New GF Brewer

[rv9aguy]

Hi all,

This is my first post - I wanted to introduce myself as I start down the path of GF brewing.

I'm still pretty new at brewing in general, I've got a few batches of extract and partial mash under my belt and am going to be trying all grain soon. Unfortunately, I feel pretty damned guilty because my wife has Celiac disease and can't join me in enjoying a pint. She was diagnosed nearly a decade ago - back when most MDs though Celiac was mumbo jumbo and the world wasn't GF friendly.

Considering that, it's pretty amazing how much has changed for Celiacs. My local craft brew store has a dedicated GF cooler now - mostly ciders, but quite a few beers too. Over the past few weeks, my wife's been trying a bunch of those beers, and most haven't been too palatable. A couple from Green's were pretty good, and she really liked the Estrella Dura - but I'm not yet sold on the Clarex process, so I'm a bit hesitant on that.

It's been so long since she's had beer that she can't quite articulate what she's looking for. When she did enjoy beer, it was long enough ago that Rolling Rock was still from the glass lined tanks of Old Latrobe, and Sam Adams was the most "Micro" you would usually find.

I've been reviewing the threads in the GF Brewing Forum, and there look to be some great beers and a great community behind them. I'm going to keep trying recipes until I find ones she loves. She tells me she likes the aroma of my hoppier brews, so I need to learn how Sorghum and other GF grains interact with hops.

We have a few friends who have Celiac, or are GF for other reasons, so what she doesn't like shouldn't go to waste. Heck, her brother (also Celiac) will probably drink anything I brew, no matter how bad...

Wish me luck!

 

[Lucky_Chicken]

Welcome and good luck!

I haven't found anything my wife likes without those restrictions so hopefully yours will like them. There are definitely some world class GF brews, I have had some very good ones.

 

[rv9aguy]

Thanks Jeremy, I think her expectations are pretty low, so if I can find a recipe even halfway to world class I think it will blow her socks off. The guy at my LHBS tells me he's experimented with GF, so I need to find some time to head down there and see what I can learn.

I checked out your electric and kegerator builds - outstanding work!

- Kevin

 

[Lindsayshi]

Hi, I'm also getting ready to attempt making a gluten free beer soon. I love really hoppy IPA's. does anyone know of a good kit i could try. I have never even had a gluten free beer, hope its good! I'm trying a stict no gluten diet (Paleo)for awhile to see how it makes me feel, so far I have tons more energy and look better too, this is not looking good for my beer tho, I must brew beer soon!! NEED BEER!!

Any help finding a good hoppy ipa gluten free beer would be awesome!! If this is even possible!

 

[DougmanXL]

I made an awesome double IPA (100 IBU) that I called "MAGNUM" (there was a picture of a gun on the label, lol), which used 1oz Magnum at 60m, and 1oz East Kent Goldings at 10m (and of course 6.6lbs sorghum, and Safale US-05) that was pretty darn good. Dont drink it unless it's VERY COLD, and dont let it age too long or it will lose its hoppyness.

 

[rv9aguy]

I'm glad GF is helping you feel better. Even though I'm not sensitive to gluten (I was tested after my wife was diagnosed), and don't actively avoid it outside my home, I have found that keeping my intake of gluten lower as a consequence of living in a GF household has helped my overall health. For folks with Celiac or a serious intolerance, however, the difference is truly night and day.

From what I've found so far, kitwise, folks seem happy with the Gluten Free McGee Ale kit from HBX. I don't know enough yet to say whether you could go with a more aggressive hop schedule on that grain bill.

I'm really intrigued by ODaniel's Gluten Free Sorghum Ale using Midfielder5's ESB or IPA hop schedules. Having done a good bit of GF baking and frying over the years, I've used amaranth and had luck with it. I think his steeping with amaranth/buckwheat will make a very unique flavor profile. I'd like to know if others have modified that basic recipe since he posted it back in '09.

As to taste - I've had a bunch of commercial GF beers lately. Some are quite enjoyable, others expose too much of the raw sorghum flavor for my taste. There's a lot of excitement about Dogfish Head's Tweason'ale that's about to hit the shelves. From what I've read on these and other boards, homebrewed GF beer often surpasses what's available commercially.

Good luck!

 

[spaced]

American Pale Ales and IPAs are really easy for gluten free brewing. Two recipes I've really liked.

