Brew Day

Well, last Friday was brew day. I finally got my kiester off the couch and cleaned and sanitized all the brew equipment (that I needed). I had already bought the ingredients a while back, but they were just sitting around being lonely so I just decided to get them together for a party. Think of me as a matchmaker.
(Buckwheat, oh buckwheat, have I got a match for you! It's bitter, it smells, alright it's hoppy too.)

So, this is my first attempt at a gluten-free beer and I'm completely making the recipe up. While I have some experience making beer and had a fairly good idea of what I was doing, the reality is that this is new territory. It's kind of like comparing apples to oranges. One of the greatest things about 'normal' beer IS THE GLUTEN. From what I've read (and this is only if I'm interpreting correctly) the gluten is was provides 'normal' beers with things like head retention and good mouthfeel. The commercially made gluten-free beers I've had have all had the head-retention issue. If I do what most beer guys call a bad pour with a gluten-free beer, in other words too much head, that head might actually last for the duration of my imbibing. But I HAVE to do that.Hopefully with my experimentations I can solve this little quandary. I do so prefer a beer with no fuss.

Recipe: (*= my own addition)
- 7 lbs. Briess White Sorghum Liquid Malt Extract
- 1 lb. Belgian Amber Candy Sugar
*- 1lb. toasted raw buckwheat groats
*- 1/2 lb. of Bob's Red Mill gluten-free oats
- Coopers dry brewing yeast (I thought it was an ale yeast, but it's bottom-fermenting...so lager?)
- 2 oz. Cascade Hops
- 1 oz. Centennial Hops (maybe only for dry-hopping, haven't decided yet)

Mr. McKenzie came and helped me brew. It was his first time and I
think he really enjoyed the process. He definitely asked a lot of really good questions. It was a beautiful day for brewing outdoors and my new turkey fryer really did the trick. I highly recommend one to homebrewers who are still trying to use the electric stove in their kitchen.

I recommend them for numerous reasons. 1) You won't waste electricity trying to boil 4 gallons of water. 2) Most homebrewers are guys, most guys like fire and let's face it, turkey fryers are just plain cool. 3) Your significant other won't be upset for brewing in the house [this was my motivation]. 4) [grunting] power, fire, [more grunting]

By the time the boil was done and the beer cooling down, the sun had gone down and it was starting to get chilly. According to the thermometer on the carboy, the beer was finally down to 70° F so I could pitch the yeast. In it went, and then in came the beer to my basement. As I hovered over the beer like an overprotective father, I saw the thermometer slowly start to rise back into the 80's. OH NO!! I forgot to account for the outside air temps effect on the thermometer! Super dumb mistake, but luckily, no harm done.I woke up the next day and checked on the beer to find it happily bubbling away.

One thing I was surprised about though was the fact that the supposed ale yeast was on the bottom doing its thing. Maybe it was actually a lager yeast? In which case, it might be better since my beer is in the basement which is not exactly the warmest place. A check midday on Saturday showed the temp in the carboy at 64°F. Not exactly the best temp for ale yeast, but not awful either. As CP would say, "Relax, have a homebrew." I would if I had any. I guess I'll just have to overlap brews and make some more. For now, I'll end with the pics I took; not many, but at least you can see some stuff. You'll notice the color of the beer is pretty light. This is from the white sorghum syrup. I am hoping for a pale ale-ish brew. I certainly added enough hops for one.





If you look carefully at the airlock above and then below, you'll see that I caught a bubble, thus proving that CO2 is being released. The basement smells like fermenting beer too, which is a smell I've missed sorely. Welcome back, old friend, welcome back.