Brewing Gluten Free Beer with Pro Brewer Mark Henson
Introduction: Brewing a Gluten-Free American IPA
(Nathan) Hi, and welcome to another BREWHA video. I am here today in the BREWHA warehouse in Victoria with pro brewer Mark Henson from Skint Chestnut Brewing Co in Atlanta Georgia. Mark is an amazing brewer and an all round fantastic guy and he has flown up here to help us learn the ins and outs of brewing a great tasting gluten-free American IPA. There are methods to make gluten-low or even gluten-free beers with typical beer ingredients by reducing gluten levels (that is for another video) but with this recipe we are using all gluten-free ingredients like rice, millet and sorghum.
Today we will be brewing 15 gallons or 60L of gluten-free beer on the BREWHA Large BIAC home and pilot brewing system with the new 5-in-1 fermenter. Mark has graciously shared his gluten free beer recipe and we have put it on the BREWHA website so you can follow along or try it yourself.
(Nathan) Welcome here Mark!
(Mark)~thank you, its good to be here
Why Brew Gluten-Free Beer? Understanding the Motivation
(Nathan) Can you tell us what led to your developing this gluten-free beer?
(Mark)~ Well, I guess that I would say that maybe empathy led me to do it. After conversations with several friends and customers I started realizing that there are people that really love beer but they can't drink it anymore because they were diagnosed at some point with a gluten intolerance. Certainly, there are a lot of beverages that are available to them on the market that don't contain gluten, like ciders, wine, and seltzers -but so many of these people said that they really just missed drinking beer and that gluten-free beer was difficult to find locally. I started imagining if I found myself in a situation like theirs, I would seriously hate it! I would also hope that I would be able to find beer that I could safely drink and enjoy. So that's when I decided that I needed to make beer for people with gluten intolerances.
Gluten-Free vs Gluten-Reduced Beer: Key Differences
As I started really looking into it, I came to an understanding pretty quickly that I had two options. I could either make a gluten-reduced beer or I could make a gluten-free beer. Initially, and not surprisingly, gluten-reduced beer seemed like the better option because it was so much less complicated to make. But, as I looked further into it, I learned that not all gluten intolerances are the same and that even though gluten-reduced beer is safe to consume for many people with gluten intolerances, there are many other people that have such severe sensitivities to gluten that gluten-reduced beer could still make them sick if they drank it. In the end I chose to make a gluten-free beer because it could safely be consumed by more people.
(Nathan) Thank you so much for being willing to show us how you make the magic happen. Can you tell us how it’s made?
Preventing Cross Contamination in Gluten-Free Brewing
Sure! First of all, since I'm working in a brewery that also brews traditional beer using grains like barley and wheat, cross contamination can be a concern. I've reduced the risk of that by dedicating certain equipment to only be used for my gluten-free brews. For example, I bought an extra mill for only grinding gluten free grains. I bought a carbonation stone to only use with gluten-free beer. Also, I have dedicated a tap for only serving gluten-free beer.
Benefits of the BREWHA BIAC System for Gluten-Free Brewing
This is also where the BREWHA brewing system can be really beneficial. I can dedicate a single BREWHA vessel to gluten-free brewing and when I make a gluten-free beer, it can stay in that vessel through the whole process. Since the mash, the boil, the fermentation and the carbonation all happen in one vessel, it minimizes exposure to equipment that is not gluten free. Essentially, my gluten-free beer can be isolated in that vessel from the rest of my brewhouse.
Simply put, everything that this product touches needs to be considered and measures taken to prevent cross contamination.
Gluten-Free IPA Grain Bill: Rice, Millet, Buckwheat & Sorghum
As for my gluten-free American IPA recipe, I've worked on dialing it in for about a year now. The grains that I use in the mash are rice, millet, and buckwheat.
I have found that most gluten free beers can be made with just rice or just millet or a combination of the two. They're used as base malt and they are also offered in a large range of specialty malts, such as crystal/caramel or kilned or roasted.
In my recipe I am using roughly 39% biscuit rice malt, which has a bready flavor, and 25% pale rice, which has a more neutral flavor, 13% Vienna millet malt, which give a little toasty flavor and a it contributes a little color and 5% light roasted millet for color and a little more toast flavor.
