My First GF Brewing Attempt

I was just winging it, I forgot to bring a recipe with me to the LHBS which isn't so local, its an hour away. So I just kinda threw this together. I figured I would start small and if it goes well I will ramp it up.

Batch size= 1 gallon

1.5 # sorghum LME? extract? whatever you want to call it.
.5 # honey
.5 package of Danstar windsor yeast
.25 oz Mt. Hood Hops
.5 oz dried sweet orange peel

OG= 1.071
FG= ???

Let me know what you think,

What should I change next time?
How long should I ferment?
How long should I carb/condition?



Wish me luck. It's already fermenting quite rapidly. It smells great. Hopefully soon my girlfriend will be able to enjoy good brew too.

mmmmmbeeeeer said:

I was just winging it, I forgot to bring a recipe with me to the LHBS which isn't so local, its an hour away. So I just kinda threw this together. I figured I would start small and if it goes well I will ramp it up.

Batch size= 1 gallon

1.5 # sorghum LME? extract? whatever you want to call it.
.5 # honey
.5 package of Danstar windsor yeast
.25 oz Mt. Hood Hops
.5 oz dried sweet orange peel

OG= 1.071
FG= ???

Let me know what you think,

What should I change next time?
How long should I ferment?
How long should I carb/condition?



Wish me luck. It's already fermenting quite rapidly. It smells great. Hopefully soon my girlfriend will be able to enjoy good brew too.

Click to expand...

Recipe looks good. Should ferment very fast with that much yeast.

Be sure to update us as it progresses

Brown rice syrup works great too. I found going the hoppy, citrusy route works well for gluten free.

I'm in the same boat man! Just brewed my first gluten free batch Friday night. I have no idea how it will turn out. I went with 6lbs brown rice syrup, steeped some toasted buckwheat, had 1oz willamette at 60, 1oz mt hood at 15. Also decided to add about a cup of brown sugar at close to flame out. Used safale s-04. No clue how this is going to taste. Totally winged it! I guess that's the fun of homebrew!

mmmmmbeeeeer said:

I was just winging it, I forgot to bring a recipe with me to the LHBS which isn't so local, its an hour away. So I just kinda threw this together. I figured I would start small and if it goes well I will ramp it up.

Batch size= 1 gallon

1.5 # sorghum LME? extract? whatever you want to call it.
.5 # honey
.5 package of Danstar windsor yeast
.25 oz Mt. Hood Hops
.5 oz dried sweet orange peel

OG= 1.071
FG= ???

Let me know what you think,

What should I change next time?
How long should I ferment?
How long should I carb/condition?

Wish me luck. It's already fermenting quite rapidly. It smells great. Hopefully soon my girlfriend will be able to enjoy good brew too.

Click to expand...

Looks pretty good! If there's one thing I've learned in my (admittedly short and limited) experience brewing gluten-free, it's that patience is the most important ingredient. Let it ferment as long as you can stand it, then a week longer. Ditto bottle conditioning. The longer you can wait, the better the finished product will be. I thought my first batch was utter rubbish, until I gave it an extra week or two in the bottle and discovered it was ambrosia!

For future brews, I'd suggest adding plenty of adjunct grains, and maybe doing 50/50 sorghum/brown rice syrup. Sorghum on its own makes for a weak-bodied beer with a distinct "sorghum tang" (ever tried a Redbridge?). I used some toasted quinoa and dark-roasted gluten-free oats in my first batch and it was much better than anything I've had off the shelf. Word on the street is millet and buckwheat are also good, but I haven't tried them yet. Also, be gentle with the honey--I've used 1 lb. of it in each of my first three brews (3 gallon batches) and it was too much, leading to a very strong mead-like flavor. Mind you, it's not a bad taste at all--still better than just about anything off the shelf--just not like "proper" beer.

cool guys, all good advice. I cant wait to make the next one as soon as the first one is out. Brew-On!