Gluten Free Home Brewing: Sierra Nevada Inspired Pale Ale

What I'd change:
Demerara sugar to honey
Dry hop at probably an ounce per 5 gallons


Gluten Free Home Brewing: Centennial Hopped IPA - Brewing

What I'd change:
as above

Demerara sugar to honey
Dry hop at probably an ounce per 5 gallons


I was very reluctant to dry hop until others on this forum converted me. Also some tips.

Niko Home Brew - Great prices for hops, which is really good when you're going spastic with them.

In america you can easily get very big tea balls, use something like this to dry hop. It will keep the hops out of your beer when you go to bottle.

 

[rv9aguy]

Thanks Spaced - great blog, I'll be reading up on your experiences. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is a personal favorite, so I'm really psyched that you've had luck with a GF clone.

I notice you don't tend to steep other GF grains (oats, amaranth, buckwheat, etc.) Have you experimented with that and found little benefit? I had posted a response to Lindsayshi earlier that pointed out a recipe with steeped grains that interested me, but I included some links so it needs moderator approval. When that shows up, I'd appreciate your thoughts.

 

[spaced]

I notice you don't tend to steep other GF grains (oats, amaranth, buckwheat, etc.) Have you experimented with that and found little benefit? I had posted a response to Lindsayshi earlier that pointed out a recipe with steeped grains that interested me, but I included some links so it needs moderator approval. When that shows up, I'd appreciate your thoughts.

I haven't gone down this path yet. I think my first trial will be some buckwheat honey, as dog fish head brewery said this produced a "barnyardy" / barleyish flavour.

Switched recently from demerara sugar to honey due to some sourness coming through. I also don't have temperature controlled brewing area so this might also be the cause of that fault.

 

[Riddei]

For what its worth, I just did a GF pale for my celiac wife.
3# sorghum late addition
1.5#honey late addition
1# Dark Brown sugar 60 mins
.25oz citra 60 min
.5oz cascade 20m
.5oz cascade 5m
US-05 fermented at 65 for 2 weeks
cold, it has a shard hoppy bite, a little warmer and it has some smooth citrus with a shot of that carbonic bite on the back of the tongue. This smells way hoppier than it is, and the wife likes it though she prefers beers lower on the IBU scale. I think I may try this recipe can sub out the citra for something else and use some belgian yeast. She loved the GF orange wit, but with all the oranges I added it came out to almost 8% abv.
Also, does anyone else have a problem with oats? My wife can't touch them, even the "GF" labeled ones.
Next up is a roasty porter like beer (if I can find a good and easy recipe) and then she wants a sessionable ale that comes in around 3-4%


EDIT: I also added 5oz of maltodextrin at bottling for a bit of body. it was too watery coming out of the fermemnter for out taste

 

[spaced]

Also, does anyone else have a problem with oats? My wife can't touch them, even the "GF" labeled ones.

EDIT: I also added 5oz of maltodextrin at bottling for a bit of body. it was too watery coming out of the fermemnter for out taste

Hi Riddei,

Yeah I add maltodextrine to every brew now at the start of the boil.

And the Australian celiac society says 4 out of 5 celiacs can handle oats, so your wife is obviously the 1 out of the 5.

 

[rv9aguy]

Riddei, also consider the cross-contamination aspect of oats even when labelled GF. Even oat processors that have dedicated GF lines don't always ensure that their suppliers are GF. Oats are often grown next to wheat, and in the supply chain from farm to mill there are many opportunities for contamination.

Spaced, I don't have temperature control either, so thanks for the honey tip. I'm planning on a GF brew day next weekend, so I need to just pick a recipe and commit. Right now, it's between your Sierra Nevada Inspired Pale Ale and ODaniel's/Midfielder5's Sorgham Ale/ESB (see my link earlier). In fact, I think I may hedge my bets by doing half batches of each to increase the odds of success.

I'll keep you updated on my progress.

 

[Lindsayshi]

Wow so excited!! Thanks for all the great ideas and answers!! I will be brewing this weekend!

I guess hard cider is also a gluten free option??? I think I need to try this too!! Anyone have good/bad experience with that??

CHEERS!

 

[KevinM]

No problem with ciders, meads and wines because they normally dont contain gluten. The exception is when theres a tinu tiny bit of xcontamination. Some barrels have paste on the oitside of the barrel and b. Nektar has a mead thats been aged in a beer barrel, but we dont normally use barrels as homebrewers. Mynad experience is too much cider, i need to finish off a keg to put my gluten free beer into.