"bear necessities" help me out please

Hey yall Im looking for some help on this recipe if you want to call it that.This is for 3 gals.I got some brown rice syrup from the grocery(4.5 lbs) and I hopped it(all Citra 14.1) at 60 (1oz) 30 (.5oz) and 15 (.5oz).It is super light but nice and hoppy.Im gonna go again with the same thing and add to it a little.Im thinking probably crystal malt 60l and maybe chocolate? I want to start from the bottom and add to it until I get a good beer I like.The reason I am working with brown rice syrup is because A. Its extremely cheap B. Its extremely easy C.I can put it on the grocery list and its always in my cabinet (no questions from the wife) D.Local grocery stopped carrying the barley malt I was using.Now for a little background, Im in med school full time and home with our baby 7 nights a week.So broke I cant even pay attention.No money,no free time.I like brewing my own but with my lack of fundamental resources at the current juncture my real reason is that right now I have 3 gallons of homebrew that cost less than an 18 pack of Busch and tastes much better with the added bonus of no backdoor trots the next day....So Im not looking for advice on how I should go all grain I know how and I simply cant afford the time it takes and I know how to brew extract beers but I cant ask my wife who works full time to support our family for cash to "blow" at the LHBS .I have been buying hops with change I pick up in the school parking lot.Please be constructive and offer any advice bearing my situation.Also I do have a pound of honey I was considering using.I dont want to have to purchase several different things so basicly Id like it to remain as simple as it is and just add something for color and flavor since rice is pretty much flavorless.Thanks in advance.

To start I just want to confirm that you are not looking for a Gluten Free recipe are you? Your mention of Crystal Malt and Chocolate Malt makes it pretty obvious but I just want to confirm. This sub forum is for Gluten Free Brewing (No Barley, Wheat or Rye) but we can probably offer you some advice on other ingredient to use around to house.

Since Brown Rice Syrup tends to ferment pretty dry and not have a lot of nutrients for the yeast, I'd suggest throwing a banana or two into your fermentor. The Protiens in the banana will help with both nutrients for the yeasties and beer body/head formation & retention

Steeping some oatmeal in the brew kettle before starting the boil can also help with mouth feel/body/etc. Check out Igliashon's thread on his No Nonsense Stout, he and others discuss the amout of oatmeal to use & his batch size is about the same as yours. I think it works out to about 3/4lb per gallon steeped for 30min at about 150F.

If you are going to add honey, do so at flameout in order to retain some of the aromatics of the honey but generally honey is going to dry out your beer more. If you caramelize the honey before using it you will convert some of the fructose, which is highly fermentable, into other compounds & sugars. These will add some complexity and leave some sweetness behind.

Unsulphered Black Strap Molasses can help add some complexity, colour and unfermentables to your brew.

Anyway, these are just a few ideas of stuff you can grab at the grocery store, good luck!

BC

Thanks alot for your help.No I am not concerned with it being gluten free I was instructed to move the thread to the gluten free forum for the simple reason that brown rice is really only used by gluten free brewers and none of the other guys really know anything about brewing with it or how to help me flavor it.I dont mind if my brew is gluten free.The reason I suggested the two malts I did is simply because those are the only things I have heard add color,flavor,and head.I like the banana idea and have not considered that.I suppose since my beer is gluten free at this point by default I may as well keep it that way......I will look into the molasses but its seems that the last time I looked they didnt have any form of molasses at the grocery which struck me as odd seeing as I live in the south.I will go read through the threads you posted.Thanks again

TN Banjer you are in the unique position of being able to DRINK barley beer but are brewing Gluten Free beer. If I may add to what was already (well) said. If you are going cheap (I identify greatly with that method) here are some items you can get at the grocery store to help your beer (forgive me the redundancy):

• Brown Rice Syrup, Honey, Molasses, Brown Sugar, White sugar, sorghum syrup/molasses, corn syrup, agave nectar, puffed rice, kasha, oats

But, I would just say experiment and go wild with the gluten free because the field is still wide open. AND you can taste and compare to "regular" beer and see how it is coming along.

