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Gluten Free Beer

Gfree

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Hello all.  I am new to the site, I have made several batches of gluten free beer using Quinoa as my grain.  Some batches are drinkable, others are not.  Anybody out there have success making gluten free beer?  Yes I know is sucks, but this is my only option.  Any help will be gratefull.
 
I have only made it with Sorghum Syrup from Breiss. With enough hops it isn't too bad but I have had mixed results too. I do want to try to malt some buckwheat as that is supposed to be the closest to malt GF grains get, but I haven't tried it. Good Luck.
 
Bard's malts its sorghum and we are the only gluten free brand to do so.  Hard to make a good beer without a malted grain.

We have made some of our sorghum malt extract available to Midwest Homebrewing Supply for Bard's clone kits.
 
My last batch (only my second) was as follows:

20.00 oz          Brown Sugar, Dark (50.0 SRM)                 
48.00 oz          Brown Rice Extract Syrup [Boil for60 min 
40.00 oz          Sorghum Syrup [Boil for60 min](3.0 SRM) 
1.00 oz            Centennial [8.70 %] - Boil 60.0 min         
1                      Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins)               
1.00 oz            Cascade [8.90 %] - Boil 15.0 min             
1.00 oz            Cascade [8.90 %] - Boil 5.0 min               
8.00 oz            Malto-Dextrine (Boil 5.0 mins)                   

A pale ale.  Very drinkable.  Could use a bit more hops.  Better than anything available commercially.  The only thing I've had that's even close is the GF Northwest Pale Ale at Deschutes Brewery in Portland, OR. Next batch will be hoppier (more Centennial) and darker.

Good luck.
 
adamjg said:
My last batch (only my second) was as follows:

20.00 oz          Brown Sugar, Dark (50.0 SRM)                 
48.00 oz          Brown Rice Extract Syrup [Boil for60 min 
40.00 oz          Sorghum Syrup [Boil for60 min](3.0 SRM) 
1.00 oz            Centennial [8.70 %] - Boil 60.0 min         
1                      Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins)               
1.00 oz            Cascade [8.90 %] - Boil 15.0 min             
1.00 oz            Cascade [8.90 %] - Boil 5.0 min               
8.00 oz            Malto-Dextrine (Boil 5.0 mins)                   

This sounds like a pretty good GF recipe!  I was curious if you use BeerSmith to build your recipe?  I do not find that it has any of the typical GF ingredients available for selection in the program.  Any tips you can give for this?

Thanks,
Nick
 
Comments to adamjg's GF recipe:
As a general comment on cooking, 5min is not enough time for Maltodextrin  to dissolve.  I have found that it should go in just after hot-break.  That gives it 30min and usually most of it has dissolved.  I do agree that sorghum extract needs a high level of Maltodextrin , such as 8 oz.

Something that brings more flavor to the batch is instead of brown sugar, use one of the raw sugars.  I found that "Sugar-in-Raw" and Belgium Candi syrup were superior.  Something that boosts "Sugar-in-Raw" is a slow browning in the oven.  It has to be stepped up in 10°F steps every 10min to a max of about 370°F.  Start the process with a 30min bake at 320°F.  Lots of additional flavor is added.  Just stop raising the temperature when the sugar starts sticking together.  Can generate a moderate amount of smoke.  Needs an even temperature.

Also agree that sorghum needs a long boil.  If you use the short boil, 20min, boil suggested by some early GF recipes, the odd taste of sorghum stands out.

I add 1oz of crystal hops in the last 5min of boil when the chiller goes in for sanitation.  Then another 1oz of crystal hops is added 1week later for dry hopping.  Not bitter.  Not sweet.

I have found that higher gravity brewers taste better.  I normal shoot for 1.055 to 1.060.

I do add 3gm of calcium carbonate.  My water is very soft.  Do note that Briess extract has a naturally high sulfate and Na content.  That can really mess with the expected bitterness of a batch.  Reported water minerals used by Briess to make a 1.065 gravity wort:
Analysis Performed | MCL (mg/L) | Det. Level | Level Detected
Calcium                      | --- |            2.0 |            24
Magnesium                  | --- |          0.10 |            22
Sodium                        | --- |              1 |          160
Zinc                              | 5 |        0.004 |            0.026
Alkalinity (total as CaCO3) | --- |      20 |          370
Chloride                      | 250 |            5 |            29
Hardness (suggested limit = 100) | | 10 |        150 *
( HCO3 = 181 calculated)
pH                          | 6.5-8.5 |          --- |            7.0
Sulfate                  | 250 |                  5 |            66

When the OG is adjusted down to 1.055 and add 7gm of Calcium Carbonate, 7gm Calcium Chloride, and 1mg of Epson Salts to  my local water, it produces a batch water chemistry is described by brewersfriend.com as balanced, similar to Dusseldorf, Germany.  I really enjoy their beers which also have no bitterness, at least the draft served in Dusseldorf.
 
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