Experienced with gluten problems, confused beer beginner

[DKershner]

After a taste test, I really didn't get anything noticible from the chocolate nibs, which surprised me. I did taste a tiny sample of the chocolate vodka before it went in which tasted pretty good, so I may up the nibs. I didn't notice anything good or bad from the oats, so if I ever understand mashing/partial mashing, I'll try that. If I'm possibly understanding anything, I think it's that alpha amalayse will mostly leave a fuller bodied, sweeter beer from unconvertable sugars, while the elusive beta makes it drier. If that's correct.
I added a full 8 ounce of a medium roast, cold brewed coffee (Which particular variety, I can't recall at the moment). And that flavor came through, but surprisingly, not heavily at all. I was rather concerned about the coffee originally.


I've also noticed that my notes have not been specifying between using Sorghum syrups. I've actually found that I've been mixing up the Sorghum Syrup 45DE High Maltose, and the Sorghum Syrup 60DE that my LHBS has been offering. We think it's just been one of those items that has been there for a while and only a few people are using it. They think I'm pretty much the main person.

From Briess's website, I am having trouble seeing what the difference is. Does it mean that it was done at a higher conversion, and that there is more resulting fermentable sugars which will wind up giving less body?

You have the right idea, but may have it backwards.

45DE is more fermentable, and is mashed lower. 60DE is less fermentable. Most people in LHBS's have the 45DE.

 

[KevinM]

Ok, yup, I did have it backwards thinking that 45hm was somehow less fermentable than 60DE (even if it wasn't clear in the post). Makes sense that most people have 45 since the other is now on special order, which makes me wonder how old the stuff I'm using is. Unfortunately this means that due to my sloppy note taking, I'm not sure which batch used which, guess that means I should start over and brew a bit more to catch up.
Perhaps I'll pick up more of the 60 and work with it on my darker ales, and use the 45s for the lager I was attempting. I know I used a 60 for this last one and it's still noticibly darker than my first accidental lager yeast batch.

In the meantime, I sprouted some oats but failed to sprout some buckwheat (smelly) so I'll try that again with a fresh set to see if I can later toast them for a different type of steepable grain.

 

[KevinM]

Another oat roast, not the sprouted attempt, but just plain Gluten free steel cut. (I needed something for breakfast at work.)

I'm going to try what I did before, based of of the chocolate stout, as well as the recent trials by both Lcasanova and chilort.

I'm not sure how much of the oats to use though and I've only toasted about 1/3 of a pound, minus some losses from trying to transfer from different sheet pans. I'm looking at either a 1 gallon using about half the amount, or a 5 gallon, perhaps toasting the remaining 1/3 pound. (5 gallon mostly because I'll have the S-04 yeast available from a plain IPA.) I expect that if I do a 1 gallon, I wouldn't need all of it.

Beyond that for a 1 pound batch (matches up to a 5 pound batch)
1.4 lbs of sorghum probably 45HM
1/2 ounce of cocoa powder (60) - bitterness
Undecided hops (60) - bitterness aiming for 20IBU, looking at bullion & fuggles but it'll depend on what I can get at the LHBS.
I'm still considering a few ounces of either molasses or buckwheat honey. My very first batch had less than an ounce of unsulphured molasses, but my brother and I found that we could taste the mineral flavor of the molasses. (But then, it could potentially be because of my high carbonate water, or even accidentally using 60DE)
1.5 oz lactose
(still considering 1 oz maltodextrin)
irish moss

1/2 ounce cocoa powder primary (with vodka)
4 oz cocoa nibs secondary (with vodka)
8 oz cold brewed coffee secondary
this time, perhaps I'll remember a bit of vanilla bean in the secondary too.

 

[KevinM]

It finished and well... due to some mistakes didn't turn out too well. I haven't bothered with coffee, lactose or maltodextrin in this one yet. And I used a touch of molasses. The problem was that I added too much liquid winding up with about 7 gallons for what was supposed to be a 5 gallon batch.

I'll try again, but this time top up rather than expecting boiloff and take into account greater amounts of liquid from the partial mash attempt.

There's flavor there, but it's diluted. Chocolate and the roast notes from the oats. (Really smelled kind of burnt despite resting for a few weeks. And I took sniff tests in the room where it was in to smell it slowly reducing.)