GF Chamomile Lavender Summer Ale
Extract
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5 gallons
Boil Size: 1.5 gallons
FERMENTABLES:
6 lb - White Sorghum Syrup - Gluten Free
1.25 lb - Brown Rice Syrup - Gluten Free
1 lb - Toasted Brown Buckwheat
HOPS:
1.5 oz Saaz @ 60 min
1 oz Crysal @ 0 min
OTHER INGREDIENTS:
5 tsp DAP/Yeast Nutrient @ 15 min
3 tbsp Malto Dextrin @ 15 min
1 oz - German Chamomile Flowers @ 0 min
0.5 oz - Lavender Flowers @ 0 min
YEAST:
Fermentis / Safale - Safale - English Ale Yeast S-04
Priming: Force carbonated in keg, 2 days at 27psi @ 36 degrees F
Process:
Toasted buckwheat for 2 hours @ 225 degrees F, then about 10 min under broil. Steeped 30 min @ 152 degrees F. Boiled 3# Sorghum, added remaining extracts @ 5 min. Pitched slurry of re-hydrated S-04 @ 60 degrees F. Avg fermentation temp was around 68 degrees F. Primary fermentation lasted 4 weeks, 1 week in secondary with Polycar (see below).
Notes:
I started GF brewing for my wife last year and this is the first recipe I feel confident in posting. The buckwheat and brown rice syrup diminish the bite of the sorghum nicely. The chamomile is very strong (which I happen to like) but lavender comes through nicely on the finish. This is the first GF beer I've brewed that received rave reviews from all of our GF friends. If you do not want too much chamomile cut it back by a half-ounce.
The goal was to pair flowery, fragrant hops with chamomile and lavender to create something light on the palate with a smooth finish. I have found that chamomile really pairs well with spicy/sweet foods so I had BBQ in mind the whole way. Despite the fact that this is fairly high ABV for a summer ale (7.875% for me) it finishes smoothly. After four weeks in the keg there is not any bite from the sorghum.
I added all of the chamomile and lavender directly into the wort at flame out. This was a mistake - I strongly recommend using a muslin tea bag or hop bag to avoid sucking a whole bunch of chamomile through your auto siphon. Fortunately adding a little Polycar to the secondary helped settle the chamomile out.
The use of S-04 was simply because I have had consistently better attenuation using this yeast in GF brews compared to S-05.
Enjoy!
Extract
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5 gallons
Boil Size: 1.5 gallons
FERMENTABLES:
6 lb - White Sorghum Syrup - Gluten Free
1.25 lb - Brown Rice Syrup - Gluten Free
1 lb - Toasted Brown Buckwheat
HOPS:
1.5 oz Saaz @ 60 min
1 oz Crysal @ 0 min
OTHER INGREDIENTS:
5 tsp DAP/Yeast Nutrient @ 15 min
3 tbsp Malto Dextrin @ 15 min
1 oz - German Chamomile Flowers @ 0 min
0.5 oz - Lavender Flowers @ 0 min
YEAST:
Fermentis / Safale - Safale - English Ale Yeast S-04
Priming: Force carbonated in keg, 2 days at 27psi @ 36 degrees F
Process:
Toasted buckwheat for 2 hours @ 225 degrees F, then about 10 min under broil. Steeped 30 min @ 152 degrees F. Boiled 3# Sorghum, added remaining extracts @ 5 min. Pitched slurry of re-hydrated S-04 @ 60 degrees F. Avg fermentation temp was around 68 degrees F. Primary fermentation lasted 4 weeks, 1 week in secondary with Polycar (see below).
Notes:
I started GF brewing for my wife last year and this is the first recipe I feel confident in posting. The buckwheat and brown rice syrup diminish the bite of the sorghum nicely. The chamomile is very strong (which I happen to like) but lavender comes through nicely on the finish. This is the first GF beer I've brewed that received rave reviews from all of our GF friends. If you do not want too much chamomile cut it back by a half-ounce.
The goal was to pair flowery, fragrant hops with chamomile and lavender to create something light on the palate with a smooth finish. I have found that chamomile really pairs well with spicy/sweet foods so I had BBQ in mind the whole way. Despite the fact that this is fairly high ABV for a summer ale (7.875% for me) it finishes smoothly. After four weeks in the keg there is not any bite from the sorghum.
I added all of the chamomile and lavender directly into the wort at flame out. This was a mistake - I strongly recommend using a muslin tea bag or hop bag to avoid sucking a whole bunch of chamomile through your auto siphon. Fortunately adding a little Polycar to the secondary helped settle the chamomile out.
The use of S-04 was simply because I have had consistently better attenuation using this yeast in GF brews compared to S-05.
Enjoy!
