A little picture for you to enjoy...

[dorklord]

I just opened the second to the last bottle of my first batch of GF beer. I had the perfect pour, and it looked so good I just had to take a picture and post it.

So, it looks like beer. It has bubbles in it, and it has nice head. :rockin:

 

[Lcasanova]

Nice work, did the head stick around? Mine usually dissapates quickly, but every once in a while, I get one that just stays right there and looks oh so nice.

 

[dorklord]

Yes, it was still there by the time I had gone and got the camera, took the picture, taken the card out and stuck it in the computer, posted the pic, and then got my supper.

 

[Layne]

Nice. Thanks, now I'm thirsty

 

[Rob_T]

Looks great! Feel free to send some my way....

 

[dorklord]

Wow, looking at that picture today is making me thirsty!

And I noticed that little microwave cart isn't level.

Man it is going to be real hard to make my last bomber of this stuff last...

 

[Whut]

Nothing like some head with your beer porn.

 

[android]

looks really nice. i haven't really had the need to investigate GF brewing, but i'm curious to see what you brewed to come up with this nice looking beer. do you have a recipe or link to it or something?

 

[dorklord]

looks really nice. i haven't really had the need to investigate GF brewing, but i'm curious to see what you brewed to come up with this nice looking beer. do you have a recipe or link to it or something?

I actually made a bunch of mistakes when I was making it (incorrectly reading my measurements, etc), and I ended up with close to 7 gallons of wort when I pitched...so this one is going to go down as 'unique'.

But anyway 6 lbs of sorghum extract, 1 lb of rice syrup solids, and 12 oz of sugar, and 2 oz maltodextrin.
there was 2 oz of Strisselspalt at 60 min,
1 oz coriander (10 minutes) and 1 oz of fresh orange peel (1 min)

When I bottled, I used sorghum again (12 oz) and 6 more oz of maltodextrin because the beer seemed quite watery.

The beer was still I little off, probably because the hops and spices were aimed at 5 gallons, and I ended up with a lot more fermentables to try and make it less watery. If I had cut out some of the sorghum in the beginning, and done the intended 5 gallons, I think it would have been even better!

 

[BBBF]

Nice work, did the head stick around? Mine usually dissapates quickly, but every once in a while, I get one that just stays right there and looks oh so nice.

Lately, I've been getting better head from the gluten free beer. Although, those have been from a bottle and the regular beer is out of a keg. I kegged my first GF last night, I'll have to see how that does.

 

[patd]

6 lbs of sorghum extract, 1 lb of rice syrup solids, and 12 oz of sugar, and 2 oz maltodextrin.
there was 2 oz of Strisselspalt at 60 min,
1 oz coriander (10 minutes) and 1 oz of fresh orange peel (1 min)

When I bottled, I used sorghum again (12 oz) and 6 more oz of maltodextrin because the beer seemed quite watery.

A couple questions for ya...
Is that the recipe for 5g?
What kind of sugar in the boil?
Would you have bottled with corn sugar if it wasn't 7g and looking thin?
I'm looking to do a first GF beer, and all those ingredients I can get locally so I might give this one a try this weekend

 

[dorklord]

A couple questions for ya...
Is that the recipe for 5g?
What kind of sugar in the boil?
Would you have bottled with corn sugar if it wasn't 7g and looking thin?
I'm looking to do a first GF beer, and all those ingredients I can get locally so I might give this one a try this weekend

The recipe is what I actually used. I would have used the corn sugar at bottling if it hadn't been so thin.

And the sorghum extract I used was Breiss (I got it from Northern Brewer, but it is available through other suppliers) not to be confused with sorghum molasses!

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I really need to see what forum these are in before I click. SO NOT what I was expecting.

 

[patd]

The recipe is what I actually used. I would have used the corn sugar at bottling if it hadn't been so thin.

And the sorghum extract I used was Breiss (I got it from Northern Brewer, but it is available through other suppliers) not to be confused with sorghum molasses!

The homebrew store near me had sorghum extract last time I was there, but I'll double check that its not molasses. Did you use corn or candy sugar in the boil?

 

[dorklord]

From a home brew supply, it is most likely breiss. "Sorghum extract" or "white sorghum extract" sort of stuff sounds good.

And when I boiled, I actually just used cane sugar.

However, I think if you do the math on this, you come out with a pretty high OG for a 'wit' type beer, which is part of why my 7 gallon mistake came out OK.

 

[stefan1011]

Dorklord- I brewed your recipe a few months back. I let it bottle condition for a little over 3 weeks. I tasted it tonight and it is excellent!!! The only susbtitution was that I used 12 oz. of honey for the boil instead of 12 oz. cane sugar. I used dextrose to bottle prime. The beer was crystal clear in the bottle @ 3 weeks.

The beer had a nice clean finish. I really liked the hops in this one. Definitely will brew this again.

