New GF brewer

[Imaril]

Hi all

I'm going to drop my first attempt at GF brewing today or tonight.
I've already had a wander around this forum and found it very helpful.

I'm planning on experimenting for a little while to get my head around flavours so I plan to do a few SMaSh (SHaME really) brews to get to know my ingredients.

I'll be brewing quite small batches (5 liters - which I think is less than 2 gallons) in a glass Carboy, then bottling.

For my first attempt I'm using BriessSweet White Sorghum Syrup as the 'malt'
I have Safeale US-05 Do you guys think that is an OK yeast to use with sorghum?

My main question is about the hops: I was thinking of starting with Saaz as a kind of 'neutral' hop flavour - that is, I want a good hop variety to benchmark against in future brews, and I also want to be able to taste what the sorghum syrup does without overpowering it.

Do you think Saaz makes a good benchmark for this situation?

(My other possibilities sitting in my cupboard are: Hallertau, Citra, Galaxy, and Willamette)

Thanks in advance for any feedback

 

[Osedax]

Welcome!

US-05 is a good yeast to start off with. You just throw it in and go. I wouldn't recommend the whole package for a 5 liter batch. It can throw off some peachy off flavors if stressed too much but, most people don't mind it.

Saaz is also a good choice. Spicy and citrus hops play well with sorghum. Reminds me of my first beer. Saaz and Goldings. I did half sorghum and half honey. Threw in some corriander for no reason. Came out well.

I recommend using some maltodextrin and replacing some of the sorghum with candi syrup and buckwheat honey. Rice syrup is also a solid choice but can get pricey. I like oats in most styles but, will leave it cloudy.

You won't need to worry about that if you are doing a SMaSH. I still recommend the malto. It won't change the flavor but, will give you much needed mouthfeel.

Good luck with the brew! Post up your recipe and impression afterward.

 

[Imaril]

Ta.
Im not sure how easy it is to get buckwheat honey in Australia, but my wife always has rice malt syrup in the cupboard because she cooks with it instead of cane sugar, so that'll be my go to.
I brewed last night and it's bubbling away nicely, so I'll report in a few weeks