GF Lager Recipes

[rjmaillie]

I've been wanting to brew a Pilsner style for a while now and may finally do it. Thinking really simple, half pale rice, half Munich millet. Traditional hopping schedule, traditional cold ferment.

Anyone have any go to lagers that they've been brewing?

 

[delcosansgluten]

I've been wanting to brew a Pilsner style for a while now and may finally do it. Thinking really simple, half pale rice, half Munich millet. Traditional hopping schedule, traditional cold ferment.

Anyone have any go to lagers that they've been brewing?

I have two lager threads in the forum but can only speak to the Munich Dunkel I made - link. It was delicious and will certainly brew it again.

 

[glutarded-chris]

My preference is pale pilsoner style. It has been a long time since I was in Germany drinking Pils (even though I shouldn't have and I paid the price!) Not sure I remember accurately enough to know if I ever manage to hit the target with my brews. I will weigh in although I am not sure that where my preference led me in my pursuit of a pils style is what you would want.

I found I prefer Saflager 34/70 over all of the ale yeasts that I have used. I ferment closer to Ale temperatures than a true lager, but Saflager 34/70 works very well in the 60's F range.

I found that 100% pale millet base just does not have the right malt flavor and I have hit on a balance between pale millet and biscuit rice. Pale barley has much more flavor than pale millet, so it needs something else with it.

Since the GF malt flavors are not perfect, I go more hop forward in the flavoring and aroma than a pils would. Going for pleasant flavor rather than reproducing a proper pils. I have been experimenting trying to get a hop mix that pairs well with the GF malt flavor in a pale lager-ish brew. I have been using the following recently:

Could be the GF grains or my process, but I have not cared for varieties like E.K. Goldings which I think is known for "earthy/grassy" profile. Definitely interested in what others think.

I just cannot subject myself to Facebook, so I am not up on the latest coming out of the ZeroTolerance group. If anyone has the latest pils advice from ZeroTolerance then I would like to hear it!

 

[rjmaillie]

@glutarded-chris, thank you, this is great. I am looking to do a pale pils, so you are sending me off in the right direction. I like the hop profile too because I was thinking some some combination of traditional German hops and new world.

Have you tried going without the quinoa? For me, buckwheat is out because it has such a distinct flavor, it would get in the way. But do you think the quinoa helps with body? I imagine that's why its in there.

I'm not on facebook either, so maybe someone with a foot in both worlds can hook us up with a link. Would like to get a good discussion going here.

 

[glutarded-chris]

Head retention was historically the motivation and always used a pound or two of buckwheat. I have done recent batches with either pale buckwheat, quinoa or neither and the batch without either of them turned out just fine. Plenty of head retention and body. Honestly I am not sure they are needed at all with the modern enzymes. I don't plan to use buckwheat any longer and my thought was the quinoa might add some flavor. I can get the quinoa at the store locally, so I have been just using it whether it adds anything or not. If I leave it out I just put biscuit rice in its place.

 

[skleice]

I don't have a tried and true recipe yet, but I have dedicated 1 of my kegs to lagers only. I just finished a NZ Pilsner brew day. I went with 50% 4L, 30% pale rice & 20% Munich millet. We shall see...

In regards to quinoa, I used to use it a lot, but have moved away from it.
It comes with some grassy/nuttiness that I don't prefer. I am planning some brews using ivory teff which has more protein and a more sweet/light flavor. Biscuit rice and 4L Rice do wonders for head retention!

https://www.otherwisebrewing.com/blog/getting-better-head-retention-in-gluten-free-beers

 

[glutarded-chris]

Great article!
I use yeast nutrient but I have not paid much attention to the type I get. My local homebrew store carries it and it is probably there for wine makers more than beer. Any thoughts on the best to use?

 

[Beermeister32]

Pilsners typically use 100% pilsner malt. Some use 95% pilsner malt and 5% Munich light. Lose the rice or quinoa.

Use continental hops like Hallertau Mittlefruh, Tettnanger and Saaz. Sometimes you can bitter with Magnum.

Force yourself to go buy a fermenting refrigerator and digital temp control. Pitch your yeast at 46F, ferment at 50F. Lagers are best when fermented COLD.

Lager it for 90 days…. Enjoy!

 

[rjmaillie]

Great article!
I use yeast nutrient but I have not paid much attention to the type I get. My local homebrew store carries it and it is probably there for wine makers more than beer. Any thoughts on the best to use?

I’ve been using nutrients from either Wyeast or White Labs. They go in every beer I make.

 

[delcosansgluten]

Pilsners typically use 100% pilsner malt. Some use 95% pilsner malt and 5% Munich light. Lose the rice or quinoa.

Use continental hops like Hallertau Mittlefruh, Tettnanger and Saaz. Sometimes you can bitter with Magnum.

Force yourself to go buy a fermenting refrigerator and digital temp control. Pitch your yeast at 46F, ferment at 50F. Lagers are best when fermented COLD.

