Gluten Free Ale - Things looking good so far!

I'm on my 3rd batch using Briess 45D Sorghum Extract and I think I finally hit my stride. It's got a healthy fermenting going and my sample tastes great, kind of like a mild chocolate. My first batch was decent but with some aftertaste problems and my second batch was less than good due to the use of molasses.

The recipe I'm using is:

6lb Briess Sorghum
6oz Lactose
7/8oz of Target Hops@60
3/4oz of Kent Goldings@flameout
1lb Clover Honey@flameout

Nottingham Yeast pitched Dry @70F

O.G. 1.052 Expected F.G. 1.010

External Air Temperature @63F

I'm hoping the the lactose will balance out the metallic taste sorghum tends to leave after fermenting but I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed and wait.

I've got a second batch going at the same time the differences are

4oz of Lactose
3/4oz of Galena@60
1/2oz of Cascade@0
1/2lb of Oats steeped after a very light roast

They're only 3 days apart so I'll have to chance to compare them directly.

Some things I've noticed about using sorghum so far is that the chances of a boil over seem to be so low i almost feel I could go out and have lunch, and the krausen is also very mild. Fermentation picks up almost instantly.

Post up how it turns out!

I am going to rack mine to secondary soon. Last week it was still bubbling after a couple weeks. It didn't look that great, like light brown crap water, but I'm guessing (and hoping) it will clear up. I did a partial mash. I roasted buckwheat pretty dark and amaranth about medium to medium-dark. Roasting them smelled like crap, and partial mashing them smelled like crap too. After the boil it smelled much better, due to the sorghum syrup. I half-assed crushed the grains too. Amaranth is reeaally small. Goes through very fine nylon grain bags. I hope it turns out well. It's for my sister. She said she had a GF beer before but didn't like it. I'll get a picture of mine here in a couple days.

Here is my recipe:
Size: 2.75gal
OG: 1.050
Amount Item Type % or IBU
3.30 lb Briess White Sorghum Syrup (3.0 SRM) Extract 62.26 %
1.00 lb Roasted Amaranth (25.0 SRM) Grain 18.87 %
1.00 lb Roasted Buckwheat (75.0 SRM) Grain 18.87 %
*0.50 oz Ahtanum [4.50 %] (Dry Hop 5 days) Hops -
0.50 oz Warrior [15.40 %] (40 min) Hops 46.8 IBU
0.50 oz Simcoe [11.90 %] (20 min) Hops 24.9 IBU
1 Pkgs SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04) Yeast-Ale

* I didn't end up doing this. If it turns out well, I may try it the next time.

I rehydrated the yeast with a few tablespoons of honey and water. Oh yea, I completely guessed the SRM #'s.

As a friend of mine is mildly allergic to wheat (she will throw up and feel bad for 24 hours) this sounds like a great idea.

Problem is, said friend has the same intolerance to yeast. Through secondary, and maybe even tertiary racking, can all traces of yeast disappear? Or will there always be some?

-WW

I'd also be interested in this - members of my family have Coeliac disease. Good luck with it!

For those interested, there is a GF Brewers group on here with some good info.

HomeBrewTalk Groups - Gluten Free Brewers

WriterWriter said:

As a friend of mine is mildly allergic to wheat (she will throw up and feel bad for 24 hours) this sounds like a great idea.

Problem is, said friend has the same intolerance to yeast. Through secondary, and maybe even tertiary racking, can all traces of yeast disappear? Or will there always be some?

-WW

Click to expand...

You can eliminate almost all yeast that way, but if you really want to get rid of it all, you might consider buying a filter system. Not sure how much they are, but a cheap one is not all that much IIRC.

Also, is it only live yeast that's a problem? Most commercial beers are filtered. Perhaps they could try a sorghum beer from the store and see how it affects them. I've tried one, and although it would not be my first choice for beer, it was not bad for that style. I would be curious to see what a REAL sorghum beer can taste like.

Found this thread which also has info ...

The Northern Brewer Homebrew Forum • View topic - Gluten Free beer (Extract)

The new link to the BYO recipe is...

Brew Your Own: The How-To Homebrew Beer Magazine - Simple Simon (Gluten Free) -

I'll check those out. Thanks.

The other thing that I was also mulling over, was that this friend of mine can drink wine and gin without problems. I'm sure there are other alcoholic products as well, but we haven't gotten around to them.

But surely there must be trace amounts of yeast in wine, no? Gin? So...I'm figuring that a filtration system might be overkill. Not sure.

Just found this:

Top Drop Brewing - Beer Kits

Brewer's Choice Gluten-Free Ale:
Our Gluten-Free Ale is crafted from carefully selected blends of premium sorghum, hops, and yeast. At last - a Beer that Celiacs and others sensitive to wheat can enjoy!
Each kit makes 22 Litres of premium Ale. The Cascade Honey Pale Ale has a Total Bitterness Rating of 22 IBUs, the Oz Pale Ale rates at 18 IBUs.
Give us a ring to discuss just how easy it is for wheat/gluten sensitive people to enjoy a premium Ale! Cascade Honey Pale Ale Oz Pale Ale

WriterWriter said:

I'll check those out. Thanks.

The other thing that I was also mulling over, was that this friend of mine can drink wine and gin without problems. I'm sure there are other alcoholic products as well, but we haven't gotten around to them.

But surely there must be trace amounts of yeast in wine, no? Gin? So...I'm figuring that a filtration system might be overkill. Not sure.

Click to expand...

Many wine makers filter their products too.

How did these turn out?

Sorry for the late reply





They came out pretty good. Very drinkable. A friend commented that it was "really really good". Personally I think 6oz of lactose is too much. It gives a good mouth feel but after having a couple it just tastes too sweet.

Cool! I will have to think about brewing this sometime for my friends that are allergic to gluten. I wonder how long it would last bottled as compared to other beers.

The Recipe looks awesome. I am not to sure if you know that, if a person is Coeliac it can sometimes cause a lactose intolerence, My fiancee has this issue so I have to be extra careful along with making sure that the oats are processed in a facility that does not process other grain
<end> rant

phaz3 said:

The Recipe looks awesome. I am not to sure if you know that, if a person is Coeliac it can sometimes cause a lactose intolerence, My fiancee has this issue so I have to be extra careful along with making sure that the oats are processed in a facility that does not process other grain
<end> rant

Click to expand...

Matlodexrin would be a good sub for the lactose. It won't provide the sweetness that lactose does - but it will provide the moutfeel.

MBruno said:

Matlodexrin would be a good sub for the lactose. It won't provide the sweetness that lactose does - but it will provide the moutfeel.

Click to expand...

Another option to add sweetness is something like this

Stevia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gluten, how did you get your GF brew so clear?

Ill be trying this out soon. Over my bachelor party I found out a buddy of mine just found out he is allergic to gluten. He bought a GF beer from the store, but he ended up staying with whiskey that weekend lol.

Figure now that my wedding beers are all good to go, I will put my Saison and Piyratte ale on hold to make a GF beer for he and I to enjoy.

For future reference, it's probably better to make a new thread and link to the old one than to resurrect 2 pages of an ancient thread