HerbieHowells
Well-Known Member
I just listened to the Sunday Sessions gluten free brewing show, which aired this weekend. Nice timing, as I am going to brew my first gluten free beer the next time I have a free Saturday.
Some of what I gleaned:
1. People seem to be using a lot more honey to balance out the sorghum than I expected. Sam Calagione reported that Dogfish Head's Tweasonale gets just over 50% of its fermentables from sorghum; the rest is from the buckwheat honey and the strawberry juice. The one gluten free recipe given in the show called for 6 lbs of sorghum and 5 lbs of honey.
2. They seemed to find that less is more when balancing hops to sorghum. I was under the impression that hops could be used to cover sorghum bite. As it turns out, most of the brewers they interviewed suggested that you want your IBUs to be low, and might even consider only late hop additions. Tweason'ale, if I remember correctly, comes in at about 15 IBU.
3. One brewer suggested staying away from noble hops, because the spice you can get from those hops tends to not go with the sorghum. Any comments on that one? They also suggested being careful with strains of yeast that will leave spicy esters behind.
4. Lots of talk about testing and gluten reduced beers. I get the impression that this is going to be a risky proposition for some time. The tests mean something, but no matter what the numbers say, all that matters to the celiacs in your life is if they are going to be able to leave the bathroom the day after drinking your beer.
5. And good news for people who need gluten free beer, demand is high, so we can expect more craft brewers trying their hand at a gluten free brew.
Any other comments on the content of the show, or comments on what I have written?
Some of what I gleaned:
1. People seem to be using a lot more honey to balance out the sorghum than I expected. Sam Calagione reported that Dogfish Head's Tweasonale gets just over 50% of its fermentables from sorghum; the rest is from the buckwheat honey and the strawberry juice. The one gluten free recipe given in the show called for 6 lbs of sorghum and 5 lbs of honey.
2. They seemed to find that less is more when balancing hops to sorghum. I was under the impression that hops could be used to cover sorghum bite. As it turns out, most of the brewers they interviewed suggested that you want your IBUs to be low, and might even consider only late hop additions. Tweason'ale, if I remember correctly, comes in at about 15 IBU.
3. One brewer suggested staying away from noble hops, because the spice you can get from those hops tends to not go with the sorghum. Any comments on that one? They also suggested being careful with strains of yeast that will leave spicy esters behind.
4. Lots of talk about testing and gluten reduced beers. I get the impression that this is going to be a risky proposition for some time. The tests mean something, but no matter what the numbers say, all that matters to the celiacs in your life is if they are going to be able to leave the bathroom the day after drinking your beer.
5. And good news for people who need gluten free beer, demand is high, so we can expect more craft brewers trying their hand at a gluten free brew.
Any other comments on the content of the show, or comments on what I have written?