National Homebrew Club Ireland

Brewing Discussions => All Grain Brewing => Topic started by: Metattron on August 04, 2013, 12:45:51 AM

Title: Gluten free beer
Post by: Metattron on August 04, 2013, 12:45:51 AM
Anyone got a good gluten free beer recipe?
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: UpsidedownA (Andrew) on August 04, 2013, 06:11:27 PM
You can make gluten free beer using oat malt. This article gives you all the technical details: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/j.2050-0416.2011.tb00487.x/abstract

You need oat malt with its husk.
You need more oat malt than you would barley malt because the husk takes up more of the total mass. Weight for weight, you'll only get about 5/6ths of the sugars from oat as you would from barley. Maybe add sugar to make up the difference.
You need a stepped mash. The optimum mash profile is 45C, 62C, 72C then 78C.
You don't need any additional enzymes etc as it's all in the malt.

It's very light coloured.

I had trouble with my boiler cutting out. It might be wise to boil the hops up separately on the stove to ensure you get the bitterness you want.

Read about my experience here: http://kenanddot.wordpress.com/2012/12/02/100-oat-malt-beer/

Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: Ciderhead on August 05, 2013, 12:44:20 AM
HBC sell it as well
http://www.thehomebrewcompany.ie/wln4000hb-clarityferm-5ml-5-pack-p-1766.html
I experimented with it for chill haze and it worked.
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: DEMPSEY on August 05, 2013, 10:46:07 AM
Quote from: UpsidedownA (Andrew) on August 04, 2013, 06:11:27 PM
You can make gluten free beer using oat malt. This article gives you all the technical details: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/j.2050-0416.2011.tb00487.x/abstract

You need oat malt with its husk.
You need more oat malt than you would barley malt because the husk takes up more of the total mass. Weight for weight, you'll only get about 5/6ths of the sugars from oat as you would from barley. Maybe add sugar to make up the difference.
You need a stepped mash. The optimum mash profile is 45C, 62C, 72C then 78C.
You don't need any additional enzymes etc as it's all in the malt.

It's very light coloured.


I had trouble with my boiler cutting out. It might be wise to boil the hops up separately on the stove to ensure you get the bitterness you want.

Read about my experience here: http://kenanddot.wordpress.com/2012/12/02/100-oat-malt-beer/
How did the Beer turn out,was it drinkable :-\
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: UpsidedownA (Andrew) on August 05, 2013, 11:20:19 AM
It certainly was. It was really clear in the end too. The only problem was the lack of bitterness.
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: DEMPSEY on August 06, 2013, 01:04:46 PM
Is there a test that be done to check if a beer is gluten free.
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: Jacob on August 06, 2013, 01:23:37 PM
Quote from: DEMPSEY on August 06, 2013, 01:04:46 PM
Is there a test that be done to check if a beer is gluten free.
Gluten Test Strips (http://www.ezgluten.com/)
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: delzep on August 06, 2013, 01:23:58 PM
Quote from: DEMPSEY on August 06, 2013, 01:04:46 PM
Is there a test that be done to check if a beer is gluten free.

yeah, but it probably invovles a trip to the hospital afterwards
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: Shane Phelan on August 06, 2013, 01:33:06 PM
I have added this topic as one of the sections for the wiki articles section. Its a topic that comes up frequently and a lot of people were asking about it at the maker fair. I have made one (http://nationalhomebrewclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,24.msg118.html#msg118) before but the result was a bit meh in my opinion, too thin (as a result of adding too much honey).
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: Metattron on September 30, 2013, 03:36:37 PM
I finally got round to making this at the weekend.  For 15L at 1.048 in the fermenter I used:

18L water
1.5kg White Sorghum Extract
330g Rice syrup
350g Treacle
7g Columbus at 60 minutes
10g Centennial at 30 minutes
10g Cascade at 5 minutes.
US-05 ale yeast

It certainly tastes like beer.  It did look quite cloudy though, but I think that clears out after fermentation.  I'll see in a few weeks how this turns out.
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: DEMPSEY on September 30, 2013, 04:20:25 PM
I am planning to do one with 100% malt Oats so keep us posted about its taste and quality. Problem with Oats is they are not full of flavour like Malt Barley so it can turn out pretty bland from the research I have done so far. :-\
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: irish_goat on October 01, 2013, 09:18:57 AM
Quote from: DEMPSEY on September 30, 2013, 04:20:25 PM
I am planning to do one with 100% malt Oats so keep us posted about its taste and quality. Problem with Oats is they are not full of flavour like Malt Barley so it can turn out pretty bland from the research I have done so far. :-\

You could add fruits, honey and/or spices. Treat it like porridge basically, same flavour principles should apply. But yeah I'd say 100% oats will be pretty bland.
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: Metattron on October 23, 2013, 10:14:33 PM
Opened a bottle of my GFB tonight and it went down well.  There is a taste of treacle of it.  If I was doing it again I would reduce the treacle to 120g or so.  No head on it, but apart from that it looked like an amber ale, tasted like an amber ale and had a medium bodied mouth feel.  It is completely clear after a day in the fridge.  If I hadn't gone so heavy on the treacle it would probably be more like a pale ale.  In time the rest of the treacle may ferment out, it's been two weeks in the bottle and keg and has not fully carbed up yet, but not bad so far.  Two thumbs up.
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: delzep on October 23, 2013, 10:38:48 PM
I only found out the other day that Satzenbrau is Gluten free
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: Metattron on October 23, 2013, 11:12:58 PM
I'd doubt that. I've also heard that Budweiser is gluten free, but its not.
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: irish_goat on October 23, 2013, 11:26:11 PM
Budweiser and Coors etc have less gluten than the average beer though.

