Kiss Me, I Brewed This! Irish Red
This traditional Irish Red ale is a popular pounder.
Estimated OG: 1.056
Estimated FG: 1.014
Estimated IBUS: 27
Estimated ABV: 5.5%
HOPS SCHEDULE
1.25 oz (35 g) Kent Golding at 60 minutes
0.75 oz (21 g) Kent Golding at 5 minutes
YEAST
Irish Ale
ALL-GRAIN
MALT/GRAIN BILL
9 lb (4.8 kg) Maris Otter
1.75 lb (794 g) Flaked maize
1 lb (454 g) Heritage Crystal
0.13 lb (59 g) British roasted barley
DIRECTIONS
Mash grains at 150°F (65°C) for 60 minutes. Boil for 60 minutes following the hops schedule. For a gluten-reduced beer, add 10 ml (one vial) of White Labs Clarity Ferm when you pitch the yeast.
EXTRACT
EXTRACT/GRAIN BILL
7.25 lb (3.3 kg) Maris Otter liquid extract
1 lb (454 g) Heritage Crystal
0.13 lb (59 g) British roasted barley
ADDITIVES
5 oz (142 g) table sugar at 5 minutes
DIRECTIONS
Steep specialty grains at 155°F (68°C) for 20 minutes. Boil for 60 minutes following the hops and additives schedules. For a gluten-reduced beer, add 10 ml (one vial) of White Labs Clarity Ferm when you pitch the yeast. will yield 1.007 degree of specific gravity in a 5-gallon (19-liter) batch. Brown rice syrup is also popular, as are any number of Belgian candi sugars, honey, and dextrose.
Mashing your own gluten-free grains may be possible depending upon where you live and your level of dedication. At present, only a few homebrew suppliers stock gluten-free grain malts, the most popular of which are derived from sorghum, rice, buckwheat, and millet. Gluten-free oats are also available, but you need to take care that you’re getting oats that are designated as such. Chestnuts and sunflower seeds also find their way into some recipes.
Twila Henley of Grouse Malting & Roasting Company in Wellington, Colorado, a malting group devoted exclusively to gluten-free products, recommends a single infusion mash for well-modified gluten-free grains. A fairly high mash temperature of 163°F (73°C), along with an extended rest of up to two hours, will give alpha amylase enzymes sufficient time to break down the starches into fermentable sugars.
You may need to add supplemental enzymes to ensure full saccharification. Alpha amylase is available in liquid form from many suppliers. Dosing your mash with this enzyme can help promote conversion of starches to sugars. And keep in mind that gluten-free malts such as sorghum often lack husks. Adding 0.1 pounds (45 grams) of rice hulls per gallon (3.8 liters) of final wort (e.g., 0.5 pounds/227 grams for a 5-gallon/19-liter batch) can help with lautering.
As for hops, they don’t contain gluten, barring any contamination along the way from bine to barrel.
And then the yeast—according to Wyeast, Activator smack packs contain about 120 ppm gluten, which is many times greater than the 20 ppm threshold. However, pitching a single smack pack into 5 gallons (19 liters) of wort dilutes the net concentration in your beer to about 0.8 ppm, which may be acceptable. Two Wyeast strains are completely gluten-free: 1272 GF American Ale II and 2206 GF Bavarian Lager. These are likely your best bet if you must avoid gluten completely.
At present, White Labs doesn’t market any yeast strains as gluten-free, but the company claims that its yeast slurry works out to only 12 ppm in the package. Those who use dry yeast are in even more luck, as both Fermentis and Danstar propagate their dry strains on substrates that do not contain grain and are certified gluten-free.
Celiac disease is a serious condition whose management requires significant lifestyle changes. But gluten-free and gluten-reduced beers offer celiac sufferers tasty new tipples that everyone can get behind. Even gluten gluttons like me.