Gluten Free Double Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

[ChasidicCalvinist]

Would adding dark brown sugar instead of molasses help with the bitterness?

The 1lb of Dark candi goes in after fermentation has started--so in the primary, correct? how long after fermentation do you add it or does that not matter?

 

[Riddei]

I simplified this recipe to a 3-2-1
3.3# sorghum
2# dark sugar
1# Molasses
Fuggle hops
and I dropped 6oz of unsweetened cocoa the last 5 mins of the boil.
I have some Great decaf hazelnut coffee that my wife loves and I am going to cold steep some of that at add it at bottling unless I am told of a better way to get the coffee flavor in. I tok a grav reading at tasted it, and right now it tastes like like chocolate grapefruit. It looks like chocolate milk and smells wonderful.

 

[ICWiener]

Brewed this up several weeks ago. Did a tasting at two weeks, so far it's fairly undrinkable. Very astringent, probably mostly from the molasses. Going to let it sit for another month and try it again.

 

[DanMalleck]

I've been brewing a few gluten free beers, with the most success from Wicked Messenger Wit (thanks!). Looking at this one and thinking about the sorghum bitterness, since adding more fermentables will just cause more fermentation, even if you get some flavour out of them, I imagine that adding some lactose would smooth that out a bit. Non fermentable and sweet. It would become a milk stout, but what the heck?!

BTW, I wonder about the comments re: losing head retention from oils in cocoa. From my experience, head retention is simply not a feature of GF beers, so would this really matter? I'd love to know from people who have managed to get a decent and somewhat lasting head (or at least some lacing) what they did.

 

[mr_y82]

good point about head rentention...

Brewed this up several weeks ago. Did a tasting at two weeks, so far it's fairly undrinkable. Very astringent, probably mostly from the molasses. Going to let it sit for another month and try it again.

Before I researched the forums I did an experimental gluten free beer for my wife... It was mostly honey and molasses.. it has gotten "better" with time... but astringent (and bitter as hell) is a good description... I only made a gallon since it was strictly experimental; after a year in the bottle it's almost tolerable... whereas even I could not drink it after only a few months (and I'll drink about anything!)... So don't give up on it, just age it like a fine wine if you have to.

 

[PariahDawg]

I just finished the last of these. really enjoyed it! the Hersheys chocolate worked fine. a little bit of nasty looking fat like stuff on the krausen but I was easily able to rack it without that stuff getting in. I also did a 50/50 split on the sorghum/brs which was the first time I did that and I liked it. Head was awesome, thick creamy head I think from malto dextrin which I use in every beer. I also did the dark candi sugar directly into the boil rather than in the secondary. I just didnt trust that going well. I got a good postive response from a lot of people who arent GF so that was nice. I'll do this again for sure. next up my pale ale!

 

[mr_y82]

Hell yeah man... Thanks for the info. Looking forward to trying this out when use up all the malt and such I have now.

 

[brewski09]

Before I researched the forums I did an experimental gluten free beer for my wife... It was mostly honey and molasses.. it has gotten "better" with time... but astringent (and bitter as hell) is a good description... I only made a gallon since it was strictly experimental; after a year in the bottle it's almost tolerable... whereas even I could not drink it after only a few months (and I'll drink about anything!)... So don't give up on it, just age it like a fine wine if you have to.

You seem to have made a mead more than a beer to me. If that is the case, it would take 1-2 years to become something drinkable in my limited mead making experience...

 

[mr_y82]

yeah, I think you're right; I have two batches of mead in the works too... I can't remember if it was a 50/50 mix of molasses and honey... could look it up, but it's not really worth it, lol... too much molasses in any case... but I will keep aging it and keep drinking it along the way until the gallon's gone.

I'll stick to topic now!

 

[gailenjensen]

Ingredients:
------------

Grains:
1 lb 8 oz Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats, roasted (1 SRM)
12 oz Wild Rice, roasted (350 SRM)
8 oz Millet, roasted (20 SRM)

4 lbs Brown Rice Syrup (60 min)
1 lb 4 oz Dark Candi Sugar (60 min)
1 lb Molasses (60 min)
3 lbs Sorghum Syrup (15 min)

.75 oz Chinook, pellet 11.4% (60 min)
.25 oz Chinook, pellet 11.4% (30 min)
.50 oz Fuggles, pellet 4.8% (15 min)

1 tsp Irish Moss (10 min)
1 tsp Yeast Nutrient (10 min)
9 oz Fat Free Cocoa Powder (10 min)
8 oz Maltodextrin (5 min)

2-3 Vanilla Beans, split, chopped (Secondary, 7 days)

I roasted the oats for 1 hour at 350-F; the wild rice for 1 hour at 400-F, it has a chocolate color to it once roasted- no longer black and shiny; millet starting at 225 with a 25 degree increase every 30 minutes until it was the color I wanted

Carbed with 3.8 oz of corn sugar

**Adapted from CheshreCat's recipe here**

If I were to make this again, which I will in the fall, I will probably cut back to about 6 oz on the cocoa powder and maybe cut the oats back to 1 lb.

