Jim's foray into gluten-free brewing

[vernsgal]

For this kit recipe, I think I am going to dark-roast my sorghum grains

Honestly I have to admit this whole thread is above my beer knowledge.(not sure if I'll ever make a decent batch, or even know it if I did,lol) But I do have to ask Jim "what kit are you starting with"?, or is "kit" just a term?

I'm such a newbie with the beer making

 

[vernsgal]

sorry, just noticed on your opening post you said "Brewer's Best Gluten Free".Maybe if I cut down on my glutens I could pay more attention

 

[jswordy]

sorry, just noticed on your opening post you said "Brewer's Best Gluten Free".Maybe if I cut down on my glutens I could pay more attention

Brewer's Best is made by LD Carlsen, supplier to winemakers for many years. So far, I have been very impressed at what Brewer's Best delivers for their price points.

 

[Elmer]

Brewer's Best is made by LD Carlsen, supplier to winemakers for many years. So far, I have been very impressed at what Brewer's Best delivers for their price points.

I just picked up their west coast IPA kit.
I am anxiously awaiting to make this kit.
I am finding I can make the same buy piece mealing together a recipe.
I already have the prime sugar and more caps than I can use. It just comes down to grains and Malt & Hops.
But it is nice to get everything in 1 nice little box!

 

[Jimyson]

Jim,

I'd be interested if Clarity Ferm would help you and decrease your joint pain while still brewing the recipes that you like with barley. I have no experience with it but would be interested to see the results. Just a thought.

http://www.whitelabs.com/other-products/wln4000-clarity-ferm-brewers-clarex

 

[jswordy]

I just picked up their west coast IPA kit.
I am anxiously awaiting to make this kit.
I am finding I can make the same buy piece mealing together a recipe.
I already have the prime sugar and more caps than I can use. It just comes down to grains and Malt & Hops.
But it is nice to get everything in 1 nice little box!

Yes, I can make the same recipe piece by piece - heck, you can look up the contents of each online - but not at the price points where I'm buying the kits. $27 for Scottish ale, free ship if you buy two? Hard to beat that price piece by piece. I find they send you more caps than you need, too, so those get recycled into other kit beers.

It sure is a different experience than others, who price you a "kit" that sounds reasonable, and then say, oh yeah, you have to add the yeast, and add the caps - and then add the shipping.

I'm happy.

 

[jswordy]

Jim,

I'd be interested if Clarity Ferm would help you and decrease your joint pain while still brewing the recipes that you like with barley. I have no experience with it but would be interested to see the results. Just a thought.

http://www.whitelabs.com/other-products/wln4000-clarity-ferm-brewers-clarex

Hot damn, that's a great link! I just ordered some. Will let you know some time down the line. Thanks.

 

[Jimyson]

Sweet. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

 

[wineinmd]

If you're happy with it, go for it. Back in the 1980s, that's basically what they said when most commercial wine was filtered through asbestos. Unknown to many, the wine industry was one of the last to clean up the asbestos in its act.

One of the chief sources of carrageenan is "Irish moss," which is actually a red algae. Carrageenan is 55% of Irish moss. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chondrus_crispus

Here is the derivative carrageenan link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrageenan

Article:
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA401181/Is-Carrageenan-Safe.html

Research paper:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1242073/

See the selected references in that paper for additional applicable research papers.

I would note that carrageenan is being removed from cosmetics and supplements by reputable companies so fast it will make your head spin.

I've also been told that research shows chitosan won't cause shellfish reactions, but I know that to be untrue by experience. And behold, there is a clinical trial underway: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02151279

Thank you for the additional information. I see where you are coming from better now. I don't see the science to back up any worry that the use of small amounts of irish moss in beer would cause any health issues, but I agree that it makes sense not to use it considering its benefit is merely a cosmetic one.

 

[wineinmd]

One wonders if down the road we'll be reading similar studies on Clarity-Ferm.

 

[Jimyson]

Probably so.

 

[jswordy]

Thank you for the additional information. I see where you are coming from better now. I don't see the science to back up any worry that the use of small amounts of irish moss in beer would cause any health issues, but I agree that it makes sense not to use it considering its benefit is merely a cosmetic one.

Really, I wasn't "coming from" anywhere. I just put the research info out there, and I figure everyone can make up their own minds. Not trying to sell any particular viewpoint, though I have one for myself.

 

[jswordy]

One wonders if down the road we'll be reading similar studies on Clarity-Ferm.

We might. But as a proline-specific endoprotease, basically an enzyme that chops up chains of prolein proteins, I doubt it. We have these types of enzymes in our bodies already.

 

[wineinmd]

Have you tried the finished product yet? If so, how did it turn out? I'd like to make a GF beer for a friend, but I have limited opportunities to brew, so I'd like to make sure I'm starting with a good recipe.

 

[jswordy]

Not even brewed yet.

 

[knifemaker]

Jim, i'm not sure what your kit calls for length of boil, but more of my fuller flavored beers I do an extended boil for an hour or as long as an hour and a half. The longer boils caramelizes the sugars in the wort and adds a little more flavor and color. I think you're on the right track using the roasted grain, and cascade hops. It'll definitely help in the flavor department. Dale.

 

[jswordy]

I did make this beer, using 6 pounds roasted sorghum and the kit, adding a grain steep of 30 minutes at the front end. It is in secondary and due to be bottled next weekend.

A taste out of primary shows promise, with the Cascade coming through nicely. While the beer kit calls for a straw color, I am seeing amber in the carboy, a pleasant sign.



Cost is prohibitive on this method, though. I've got $60 in the kit and the grain. Still, even at $1 - $1.25 a bottle, if it tastes better than what I can buy, I'll be happy with the experiment.

Next up is my own recipe barley beer testing Clarity Ferm as the gluten eliminator.

 

[jswordy]

I got a 46-bottle yield out of this experiment this morning, which puts it per-bottle on par with Redbridge in cost. But it smells and tastes a lot better, so if that holds through carb and aging, I'm happy. The real taste tester will be my wife, who is the one who is tested gluten sensitive.

It fell a bit more to the straw side than I was hoping. Looks cloudy in this carboy because of sediment on the sides. Nice and clear in the bottling carboy.

 

[jswordy]

Well, we got the first taste of this last night, 3 days before the 2-week mark on carbonation. It tastes remarkably complex. It did turn out a straw color.

It apparently will need 1-2 more weeks to carb, since we get the gas on uncapping but the beer is still pretty flat. After running comparisons, I'm about done with priming sugar. I get much better results subbing 5 oz. table sugar.

If I remember, I'll get a pic next time we try it.

 

[RevA]

Well, we got the first taste of this last night, 3 days before the 2-week mark on carbonation. It tastes remarkably complex. It did turn out a straw color.

It apparently will need 1-2 more weeks to carb, since we get the gas on uncapping but the beer is still pretty flat. After running comparisons, I'm about done with priming sugar. I get much better results subbing 5 oz. table sugar.

If I remember, I'll get a pic next time we try it.

Would you say it's worth the effort?