So brewed up a batch of Gluten-Free Pale Ale for my celiac cousin the other day... and it seems to be going so-so so far. Brewday was a bit of a pain in the ass though. Final Recipe ended up as below. No problems with sparge or runoff, Oat Malt had plenty of husks and I added a few handfulls of rice hulls to help things along. OG actually came out around where I expected it, but the wort was definitely a bit starchy, never really clarified like it should've.
After about an hour and a half with no noticeable conversion (as per iodine test), I ran out and grabbed some Beano (LHBS was out of amylase). Added 10 tablets, waited another hour, still no results, added another 5 tablets, waited an hour, still no visible conversion, added another 5 tablets, still no visible conversion but gave up and mashed out at this point.
Got a decent hot break during the boil (after adding whirlfloc), and it definitely clogged up my counterflow chiller a bit, so guessing I got a good bit of cold break. Despite the break, wort still appeared a bit starchy/hazy. OG sample tasted fairly sweet as normal wort would, though with a slightly starchy background. Added 1 tube of Clarex/Clarity-Ferm at pitching.
Now that it's been fermenting away (With Wyeast London Ale III) for a few days, it definitely looks like it's fermenting down. Looks like a normal amount of trub and yeast performance, though I put this one in a bucket, so don't have a great indication of actual beer clarity as of yet.
Things I'd do differently: Ensure I've got more than 1tsp of amylase enzyme on hand. Ensure SWMBO doesn't have plans for us in the early evening. Buy pre-roasted buckwheat (which apparently is only $.30/lb more though I thought I could do it better).
For clarification on the grist: Bought raw Buckwheat groats and toasted at 180F until I overcame the starchy/tangy flavor of the raw groats and started to get some nutty/buttery notes. Took about 8 hours, though it wasn't a continuous process, and I had other things in the oven at the same time (more raw groats, some oats, some wet malt).
Recipe
(sorry for the formatting, for whatever reason BrewAlchemy wont export properly right now)
Fermentables
Ingredient Amount % MCU When
UK Oat Malt 10lb 10oz 75.9 % 3.5 In Mash/Steeped
US Rolled Oats (Gluten Free) 2lb 0oz 14.3 % 0.0 In Mash/Steeped
US Buckwheat (raw) - Medium toast 14.00 oz 6.2 % 5.8 In Mash/Steeped
US Rolled Oats (Toasted) 8.00 oz 3.6 % 3.3 In Mash/Steeped
Hops
Variety Alpha Amount IBU Form When
NZ Super Alpha 11.0 % 1.00 oz 35.5 Loose Pellet Hops First Wort Hopped
US Centennial 10.4 % 1.00 oz 16.6 Loose Pellet Hops 15 Min From End
US Cascade 4.9 % 1.00 oz 7.8 Loose Pellet Hops 15 Min From End
US Centennial 10.4 % 1.00 oz 6.7 Loose Pellet Hops 5 Min From End
US Cascade 4.9 % 1.00 oz 3.2 Loose Pellet Hops 5 Min From End
US Centennial 10.4 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops At turn off
US Cascade 4.9 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops At turn off
US Amarillo 5.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops In Fermenter
US Simcoe 13.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops In Fermenter
Australian Topaz 15.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops In Fermenter
US Simcoe 13.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops Dry-Hopped
Australian Topaz 15.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops Dry-Hopped
Doughed in with 3.5g at 170F, ended up around 142F for 15 min, added appx 2g to bump the overall temp up around 152F, let sit for the duration of the mash (with various additions of Beano as per above notes). Sparged out with 3.5g at 170F (overall 9g of water used in mash/sparge). Ended up with around 7.5g of wort pre-boil. 5.5g post-boil, with about 1g lost to break and hops in the kettle, ended up with just over 4.5g in the fermenter.
Shot for 13.8P OG, ended up closer to 11.4P (by hydrometer reading), though not sure how the weight of starch v. sugar affects my results.
Last notes: LHBS was out of Amarillo, suggested AU Topaz as a decent sub, we'll see how it goes
After about an hour and a half with no noticeable conversion (as per iodine test), I ran out and grabbed some Beano (LHBS was out of amylase). Added 10 tablets, waited another hour, still no results, added another 5 tablets, waited an hour, still no visible conversion, added another 5 tablets, still no visible conversion but gave up and mashed out at this point.
Got a decent hot break during the boil (after adding whirlfloc), and it definitely clogged up my counterflow chiller a bit, so guessing I got a good bit of cold break. Despite the break, wort still appeared a bit starchy/hazy. OG sample tasted fairly sweet as normal wort would, though with a slightly starchy background. Added 1 tube of Clarex/Clarity-Ferm at pitching.
Now that it's been fermenting away (With Wyeast London Ale III) for a few days, it definitely looks like it's fermenting down. Looks like a normal amount of trub and yeast performance, though I put this one in a bucket, so don't have a great indication of actual beer clarity as of yet.
Things I'd do differently: Ensure I've got more than 1tsp of amylase enzyme on hand. Ensure SWMBO doesn't have plans for us in the early evening. Buy pre-roasted buckwheat (which apparently is only $.30/lb more though I thought I could do it better).
For clarification on the grist: Bought raw Buckwheat groats and toasted at 180F until I overcame the starchy/tangy flavor of the raw groats and started to get some nutty/buttery notes. Took about 8 hours, though it wasn't a continuous process, and I had other things in the oven at the same time (more raw groats, some oats, some wet malt).
Recipe
(sorry for the formatting, for whatever reason BrewAlchemy wont export properly right now)
Fermentables
Ingredient Amount % MCU When
UK Oat Malt 10lb 10oz 75.9 % 3.5 In Mash/Steeped
US Rolled Oats (Gluten Free) 2lb 0oz 14.3 % 0.0 In Mash/Steeped
US Buckwheat (raw) - Medium toast 14.00 oz 6.2 % 5.8 In Mash/Steeped
US Rolled Oats (Toasted) 8.00 oz 3.6 % 3.3 In Mash/Steeped
Hops
Variety Alpha Amount IBU Form When
NZ Super Alpha 11.0 % 1.00 oz 35.5 Loose Pellet Hops First Wort Hopped
US Centennial 10.4 % 1.00 oz 16.6 Loose Pellet Hops 15 Min From End
US Cascade 4.9 % 1.00 oz 7.8 Loose Pellet Hops 15 Min From End
US Centennial 10.4 % 1.00 oz 6.7 Loose Pellet Hops 5 Min From End
US Cascade 4.9 % 1.00 oz 3.2 Loose Pellet Hops 5 Min From End
US Centennial 10.4 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops At turn off
US Cascade 4.9 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops At turn off
US Amarillo 5.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops In Fermenter
US Simcoe 13.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops In Fermenter
Australian Topaz 15.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops In Fermenter
US Simcoe 13.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops Dry-Hopped
Australian Topaz 15.0 % 1.00 oz 0.0 Loose Pellet Hops Dry-Hopped
Doughed in with 3.5g at 170F, ended up around 142F for 15 min, added appx 2g to bump the overall temp up around 152F, let sit for the duration of the mash (with various additions of Beano as per above notes). Sparged out with 3.5g at 170F (overall 9g of water used in mash/sparge). Ended up with around 7.5g of wort pre-boil. 5.5g post-boil, with about 1g lost to break and hops in the kettle, ended up with just over 4.5g in the fermenter.
Shot for 13.8P OG, ended up closer to 11.4P (by hydrometer reading), though not sure how the weight of starch v. sugar affects my results.
Last notes: LHBS was out of Amarillo, suggested AU Topaz as a decent sub, we'll see how it goes