The beer took a while to carb and it is finally coming to it's stride. Some of my friends really like it and for some it is wayyy too bitter chocolaty.

Did you soak the oats before roasting and if so for how long? If you posted that info already, I didn't get that far yet.

 

[Lcasanova]

Did you soak the oats before roasting and if so for how long? If you posted that info already, I didn't get that far yet.

No, I just roasted them.

 

[brewski09]

Did you soak the oats before roasting and if so for how long? If you posted that info already, I didn't get that far yet.

Soaking the oats would be contrary to the goal of roasting. You wouldn't develop the nutty taste the toasted oats (or other grains for that matter) would give you.

Recipe looks good. Might have to try this one soon.

 

[tbskinner]

I cooked up a batch of this beer last Sunday and I just now realized that I forgot the yeast nutrients. It is bubbling however not as intense as I thought it would be, maybe 2-3 bubbles a minute. Is it going to be ok? Should I add the yeast nutrients now?

Thanks for any help
T

 

[PariahDawg]

I roasted and it came out fantastic. smelled like oatmeal cookies.

 

[brewski09]

I cooked up a batch of this beer last Sunday and I just now realized that I forgot the yeast nutrients. It is bubbling however not as intense as I thought it would be, maybe 2-3 bubbles a minute. Is it going to be ok? Should I add the yeast nutrients now?

Thanks for any help
T

You don't actually need the nutrient, just gives the yeast a head start and increases the sale for the homebrew shop. If its fermenting, then it's working. I wouldn't mess with it.

 

[jeffdill]

My girlfriend recently got diagnosed with Celiac...she loves stouts so I'm gonna give this a try!

I have a couple questions:
1. I think adding some coffee beans would help make this more roasty and stout-like, and should cover up some of the sorghum flavor. How much should I add, and when do I add it?
2. I know you said this is a partial boil, what is the boil volume? Or could you at least tell me the target IBU? Hop utilization is dependent on boil volume.

Cheers!

 

[brewski09]

My girlfriend recently got diagnosed with Celiac...she loves stouts so I'm gonna give this a try!

I have a couple questions:
1. I think adding some coffee beans would help make this more roasty and stout-like, and should cover up some of the sorghum flavor. How much should I add, and when do I add it?
2. I know you said this is a partial boil, what is the boil volume? Or could you at least tell me the target IBU? Hop utilization is dependent on boil volume.

Cheers!

The first posting has a link to the original recipe and the target IBU is 38. For the coffee, search here on HBT for adding cold press coffee and there are a bunch of threads with it. Most usually say to make a concentrated cold press batch overnight and add to taste when bottling. Good luck.

 

[hercher]

I just tasted a bottle of beer made from this recipe and it was wonderful. I'm wondering, though: can you use cocoa nibs instead of chocolate powder? If so, how many would you use?

 

[bobdaferret]

Ingredients:
------------

Grains:
1 lb 8 oz Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats, roasted (1 SRM)
12 oz Wild Rice, roasted (350 SRM)
8 oz Millet, roasted (20 SRM)

4 lbs Brown Rice Syrup (60 min)
1 lb 4 oz Dark Candi Sugar (60 min)
1 lb Molasses (60 min)
3 lbs Sorghum Syrup (15 min)

.75 oz Chinook, pellet 11.4% (60 min)
.25 oz Chinook, pellet 11.4% (30 min)
.50 oz Fuggles, pellet 4.8% (15 min)

1 tsp Irish Moss (10 min)
1 tsp Yeast Nutrient (10 min)
9 oz Fat Free Cocoa Powder (10 min)
8 oz Maltodextrin (5 min)

2-3 Vanilla Beans, split, chopped (Secondary, 7 days)

I roasted the oats for 1 hour at 350-F; the wild rice for 1 hour at 400-F, it has a chocolate color to it once roasted- no longer black and shiny; millet starting at 225 with a 25 degree increase every 30 minutes until it was the color I wanted

Carbed with 3.8 oz of corn sugar

**Adapted from CheshreCat's recipe here**

If I were to make this again, which I will in the fall, I will probably cut back to about 6 oz on the cocoa powder and maybe cut the oats back to 1 lb.

