Orange Blossom CeliAle

[kmos]

After reading the article in the last Zymurgy, I wanted to try my hand at GF brewing. My sister is has celiac/gluten sensitivities and hasn't had a beer in years. I'm hoping to make her something that is refreshing, but also has a bit of character.

Here is the first draft of the recipe, which I will be brewing this weekend. It's pretty minimal, but since I've never brewed with sorghum before, I figured I would keep it simple and go from there. Would love to get any thoughts/suggestions:

5 lbs Briess Sorghum LME
2 lbs Orange Blossom Honey (late addition)
2 oz Hersbrucker (60 min)
1 oz Hersbrucker (20 min)
0.5 oz Coriander (10 min)
Safale US-05


Cheers!

 

[spaced]

Looks good. If you rebrew it I recommend tettnanger hops for the 20 minute addition

And I like the name

 

[kmos]

That's a good suggestion -- Thanks!

I figured I would do sort of a SMaSH recipe for starts and then build complexity as I saw how the ingredients worked together. Blending a couple noble hops would be a great way to do that, I think.

Cheers!

 

[igliashon]

I might suggest using a yeast with more character, like S-04 or T-58 (I noticed the coriander, are you in a slightly belgian mind for this?). Otherwise it should be just fine.

 

[bobbrews]

Not that you have to make it taste like an IPA, but a lot of IPA hops have very orangey qualities, such as Summit and Ahtanum. I would use a couple of those for added aroma.

 

[kmos]

I might suggest using a yeast with more character, like S-04 or T-58 (I noticed the coriander, are you in a slightly belgian mind for this?). Otherwise it should be just fine.

You know, I wasn't initially trying to go for a Belgian-inspired ale; but I have been brewing a lot of saisons this year...

I would like to have a yeast that has a bit of character -- The T-58 looks like it might fit this beer perfectly. Thanks! I've never used dry yeasts before; sort of went straight to the S-05 as a default, but I might brew the second batch with the T-58 and see which I like better.

Not that you have to make it taste like an IPA, but a lot of IPA hops have very orangey qualities, such as Summit and Ahtanum. I would use a couple of those for added aroma.

Unfortunately, she's not a hophead... I'm afraid she was diagnosed with her food sensitivities before she ever made it out of the "Blue Moon stage". I'm hoping we can open her up to some great new brews with our adventures in GF homebrewing!

When I came up with the recipe I was thinking it would be nice to have the Orange Blossom honey aroma. Any thoughts?

 

[bobbrews]

You're not going to get much character from only 2 lbs. honey. I would consult the mead boys. I just know you will get more from the honey if sterilize it at around <100 F or so for X number of minutes and then pitch it at high krausen. And the hallertau and coriander will take away from that floral orange flavor.

 

[spaced]

This is a honey beer I did a while ago.

http://gfhomebrewing.blogspot.com.au/2011/04/honey-beer-brewday.html

Tasty as hell. When it came to bottling I pastuerised the honey and then added it to the bottles. By carbonating with honey it got the flavour in there.

There is a lot of debate about pastuerisation of honey. Some people say don't because it's already sterile. I'm of the opinion that it won't hurt to pastuerise it and I don't want to risk wasting a batch of beer.

 

[kmos]

Just wanted to follow up on this recipe:

All-in-all, I would call this a good first effort for a gluten-free beer. A bit too heavy on the coriander, but crisp, refreshing -- a good summer beer!

Thanks for the help!

 

[spaced]

Dear god how freaking good does that look.

I'll take a kegs worth thanks.