20 replies to this topic

[Noontime]

1.5 lbs. roasted malted teff ( ½ medium toast, ½ dark toast)

6 lbs. white sorghum extract

2 oz. Chinook hops

2 oz. Fuggles hops

1 packet Nottingham dry brewers yeast

3 oz. lactose

3 oz. maltodextrine

4 scoops fresh ground coffee

24 oz. molasses

3lbs. honey
OG 1.076

I was going to tell the entire story but I can't bring myself to write the whole thing again after the original post being deleted. Anyway...

I got my gluten free beer in the primary yesterday. 1.5 lbs. teff with 1/2 tsp amylase at 155 degrees for 30 minutes then 170 degrees for 20 minutes, removed the grain (I don't know what I'm doing by the way...just winging it). bring to boil, add sorghum, 2 oz. chinook, lactose, maltodextrine. 45 minutes in add molasses, honey, 1 oz. fuggles. 60 minutes take off heat and cool. brew 4 scoops finely ground coffee and add it and 2 Tbsp cocoa to primary. Add cooled wort, 1 oz. fuggles, and topped up to 5.5 gallons. Pitched re-hydrated yeast.

Not sure if I actually mashed anything out of the teff, or whether the beer will be balanced or just a mess. We'll see!

[ncbeerbrewer]

Good luck Noon. How is the fermentation coming along now? I don't think I had any feedback for you when you posted for tips so hey your recipe looks fine to me. I hope it turns out as you planned. Keep us posted.

[weave]

Keep us posted with this. MIL has Celiac's and feels very left out in my beer endeavours.

[Noontime]

The fermentation took right off and is going strong. I was little worried about it since my wife came home and said "you know the city is hyper chlorinating the water...right?". But it started right up; I just hope it doesn't do anything to the flavors (not that I would know considering it's such a Frankenstein's monster beer). The malting of the teff was not consistent; I had some not doing anything, most with significant acrospires, and some I was tempted to plant in the yard. I also did not do anything to separate them from the grain...just toasted the whole lot so I'm wondering if any off flavors will result from that. The teas I had made during experimentation were delicious so I'm optimistic. The mashing/steeping of the grain went fairly well I guess. I got 3 gallons of water to 155 degrees (on the stove top so it actually fluctuated between 152 and 156), and put the teff in for 30 minutes with ½ tsp amylase, then up to 170 degrees for 20 minutes (like I said...I have no idea what I'm doing), then removed the grains and went into the boil. I meant to save a little and read up on how to do the iodine test to see if I actually got any fermentable out of it. But I was "in the zone" and completely forgot till after I had added the extract. Oh well...hopefully I'll remember next time. Next time I'll also remember to go out and buy a few bags of ice and fill up the bathtub for cooling the wort. There was just way too much thermal mass for the sink and ice out of the freezer. It took many hours to cool. I'll probably let the primary go for a week to 10 days and then put into a secondary container for another couple of weeks. I have no idea how many un-fermentables there are, but OG of 1.076 seems pretty high so I'm guessing it might take a bit of time for it to complete. I'll keep you posted . My wife will be adding a little bit about this process to her gluten free living blog if anyone is interested.Li Loves David

[dondewey]

So, the idea is to get your wife really loaded?J/K, I'd probably want to try a smaller (in gravity and volume), simpler recipe (no coffee, cocoa, non-fermentables) the first time just to get an idea of what the baseline flavors would be. I'm interested in how this turns out as a guy I work with can't eat gluten and has been mentioning wanting to try brewing a batch. Good luck!

[Noontime]

It's more the flavor and body I'm looking for...the higher alcohol seems to be added an bonus (to me anyway):smilielol:This is actually my second GF beer. The first one came out very nice and did not last long in the fridge. I did get a little creative with that one as well, and it came out light bodied, crisp, and a bit like a Hefeweizen. The thing I thought that most detracted from it was the light body which meant no head at all and a bit of a harsh carbonation. I really enjoy big dark beers, and my wife used to as well before being diagnosed with Celiac Disease. She says her favorite was Watney's Cream Stout (we think). So I'm just throwing caution to the wind and seeing what works; I have a very "open minded" palate...so even if it doesn't come out like I intended it still won't go to waste. I'll just learn on the way. The wort smelled and tasted delicious and is the color of dark chocolate, so I'm optimistic (or naive).