Satzenbrau is dying a death too, can't imagine it'll be around Ireland much longer unless Diageo do a big marketing push on it.
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: irish_goat on October 24, 2013, 08:22:33 AM
Yeah there's a big market for it in Cameroon according to the Diageo site.

My local in Donegal stocked it because one person drank it. We'd maybe sell a case every 6 weeks though. Wouldn't be surprised if it's gone now.
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: delzep on October 24, 2013, 11:19:27 AM
Its still on the shelves of most Dunnes and Tescos
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: MisterBurns on December 08, 2013, 07:59:12 PM
Quote from: Metattron on September 30, 2013, 03:36:37 PM
I finally got round to making this at the weekend.  For 15L at 1.048 in the fermenter I used:

18L water
1.5kg White Sorghum Extract
330g Rice syrup
350g Treacle
7g Columbus at 60 minutes
10g Centennial at 30 minutes
10g Cascade at 5 minutes.
US-05 ale yeast

It certainly tastes like beer.  It did look quite cloudy though, but I think that clears out after fermentation.  I'll see in a few weeks how this turns out.

Where did you get the White Sorghum Extract?
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: Metattron on December 08, 2013, 10:09:54 PM
From brewuk.co.UK.  Got the rice syrup from amazon. Had a bottle of this last night, come very nice now, much less treacle flavour from it.  I would still use much less next time.
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: MisterBurns on December 23, 2013, 12:05:52 AM
Quote from: Metattron on October 23, 2013, 10:14:33 PM
Opened a bottle of my GFB tonight and it went down well.  There is a taste of treacle of it.  If I was doing it again I would reduce the treacle to 120g or so.  No head on it, but apart from that it looked like an amber ale, tasted like an amber ale and had a medium bodied mouth feel.  It is completely clear after a day in the fridge.  If I hadn't gone so heavy on the treacle it would probably be more like a pale ale.  In time the rest of the treacle may ferment out, it's been two weeks in the bottle and keg and has not fully carbed up yet, but not bad so far.  Two thumbs up.

Just brewed this today- tasted it when taking the OG and my god it's rough. Please tell me it works out ok once fermented??
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: Metattron on December 23, 2013, 10:24:12 PM
Yes, mine cleared nicely and turned out really well.  Did you use the same recipe?
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: MisterBurns on January 04, 2014, 01:57:55 PM
Quote from: Metattron on December 23, 2013, 10:24:12 PM
Yes, mine cleared nicely and turned out really well.  Did you use the same recipe?

Yep used same recipe. Just took a reading today @ 1.018 so may have a bit more to go but it is genuinely not a nice drink. Quite a bitter and as the other half called it rancid taste! What was your fg? Did it taste bad prior to bottling or am I on a loser with this one?? Help Metattron!
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: fergus on January 05, 2014, 05:45:31 AM
My wife is gluten intolerant and I have an IPA on tap that I brewed with clarity-ferm, specifically to see if she could drink it. Long and the short of it is she can, with no adverse reaction. I wouldn't use it in a stout or porter though and haven't heard great reviews about the darker ales brewed with CF. I also have celiac friends but would not be willing to give them a beer brewed with CF as, even though it does reduce gluten, you cannot say it is entirely gluten free.

Another point to note; if you do want to brew true gluten free, you will need another complete setup that is not used for regular brewing. Otherwise, you run the risk of cross contamination and someone with a severe case of celiac disease will not thank you when they are bent over in pain or worse.

Bud is not gluten free but does have significantly less than other brands because of the large % of rice in the grain bill.

Cheers,

Ferg
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: DEMPSEY on January 05, 2014, 02:42:07 PM
When you brewed the beer for your wife did you have to test it first with a kit.
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: fergus on January 05, 2014, 04:01:44 PM
Hey Dempsey. Nope...she was a willing guinea pig and understood the risks so, no test :) She is gluten intolerant as opposed to celiac. That being said, if I knew I was going to serve to someone with celiac disease I would have forked out for the test, give them the info and then let them decide.


Cheers,

Ferg
Title: Re: Gluten free beer
Post by: Metattron on January 07, 2014, 12:30:33 AM
@MisterBurns - Mine went from 1.050 to 1.015.  Very clear, dark amber colour.  It was a well bittered beer, hoppy, but I do like a hoppy beer.  No off flavours or smells from it, just the aftertaste of treacle.