Gluten Free Brewing

Golden, crisp and refreshing with a touch of honey and a citrusy, hoppy finish. This is the answer if you can’t have gluten but you really like beer. A touch of honey adds a unique character. Light and refreshing with a distinct hop flavour. Can be used as a base for gluten free fruit beer. Serve cold. Please Note: While none of the ingredients in this beer recipe contain gluten, we cannot guarantee that they have never been in contact with trace amounts or been processed in facilities that also produce products containing gluten.

Made from White Sorghum, this extract is 100% Gluten Free. Mild in flavor, light in body (2-3L). One pound per one gallon of water will yield 1.040 SG. Sorghum has been used in brewing as an adjunct for years now, but is gaining popularity as a complete malt substitute in beer. Coeliacs - people allergic to gluten - have to avoid items with gluten in them, including beer. Substituting Sorghum extract for malt extract opens a whole new brewing door for people.

In the shop, we have been experimenting with this extract, and have found the flavor of sorghum is not like malt at all. It has a light spicy note to it, and the mouthfeel is virtually non-existant. These two things make brewing with 100% Sorghum a nice little challenge. While the result is a drinkable beer, it needs some work. We suggest trying Heather Tips, Honey, Belgian Candi Syrup, and to stay away from "citrusy" hops. You use about 50% less hops when bittering sorghum extract.

There are some ingredients that cannot be used in brewing a beer for a person who is allergic to Gluten. Any specialty grains, or any sort of malted grain in general. Liquid yeast is to be avoided, as the media in which the yeast are packaged does have trace amounts of gluten. Dextrin cannot be used either, although some people say any gluten is driven out during manufacturing due to the high heat involved.

Obviously, some people are more sensitive to gluten than others, so please check with your doctor before taking our word for anything. After all, we are just beer guys!