Homemade better than store bought?

[Markstar]

I'm thinking about home brewing gluten free beer. I like drinking red bridge and bard's, but they're a far cry from the beer I enjoyed pre celiac diagnosis. I'd like to brew myself if I can do better than these. Anybody have any opinions on whether or not home brewed gf beer can be better than the ones available in stores? I'd like to know my prospects of success before I jump in. Thanks for the help.

 

[dobes]

My sister only brews GF beers. A couple she made at first had a slight tang to it. After a while they started turning out pretty good. Good enough that some people never knew they were GF beers. I've had quite a few GF beers and would say hers are at least as good if not better than some.

 

[dobes]

Yep I'm saying go for it!!!!

 

[glutarded-chris]

No question, even a mediocre GF homebrew beats the commercial versions hands down IMHO. Not really sure why but I think it is true. Could be like baked goods that fresh just tastes and smells better or it could be that commercial brewers of GF beer just cannot get it to the price point where people will buy it without cutting corners. The other factor is just being able to brew what you like. People that can tolerate barley beer have hundreds of excellent versions to choose from; we don't. Spend some time digging through this forum for ideas or just brew one of the kits to get a baseline. Bard's and Brewer's Best have kits. I liked the Brewer's Best kit better.

 

[Markstar]

Thanks guys. That's encouraging. Sounds like I should start looking into equipment and recipes.

 

[Sivartman]

Hey Markstar,

You can definitely get better beers (and more variety) by brewing gluten free at home. The stuff that's commercially available is all pretty similar (light in color, light in flavor) although there are some good gluten free regional and local breweries around the country. I have been brewing gluten free exclusively for about 2 years and am really happy with some of the stuff that I've made. I'm not an expert, but let me know if you have any questions or would like any tips. Have you ever brewed at home before? Either way, there are a lot of good resources out there for you.

Best of luck!

Travis

 

[Markstar]

Thanks Travis. That's good to hear. I've never brewed at home before. It'll all be new to me. I'm just starting to look into equipment and recipes. Do you have any recipes or kits that you have found to be successful? I like mostly all regular beers with ales, IPA's and stouts being my favorites. Lagers were the only beer I didn't care for that much.