Thanks for sharing the recipe.

 

[andrewdell19]

I dont bottle carb anymore as i have a keg system, but are you guys using roasting grains seeping them in the water a while before the boil? More protein equals better head retention. I find if you roast a pound+ in the stove to whatever darkness you like and seep it in the water for an hour before the boil, you will get better head retention PLUS it takes away some of the taste of the sorghum. Seep even more and the less it tastes like sorghum.

Buckwheat, Quinoa, Millet, GF Oats are all very good to use.

 

[Lcasanova]

Are there any problems with steeping the grains for an hour? I've never tried it but it doesn't sound like a bad idea at all. Might get more color too...?

 

[andrewdell19]

You know, I havent had any specific problem seeping the grains for that long. I actually find that like tea, the water just has a stronger taste which I find helps cover up that sorghum. I have tried different grains (buckwheat, GF oats, millet, and quinoa) at dif temps, roasted for dif amounts of time, and then seeped them in water for various amounts of time and took notes. So I have a basic outline of what something will taste like. Of course sorghum is so overpowering that you almost want a really strong "tea" before you boil.

And yes you def get more color. But again the sorghum malt really makes the color lighter. I have had some "teas" almost black but that sorghum (and rice malt extracts) make the boil lighter. I really have to start mashing my own grains as I have 20+ lbs of buckwheat my father in law gave me who is a huge brewer! I am starting to clean out the garage to get an area!

 

[fermentedhiker]

Are there any problems with steeping the grains for an hour? I've never tried it but it doesn't sound like a bad idea at all. Might get more color too...?

Since a mash can run for 45-1hr and beyond I can't see why steeping them would cause a problem. In fact if I was going to bother to steep them that long I'd probably at least make an attempt at a basic infusion mash with alpha amylase to get even more out if it.

 

[andrewdell19]

Since a mash can run for 45-1hr and beyond I can't see why steeping them would cause a problem. In fact if I was going to bother to steep them that long I'd probably at least make an attempt at a basic infusion mash with alpha amylase to get even more out if it.

Can you explain "basic mash infusion with alpha amylase"... I am relatively new to brewing (about 15 GF beers). Sorry if that is a dumb question.

 

[Lcasanova]

Since a mash can run for 45-1hr and beyond I can't see why steeping them would cause a problem. In fact if I was going to bother to steep them that long I'd probably at least make an attempt at a basic infusion mash with alpha amylase to get even more out if it.

DUH good point

 

[fermentedhiker]

Can you explain "basic mash infusion with alpha amylase"... I am relatively new to brewing (about 15 GF beers). Sorry if that is a dumb question.

Not a dumb question at all. I'm fairly new to brewing beer myself. Been mucking about with wine/cider etc... for years but only recently got the malt bug. So I'm sure someone will give a better explanation than I, but here goes;
Here's a link that might explain it
http://www.beersmith.com/blog/2008/03/05/all-grain-beer-brewing-with-an-infusion-mash-setup/

Adding a measured amount of heated to a target temp(called an infusion) and add to your milled grains. This will bring the mash up to a certain temp. This will allow the enzymes in the malt to break down the starches into sugars which the yeast can consume. Since you are dealing with GF grains they may or may not have sufficient diastatic power(which is the case if you didn't malt the GF grains or even if you malted them if you roasted them at high temps) you can add alpha amylase(an enzyme) to do the converting in place of what you would have had if you were using a traditional base malt.

My reason for suggesting it is that if you are steeping your crushed GF grains for an hour you are already doing 90% of the work of a mini mash anyways, so you might as well do the rest of it and get a little bit more out of your grains.

 

[fermentedhiker]

Actually here's a really good write up on how to do it on your stove top.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-partial-mash-brewing-pics-75231/

 

[andrewdell19]

cool thanks man! Will try that out this coming brew! I try and brew once every two weeks.

 

[andrewdell19]

Well I just got done with the 60 minute mash infusion and unfortunately the mash doesnt taste sweet. I must have done something wrong. 1 gallon of water, 2 lbs of buckwheat, 1/4 tsp of amylase enzyme. I guess we will see once I take the starting gravity after the boil.

Updated: Upon second tasting the mash does have a sweetish taste to it. And when i dripped a little on the stove it crystalized which means there is some sugar in it! Starting gravity is about 1.065 so that is a good sign.

 

[DKershner]

Well I just got done with the 60 minute mash infusion and unfortunately the mash doesnt taste sweet. I must have done something wrong. 1 gallon of water, 2 lbs of buckwheat, 1/4 tsp of amylase enzyme. I guess we will see once I take the starting gravity after the boil.

Updated: Upon second tasting the mash does have a sweetish taste to it. And when i dripped a little on the stove it crystalized which means there is some sugar in it! Starting gravity is about 1.065 so that is a good sign.

What did you add to get to 1.065?