Thanks for your advice.I just got done reading a big long article about cooking down sugar into a homemade candi syrup and also basically the same process to produce caramelized honey.I also have been toying with the idea of adding a touch of coffee...for darkening and a roasty flavor.I like Pilsners and IPAs but my wife has been hankering for something dark and stout so Im considering splitting this off and going two completely different directions and trying to experiment my way into eventually having a nice coffee stout and an APA.I am going to start today and heres my plan;

Just for fun we will call this brew "Hop Solo"
-3 gallons-
-4.5lbs Brown rice syrup
-1lb homemade candi syrup(burnt sugar +citric acid to invert)
-1oz Chinook 60 mins
-.5oz Chinook 30 mins
-.5oz Chinook 15 mins
-.5lb caramelized honey at flame out
-1 whole banana in the fermenter


anyone have any ideas why I should not try this?

Well I suppose since 110 people have read this post and only two responded that Im on my own.I appreciate the info you two guys gave and that you took the time to try and help a fellow homebrewer.I took your advice on the un-sulphured molasses and decided to swap that in place of the caramelized honey so this is in fact a completely gluten free recipe.I will repost as soon as I get it goin.I have some Bourbon in my primary and some apple brandy in my secondary(I use stainless kegs for boiler/fermenter/still :rockin: makes life mucho easy-o)Now that I make beer as well I guess I should build another or two.If I keep it up Im gonna need to upsize.I already take up the extra bedroom and the storage room for brewing,driveway/garage to build motorcycles,and my wood shop for building banjos(which is my actual job).My wife says I have a man house with a wife cave but,I think having antique instruments covering every wall in the house is just as classy as family photos and paintings right? I mean,I did agree to keep all the street signs and Dead posters in the shop....Again thanks for the help guys Ill touch base when I get it working.

Since I'm recently retired, I also am looking for brewing on the cheap. The suggestions in this thread sound very interesting. I am going to experiment with one gallon batches...

Im sure you already know it comes out alot cheaper to make in bulk but I would say for a 1 gallon batch I would do ;

1.5 lbs brown rice syrup(4.25 a jar)
1 lbs unsulphured molasses(2.36 a jar)
1 oz. hops for 30-60 mins (2.00 per 2 oz)
.5 oz hops for last 15 mins
.5 oz hops in fermenter

The last hop addition could be left out depending on how much hop you like but I threw it in since the 2oz bag had half an oz left over.It will make a nice light APA and you could go cheap as crap and use bread yeast from the store (homebrewers turn their nose up at it but I and many others I know have done it in a bind with decent results).There are obviously several things you could alter about this recipe but we are talking about CHEAP beer made in your kitchen not beer you wanna bragg about on the forums... Under $10 Means gluten free,cheaper than a case of Busch,much better tasting, and you made it yourself....Score. I dont mean to offend you I was just assuming you are beginner and trying to help.I am still pretty new to beer but,Ive made wine for years and been making whiskey with my paw paw since I was old enough to walk so by all means, dont think I have the answers when it comes to beer.There was someone up there who suggested banana for nutrient supplementing which I plan to try but have not so far.Also you could swap the molasses for candi sugar which is really easy to make basically,pour sugar in a pot,stir and heat till it darkens,add just enough water(carefully it will jump at you) to liquify it so it doesnt turn to rock candy.Thats homemade candi sugar.Some say that you have to add acid(lemon juice works fine) to invert the dis back into the monos but in my understanding that allows the yeast break down both fructose and sucrose using all the available sugars which is nice in a liquor but in a beer it would cause it to not leace any flavors behind and turn out alot more dry tasting....thats all speculation and I have no idea if any of it is true.Im just a banjo player so dont take my word for nothin

Ok yall for anyone who is interested I have the recipe worked out and just tasted the first beer.My wife says its the best beer Ive made so far.I will post this GF recipe for anyone who is interested in a very easy,inexpensive,great tasting homebrew that can be produced by even the greenest of beginners.I will post it in the GF recipes section under Easiest GF beginner beer since it is very simple.I think for someone who is beginning alot of the recipes can be quite intimidating(especially GF) so,to help new brewers get comfy with the brewing process Ill post this one.Its very minimal effort and cost for the enjoyable brew it produces.