Gluten free and vegan beer

[Asaf_R]

Hi everyone,

i am really new to beer brewing...just started reading the "how to brew" book,
until a year and a half i was drinking beer without worrying about gluten
due to Celiac i stopped drinking beer at all and lately (after a few parties that i had nothing to drink )) i was thinking to make some beer brewing at home that i will be able to take with me to some dinners\parties and stuff like that.

can someone give me the most basic recipe for GF beer that i should start with?
(i forgot to mention i am also vegan so it's need to be without honey\gelatin\isenglass)
what is basic equipment i need to buy for GF beer brewing?

and just one more thing, how widely is the use of gelatin\isenglass in GF beers?

Thanks in advance,
Asaf.

 

[BrewCanuck]

Asaf,

Welcome. First thing I'd suggest is take a look at the GF Recipes Section, there are about 20 recipes there now.

In any of the recipes that use honey you could play with substituting Agave Syrup, Molasses, Sorghum Molasses (not Sorghum syrup), Maple Syrup, etc.

Instead of Gelatin or Isenglass use Irish Moss in the boil. Cold crashing can also help to clear a beer instead of the Gelatin/isenglass. I'm not sure how widely gelatin or isenglass are used in production.

Your best bet for knowing basic equipment is check out Northern Brewer or Midwest. Look at what they include in their basic equipment kits and use that to think about what you want to do. 2.5 gallon, 5 gallon, 10 gallon, Bottle with crown cap or flip top, 5L party keg, Corny keg, etc. From there you can decide if you want to order the kit or order al la carte, you could also talk to someone at your Local Home Brew Store.

Good luck

 

[Asaf_R]

Thanks!!

i saw irish moss in some online store didn't know the use of it,
good to know that there is a replacement

i am going to check the recipes to see if i can get those ingredients in my local stores...not sure at all..

Thanks again,
i have a lot of reading to do and decide on equipment )

 

[BrewCanuck]

You may need to get the rice syrup from a health food store or something like that.

 

[Asaf_R]

After checking with some big brewing store, they don't have sorghum extract
so it's a bit of a problem i guess?

does it mean i should do it my self, all the malting process?
is that what it called all-grain?

Thanks in advance,
Asaf.

 

[BrewCanuck]

I can't get Sorghum Extract here so I use rice extract for the most part with a combination of steeping grains and other "Sugars".

I'm just starting to get into All grain using external enzymes, I don't have the room to malt here.

 

[Asaf_R]

Thanks man!

i will check with them about rice extract...
can you post one of the recipes you use the rice extract instead?
and what did you mean about steeping grains? which grains?

 

[BrewCanuck]

Asaf,

Steeping is when you soak the grains in water at about 150F for around 30minutes. This adds some grain flavour to the final product.

Here is the recipe for the first brew that I did:

Batch Volume: 2.5gallons
The steeping grains soak up about 0.75 gallons of the steeping water so take that into account along with the amount of boil off, so all I would assume you'd want to start with 4 gallons of water or so.

Grain Bill
1lb Roasted Buckwheat – Steeped for 30 minutes @ 160°F
1lb Roasted Millet – Steeped for 30 minutes @ 160°F
4lb Brown Rice Syrup – Added 60 min remaining in boil
0.5lb Black Strap Molasses – Added at 20 min remaining in boil
0.5lb Maple Syrup, Grade C – Added at 20 min remaining in boil

Hop Schedule
0.5oz Fuggles (4,98% AA) – Added at 60 minutes remaining in boil
0.5oz East Kent Goldings (6.00% AA) – Added at 15 minutes remaining in boil

Misc Ingredients
0.2oz Irish Moss for clarifying – Added at 10 minutes remaining in boil
3.5oz Malto-Dextrin for body – Added at 10 minutes remaining in boil

Cold crash for about 48 hours before bottling.

Carb with 65g dextrose (corn sugar) after about 5 weeks in the primary ready to drink after 3 weeks in the bottle.

For the roasted grain, based on experience, I'd suggest the following:
- Place grain in two seperate bowls and soak with water for about an hour
- Drain and rinse grain then spread over a cookie sheet
- Place in the oven at around 375F, stirring every 20 minutes, until the grains reach a nice brown colour
- The Millet will probably take a little longer than the buckwheat (1-2 hours)
- Place the cooled grains in a paper bag for about a week before steeping, this will allow the harsher and more astringent flavours to mellow

Good luck

 

[Tyler_in_Eugene]

I know that Ninkasi in Oregon uses a centrifuge to clarify their beers-- not sure how widespread that practice is for breweries. Whirlfloc works at our scale, at any rate.
Welcome to hombrewing, Asaf R!

 

[Asaf_R]

Thanks thanks thanks
You helped me a lot with understanding the process
First thing on sunday i will drive to the brewing store buying the ingredients and some basic brewing kit.

I am still reading the other threads and it's great also.


I am happy i found this forum!

 

[MapleTreeBrewCo]

I started off with a Brewer's Best GF Ale Kit. I think we got ours online, but now even the local brewshop has them in stock. It turned out pretty good, and it was nice not having to worry about a recipe for my first homebrew.