[macbrak]

hmm I need to get around to doing my yearly batch of GF beer. I have two coworkers that have celiac and I usually experiment with it. The first was light and blah. I toasted some millet, but didn't do enough or dark enough. Did have enough other flavors to hide the sorghum tang.My batch last year turned out better, dark candy syrup & bs molasses got me to an amber color & flavor that aged well. I really want to make a stout this year. I'm just not confident at roasting these small grains and chicken out before they get dark enough.

[Noontime]

hmm I need to get around to doing my yearly batch of GF beer. I have two coworkers that have celiac and I usually experiment with it. The first was light and blah. I toasted some millet, but didn't do enough or dark enough. Did have enough other flavors to hide the sorghum tang. My batch last year turned out better, dark candy syrup & bs molasses got me to an amber color & flavor that aged well. I really want to make a stout this year. I'm just not confident at roasting these small grains and chicken out before they get dark enough.

That's a very nice gesture. As for the roasting...slow and steady my friend! I'm either courageous or lack common sense, but I usually just go full steam ahead and see what happens. The grains don't cost that much so some failure wouldn’t hurt too much (teff was about $4 per pound and that included the shipping from The Teff Company The Teff Co.) Amazon.com sell almost every grain on the planet as well. I just used what was on had that my wife had bought, so I'm sure there are better bargains out there. I just put them on cookie sheets and did the medium at about 160 degrees (our oven is terrible so the actual temp is questionable) for 45 minutes; or until a very dark golden brown. The dark was at about 250 for a little over an hour; it was dark dark brown with some black. I'm still learning the difference between toasting and roasting, so my next batch will be even slower.

[Noontime]

hmm I need to get around to doing my yearly batch of GF beer. I have two coworkers that have celiac and I usually experiment with it. The first was light and blah. I toasted some millet, but didn't do enough or dark enough. Did have enough other flavors to hide the sorghum tang. My batch last year turned out better, dark candy syrup & bs molasses got me to an amber color & flavor that aged well. I really want to make a stout this year. I'm just not confident at roasting these small grains and chicken out before they get dark enough.

How do you propose to make a stout style beer? I'm terribly curious since that kind of what I'm trying to do.

[earthtone]

I'm going to do a basmati and buckwheat amber lager, will let you know how it comes out.

[AspenLeif]

I see you have honey in there to balance out the sorghum. If you still find the sorghum overpowering...get rice extract for the next batch. In my limited experimentation, I found that smooths it out some. roughly 2 parts sorghum to 1 part rice extract. ...and can go as much as 1:1 too.MB

Edited by Mainelybrew, 25 May 2009 - 08:19 AM.

[Noontime]

I see you have honey in there to balance out the sorghum. If you still find the sorghum overpowering...get rice extract for the next batch. In my limited experimentation, I found that smooths it out some. roughly 2 parts sorghum to 1 part rice extract. ...and can go as much as 1:1 too. MB

Good to know. I'm sure there will be continued experimentation. You just made me realize I should make a rice beer and see how that tastes...get an education on how these grains and extracts taste on their own. Thanks!

[AspenLeif]

Good to know. I'm sure there will be continued experimentation. You just made me realize I should make a rice beer and see how that tastes...get an education on how these grains and extracts taste on their own. Thanks!

I think a straight up rice beer...well pretty much sake... might be a little harsh or hot on the tongue. Would be a good experiment though. It can be balanced with flaked maize (corn)...to make more of a american pilsner style beer. MB

[Noontime]

I think a straight up rice beer...well pretty much sake... might be a little harsh or hot on the tongue. Would be a good experiment though. It can be balanced with flaked maize (corn)...to make more of a american pilsner style beer. MB

So if strait rice is harsh (although I have had sake, it was the cheaper kind they say is not a good example) is it the ratio that makes a difference (less rice), or is there something about the rice extract that would "smooth it out". Also...do you know if there are gluten free flaked maize? Most grains are not gluten free since they are processed in the same facility as other grains, but I have no idea about corn.

