and had a sample. Not sure what to think. I've never had Graff before so I don't know what to expect, and then I realize this probably doesn't entirely qualify as Graff. The saaz and cascades don't come through at all, actually the only thing that comes through is the coriander. I used the same amount of coriander in a Blue Moon clone last summer and the coriander was just barely there, so I'm concerned with time it may become even more pronounced. From what I've read centennial is supposed to be over-powering so hopefully the 1 oz I have in there now will help balance the coriander. It was also very thin.
But, we'll see how it is when I bottle it. From what I've encountered time fixes nearly all beers (and graffs?).