Lager it for 90 days…. Enjoy!

Keep in mind this is a gluten free forum so pilsner malts are not available to us.

 

[Beermeister32]

Sorry, didn’t pick that up. GF stands for gluten free.. wow I would guessed brewing for our Girl Friends. Just kidding, my office manager has a gluten issue, I’m somewhat aware of the digestive issues, she can’t have wheat. How the heck do you make Pilsner without Pilsner malt…. Bummer!

 

[delcosansgluten]

Sorry, didn’t pick that up. GF stands for gluten free.. wow I would guessed brewing for our Girl Friends. Just kidding, my office manager has a gluten issue, I’m somewhat aware of the digestive issues, she can’t have wheat. How the heck do you make Pilsner without Pilsner malt…. Bummer!

haha no worries at all. We actually have a thread for GF grain equivalents to Pilsner and Marris Otter malts.

 

[delcosansgluten]

How do you think this would taste? Messed around in brewersfriend and came up with this Munich Dunkel Lager recipe:

12# Munich Millet
2.5# Biscuit Rice
1# Caramel 120L
2 oz Hallertau Hops
2 packets Diamond Lager Yeast

OG: 1.053
FG: 1.011
ABV: 5.55%
IBU: 16.76
SRM: 18.33

 

[d146895x]

Sorry, didn’t pick that up. GF stands for gluten free.. wow I would guessed brewing for our Girl Friends. Just kidding, my office manager has a gluten issue, I’m somewhat aware of the digestive issues, she can’t have wheat. How the heck do you make Pilsner without Pilsner malt…. Bummer!

I came here via an email link, I thought GF was Grainfather

 

[rjmaillie]

How do you think this would taste? Messed around in brewersfriend and came up with this Munich Dunkel Lager recipe:

12# Munich Millet
2.5# Biscuit Rice
1# Caramel 120L
2 oz Hallertau Hops
2 packets Diamond Lager Yeast

OG: 1.053
FG: 1.011
ABV: 5.55%
IBU: 16.76
SRM: 18.33

I think that may be too much 120L. Dunkel's have a smooth malty backbone with very little roast if any. Try messing around with a combination of 90L and some of the lower roasted malts and maybe some pale caramel and see where you get SRM-wise.

 

[muddy1015]

I just did a lager that used a lot of malted corn and minute rice,

40% malted oats
30% malted corn
20% minute rice
10% goldfinch millet

It came out actually quite clean with the corn and oats coming through less powerful than I expected. I have absolutely no luck with rice malt which is why I haven't used it here, but if I can get it right at some point I think that a solid lager would be something like,

60% biscuit 4L rice
20% malted corn
20% malted oats

Or if the GF oats aren't an option then maybe some goldfinch millet in there. I also have used minute rice in a few beers recently and I think it's been a pretty clean and easy addition.

@skleice have you tried any of that teff in brews yet?? I've been a little curious about it but never tried.

 

[skleice]

I was gonna brew with it last weekend, but the store shipped flour to me instead of grain, so the real stuff is coming tomorrow.

It's supposed to be one of the highest protein content adjuncts we have to choose from depending what you read (the nutritional make up of all of these grains is all over the map).

I am looking forward to trying some corn. Might try it in a witbier with 4L and some teff or oats.

 

[glutarded-chris]

Teff is wicked small, right? Difficult to grind/crack. Is it like quinoa where the husk is so weak that it just bursts in the mash? I heard people talk about it when we were all struggling to get natural enzymes out of the grain and battle sorghum twang, but since commercial enzymes came available, you don't hear much about it. Interested in what you guys come up with.

 

[skleice]

Here's my NZ Pils:
50% 4L Rice
30% Pale Rice
20% Munich Millet
Motueka, Nelson Sauvin, Riwaka
W34/70

Came out great. Really crisp and clean. My only thing is that I would reduce the pale rice to 20% next time.

 

[hout17]

Here's my NZ Pils:
50% 4L Rice
30% Pale Rice
20% Munich Millet
Motueka, Nelson Sauvin, Riwaka
W34/70
View attachment 762383

Came out great. Really crisp and clean. My only thing is that I would reduce the pale rice to 20% next time.

I haven't ventured in to gluten free but that looks like a damn fine pint.

 

[delcosansgluten]

@skleice that pilsner looks bomb!! To offset the lower amount of Pale Rice, what would you increase? Munich or Biscuit?

@rjmaillie I decided to F around and make another lager, starting at post 20 here (inlcudes grainbill) - Munich Dunkel Lager

 

[skleice]

@skleice that pilsner looks bomb!! To offset the lower amount of Pale Rice, what would you increase? Munich or Biscuit?

@rjmaillie I decided to F around and make another lager, starting at post 20 here (inlcudes grainbill) - Munich Dunkel Lager

Thanks! I would just use more 4L. The pale rice flavor and aroma is just too sake-ish for me.