Using Buckwheat and Sorghum in Gluten-Free Beer Recipes
I am also, using roughly 10% buckwheat. I use buckwheat to enhance foam stability and mouthfeel. It contributes a nutty earthy flavor, which can be a nice addition. But, in my opinion, its flavor contribution gets a little weird above 10%. This is just my opinion on this particular beer I'm making. Common recommendations that I've seen suggest that buckwheat can be used up to 30% of the grain bill and I imagine large percentages like that may be nice in a saison or a witbier, but not an IPA.
Lastly, I add about 8% sorghum in the form of an extract syrup. I add this to the boil at flame out. I actually I do this as a syrup because I ran out of room for more grains in my mash. Sorghum extract is great for adding fermentable sugars that won't dry the beer out. However, I have found that too much sorghum can get a little gross. I've read that when people first started making gluten-free beer, these beers would often be made with up to 100% sorghum. They were generally not very well received, so people started finding other types of grains to brew with. Sorghum is still used today, but it seems best if its used as a much smaller percentage of a recipe.
Sourcing Certified Gluten-Free Brewing Ingredients
When purchasing grains, it is important that they are sourced from dedicated gluten-free malting and processing facilities. Great companies to buy from are Grouse Malt House and Eckert Malting.
Water Chemistry and Mash Preparation for Gluten-Free Brewing
Before I mash in, I add my salts aiming for the following water profile:
- calcium 43 ppm,
- magnesium 2 ppm,
- sodium 19 ppm,
- chloride 48 ppm,
- sulfate 48 ppm
I also add 14 ml of lactic acid to reach a Ph of 5.3.
Using Enzymes in Gluten-Free Mashing
Gluten-free grains have lower diastatic power compared to traditional brewing grains, so adding enzymes to the mash is important to help with the conversion. There are A LOT of enzymes on the market sold for this very purpose and different enzymes will require different mashing processes and different temperatures. I've tried a few and the ones that I settled on for my recipe are Ondea Pro and Ceremix Flex.
Step-by-Step Gluten-Free Mash Schedule
I add these at 38ml each when I mash in at the temperature of 128f and then rest for 30 minutes. Then I slowly raise the temperature to 145f and rest for 30 minutes. Then I raise the temperature to 175 and rest for 30 minutes. Then I remove the grains and bring the brew to a boil.
Boil Additions and Hop Schedule for Gluten Free American IPA
During the boil I use all Centennial hops. My boil additions are 60 minute hops at 23.6 IBU and 15 minute hops at 12.2 IBU. At 10 minutes I add 4 ml of lactic acid and at 7 minutes I add 2 grams of Whirlfloc and 2 grams of yeast nutrient. I add my last addition of boil hops at 5 minutes at 5.8 IBU. At flame out, I will whirlpool the brew and add the sorghum extract. When the brew cools to 170f, I add my hopstand hops, which is a combination of Idaho 7 (1 oz) and Centennial (2 oz).
Fermentation Process and Yeast Considerations
When the beer cools to 68f, I pitch 50g of Safale 05 and let the beer ferment at 68f.
It should be noted that while yeast is obviously gluten-free, the media that it's often propagated in is not. You should always check with the company that sells the yeast to make sure it's gluten free before using it in a gluten free beer. I have checked, and I can verify that all fermentis' yeast offerings are gluten free.
Dry Hopping Techniques for Gluten-Free IPA
After fermentation has completed (about 5 days), I add the dry hops. I always change up the dry hop quantities and varieties for this beer. Here, I am adding 7 oz of Centennial, 5 oz of Citra, 2 oz of Idaho 7, and 3 oz of Cryo Loral. Then 5 days later I carbonate and keg.
Recommended Resources for Gluten-Free Brewing
And that is how to make what my customers consider to be a delicious gluten-free beer. If looking for other resources, Robert Keifer's book, Gluten-Free Brewing Is a great resource and the Zero Tolerance homebrew club has a wiki that is very helpful.
(Nathan) Thank you very much Mark, I have found this very informative and along with a few gluten-free friends, am looking forward to drinking this beer.
Thanks you for watching and if you are ever in the Atlanta area, visiting Mark at Skint Chestnut Brewing in Powdered Springs is well worth the visit! Cheers!