[earthtone]

Not sure about the corn Noontime but I'll let you know how this experiment goes. I am currently malting a lb of buckwheat and a lb of red rice. I am going to toast a portion of the buckwheat malt as well as toasting a small portion of unmalted basmati. I am also going to cereal mash some aromatic brown basmati with the home malted/toasted/roasted grains and if I can get some amylase I might add a little brown rice flour or tapioca starch.This is just going to be a bit of an experiment, but I'll let you know how a rice/agave/buckwheat beer turns out. I am thinking of using saaz for bittering/flavour/aroma.on that note, anyone know the diastatic power of malted rice or buckwheat?

[AspenLeif]

Also...do you know if there are gluten free flaked maize? Most grains are not gluten free since they are processed in the same facility as other grains, but I have no idea about corn.

Good question on the corn. You can get gluten free corn meal....I don't know if you can cereal mash it or not....someone else would have to answer that question. I've never cereal mashed before. Also, it depends on the individuals 'sensitivity' to product purchase...or better described as how strict they are with the 'gluten free' label. My wife doesn't care if the product is made in a facility that handles gluten products...she just worries about the contents on the label of the product itself. The FDA does requre a certain level of cleanliness of equipment between runs...does it get every bit...who knows. I personally believe there is no carry over from a previous run...it's more of a liability statement, the compaines would certainly not put themselves in position to be neglegent even with the hightened awareness like the peanut butter salmonella scare. MB

Edited by Mainelybrew, 28 May 2009 - 07:32 AM.

[AspenLeif]

So if strait rice is harsh (although I have had sake, it was the cheaper kind they say is not a good example) is it the ratio that makes a difference (less rice), or is there something about the rice extract that would "smooth it out".

I should have been more clear...by harsh...I mean it will actually be sake you are making, not beer. So a person expecting to be drinking 'beer' might be a little put off by the hopped sake that they are actually drinking. MB

[earthtone]

sake is made form white rice and has no roasted grains or caramel grain or anything to add flavour. It is also a much higher ABV. This is a bad simile for these reasons and more. Like comparing raspberry beer to raspberry wine or something. They just aren't the same drink.Making a hopped beverage from fermented malted rice or from brown rice starch that has been converted to sugar in a mash is going to be nothing at all like sake. For example sake utilizes steamed WHITE rice with mold spores cultivated on it (koji). Beer made from rice tastes like gluten free rice beer NOT sake. But I will agree it won't be like a barley beer.Sorry mainleybrew but in order to make sake you need to make sake, you can't just use rice instead of barley lol. I doubt this is what you are suggesting but really man, sake is just different.

[AspenLeif]

sake is made form white rice and has no roasted grains or caramel grain or anything to add flavour. It is also a much higher ABV. This is a bad simile for these reasons and more. Like comparing raspberry beer to raspberry wine or something. They just aren't the same drink. Making a hopped beverage from fermented malted rice or from brown rice starch that has been converted to sugar in a mash is going to be nothing at all like sake. For example sake utilizes steamed WHITE rice with mold spores cultivated on it (koji). Beer made from rice tastes like gluten free rice beer NOT sake. But I will agree it won't be like a barley beer. Sorry mainleybrew but in order to make sake you need to make sake, you can't just use rice instead of barley lol. I doubt this is what you are suggesting but really man, sake is just different.

Um...refer back to what I was saying. Rice Extract....extract.... and he was talking about making an all rice beer, no mention of malted gluten free grains. Once you start putting in malted gluten free grains in, yes, it will totally be different. MB

[AspenLeif]

How exactly is Sake made? Never looked into it...I just assumed it was from malted rice or extract at a higher SG than whould be seen in making a beer. Hence my comment on it being like sake. Sorry for the confustion.MB

Edited by Mainelybrew, 29 May 2009 - 07:00 AM.