The beer took a while to carb and it is finally coming to it's stride. Some of my friends really like it and for some it is wayyy too bitter chocolaty.

Hello, HBT! Long time reader, first time poster.

I just brewed this beer last Saturday, with a few tweaks:

- only used 1 lb. of dark candi sugar (just didn't wanna buy another pound)
- used whole-leaf Chinook (my LHBS did not have pellets)
- used 6 oz. of BLACK--I'm assuming full-fat--cocoa powder (I think this really made it look like your typical stout)
- used Wyeast 1099 (Whitbread Ale)
- primary fermentation volume = 4 gallons; going to add 1 gallon cold-brewed coffee to secondary

Pic attached. Pleasure to (finally) be a member!! :fro:

 

[bobdaferret]

Well, after three weeks in the bottle, it's still pretty flat, and it's REALLY bitter (probably the black cocoa)... gonna give it a couple months more.

 

[RiverJumper]

I brewed this and got a very alcohol taste after bottling. It is not over carbonated. It does taste well otherwise. What might cause a taste like that?

 

[brewski09]

I brewed this and got a very alcohol taste after bottling. It is not over carbonated. It does taste well otherwise. What might cause a taste like that?

Many things. My first thought is fermentation temps and stressed because they tend to cause that for me, but that's not the only things, just common ones. Let it rest a bit and try it again in a month or two and see if it is mellowing out, or just enjoy a stout with an alcohol bite as some beers do have a little alcohol in the flavor profile.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[RiverJumper]

Would that be high or low temps that may have caused that ?

 

[bobdaferret]

The beer took a while to carb and it is finally coming to it's stride. Some of my friends really like it and for some it is wayyy too bitter chocolaty.

How long before you were satisfied with the carb level? I tried my version @ 3 weeks & it wasn't even close.

 

[bobdaferret]

Well to answer my own question, I opened another bottle this past weekend, after 7 weeks in bottle, and it has gotten MUCH better! Still not much head, but full-fat cocoa will do that... I'm finally starting to pick up some bready taste from the Whitbread yeast. Very bitter, and I taste more molasses than anything, but I really like this beer!!

 

[brewski09]

Well to answer my own question, I opened another bottle this past weekend, after 7 weeks in bottle, and it has gotten MUCH better! Still not much head, but full-fat cocoa will do that... I'm finally starting to pick up some bready taste from the Whitbread yeast. Very bitter, and I taste more molasses than anything, but I really like this beer!!

You can try adding more flaked oats for head retention. Also, there are products to enhance head retention out there. Not sure if they are gluten free though.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[bobdaferret]

You can try adding more flaked oats for head retention. Also, there are products to enhance head retention out there. Not sure if they are gluten free though.

Is there a connection at all between how well carbonated a beer is, and how much head it will have? I asked the OP the question to get a feel for when he thought the beer would be "ready"... otherwise, head's not all that important to me.

 

[brewski09]

Is there a connection at all between how well carbonated a beer is, and how much head it will have? I asked the OP the question to get a feel for when he thought the beer would be "ready"... otherwise, head's not all that important to me.

Yes, there will be more head with higher levels of carbonation. With that said, if there are anti heading agents, it will kill that off quickly and something will need to be done do counteract that effect if you like a good head on your beer. If the mouthful is gold and you don't care about the head, then just leave it alone.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[boysbrew2012]

I read the flaked maize can improve the head retention...not sure if that is applicable to gluten free beers but worth a shot
if the cocoa oils are killing off the head retention

 

[brewski09]

I read the flaked maize can improve the head retention...not sure if that is applicable to gluten free beers but worth a shot
if the cocoa oils are killing off the head retention

I've heard that about flaked wheat and oats but not maize. It may add to head retention. Logically thinking though I wouldn't think so. The reason the flaked oats and wheat add to the head is both have head retention properties in the base grain and the flaked versions are easier to use. The flaked maize or corn should lighten the body because the base grain is a thinning agent like simple sugars are.

With all that said, the flaked maize may have some head retention agents from the flaking process that I don't know about. I would still look to flaked oats for the head retention though. Source from Bob's red mill or another gluten free source though as the LD Carlson is not gluten free (processed on shared equipment). The bulk grains at the grocery store can't be considered gluten free either as they are considered contaminated add soon as they are placed in the bulk section (talk to someone with severe gluten allergies about this).

Hope this helps. I have ongoing research on this so I can share my brews with my GF friends.