I’ve tried a few recipes in an attempt to get a good gluten free beer. Until recently all I had to work with as the base was sorghum. the results were always disappointing.  The sorghum has a lot of iron and the metallic aftertaste was not pleasant.

My latest attempt uses a brown rice extract made by Briess Malting.  The results at this point are far better than the sorghum attempts.  I’m trying to get a good craft style beer such as an American Pale Ale that has a great hop character to help me stay away from the consequences of drinking my favorite beverage.

The brown rice extract and malted oats are available at our store. The sprouted Quinoa and toasted buckwheat I found at Whole Foods in the bulk section.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

6.00 lb Brown Rice Syrup (2.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Buckwheat – Roasted (3.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Oat Malt (2.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Quinoa – Sprouted (1.0 SRM)
0.50 oz Chinook Hops [13.00 %] (60 min) 21.8 IBU
0.50 oz Chinook Hops [13.00 %] (15 min) 10.8 IBU
0.50 oz Citra Hops [11.10 %] (15 min) 9.2 IBU
0.50 oz Citra Hops [11.10 %] (5 min) 3.7 IBU
0.50 lb Brown Sugar, Dark (50.0 SRM)

1 packet US-05 Yeast

Steep grains at 150° for 45 minutes in a grain bag using enough water to fully submerge the grains. It’s best if the grains ahve room to “swim” around the liquid.  Remove from water and sparge (sprinkle evenly) enough water at 170° to get around 3 gallons of water. Discard the grains.

Bring to a boil and add the Brown Rice Syrup. Stir till dissolved and add hops according to the schedule above.

Remove hops and cool quickly. Add to sanitized fermenter and add enough water to get to 5 gallons.  Make sure temperature is below 75° and sprinkle yeast on top of wort.

Ferment for 1-2 weeks and bottle with 3/4 cup priming sugar to carbonate the beer.

This beer isn’t carbonated yet but the flavor at bottling time was immensely encouraging.  The intense grapefruit character from the hops was exactly what I was targeting.

Please keep in mind that when purchasing items from our store that this is a homebrew store.  It is loaded with several varieties of barley, rye and wheat grains that are crushed in the store everyday. We can’t guarantee that the oat malt and brown rice syrup won’t come in contact with products containing wheat.  You may wish to crush the oat malt yourself as all the malts at High Gravity are crushed on the same mill.

Cheers,
Desiree Knott
desiree@highgravitybrew.com
High Gravity Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies
Tulsa Homebrew Examiner
High Gravity’s Facebook Fan Page

So here are a few sites that are informative and easy to navigate. Go forth and educate yourself.

Wine Paring:

www.foodandwinepairing.org

E&J Gallo Winery Winery Food Pairing Guide

Beer Pairing:

CraftBeer.com

The Homebrew Chef

Wegman’s Guide to Beer and Food Pairing

Draft Magazine’s Food Section

Cheers,
Desiree Knott
desiree@highgravitybrew.com
High Gravity Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies
Tulsa Homebrew Examiner
High Gravity’s Facebook Fan Page

High Gravity Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies

I would like to talk to you today about supporting your local homebrew shop.  A few things have happened recently and because of them I feel it is important to discuss why this is such an important topic.  Not just because I own a homebrew store.  If that were the case I wouldn’t be telling you to support you local homebrew store.  I would be telling you to buy everything from me.

First, let’s talk about relationships.  Having a local homebrew store builds relationships.  As an owner, I meet and make new friends that enrich my life.  As a brewer and or winemaking customer, you meet others with the same interests and in return, you make new friends that enrich your life.  Having a store where you get to interact with others is a great benefit that those being forced to order through the internet don’t have.  It is a source of happiness and I really mean that.

Second, let’s talk about keeping it local.  Supporting your LHBS keeps the money local.  Sales tax goes to the city, county and state.  Wages go to the employees who then spend their earnings, helping with the local economy again.  Purchasing from your local homebrew store hopefully gives them the revenue to grow and continue to carry all the things you want to be able to buy on short notice.

Third, let’s talk about service.  I know that there are items you can buy on the internet that are less expensive.  I know that everyone wants to get the best deal they can get but having a local homebrew store needs to have to support if you want it to be there next year.  Honestly, homebrew store owners aren’t making a fortune doing this.  We are doing it because we truly love the hobby.  So when a customer says he found a conical fermenter for $15 dollars cheaper and wants us to match the price, it is a frustration.  It is a frustration because we provide so much more than just product.  We provide service.  The same person that demands we meet the price of some eBay store or he/she will purchase from them is the same person that will come into their local homebrew store two weeks later and take up an hour of their time discussing the benefits/disadvantages of making a yeast starter or why Hallertau hops should be used instead of Saaz. You get the picture.

Sometimes we just can’t match the price of the online competition. Now if it is a massive amount of savings I can’t blame a customer from making that purchase.  We all have pocketbooks that we have to balance.  But if the difference is small, please consider purchasing it from your LHBS and not threaten to take your business elsewhere.  Take a moment and think about what it would be like not having them nearby to service and take care of you. It is what we live for and enjoy doing more than anything.  It would be just as devastating to us to not to be able to serve you as it would be for you not having us there. Also, in the end, the LHBS that is small and doesn’t have everything you need just might be able to grow and change that. Wouldn’t that be cool.

Cheers,
Desiree Knott
desiree@highgravitybrew.com
High Gravity Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies
Tulsa Homebrew Examiner
High Gravity’s Facebook Fan Page

In order to leave a comment you will need to register an account and login.  I hate doing this but the hundreds of spam posts that I have to weed through everyday is getting to be too much.  Requiring a registered account will virtually eliminate them.

Thanks for understanding…

Cheers,
Desiree Knott
desiree@highgravitybrew.com
http://www.highgravitybrew.com
http://www.examiner.com/x-16115-Tulsa-Home-Brewing-Examiner
http://www.facebook.com/highgravitybrew

Entries from FOAM Cup 2009

Being an organizer for homebrew competitions sometimes makes you forget that not everyone has entered a competition before. So I thought it would be a good idea to go over some common questions I get about entering competitions.

Do I need to be present in order to enter?

No, you don’t need to be at the competition.  In fact, most competitions receive entries from all over the country so being present would be impossible.  To be honest, you would probably be a bit bored watching judges methodically going over the beers writing their feedback.

How do I enter?

Most competitions have online registration to enter your beers.  This is really the best way to enter your beers.  You go to their website, register and create your entries.  Once you have created your entries, you will print the bottle labels and attach them to your beers. It is very straight forward once you know what you are supposed to do.

The FOAM Cup website is http://FOAMCup.us

What bottles can I use?

Virtually all competitions accept green and brown bottles between 12-14 oz.  Clear bottles are not acceptable. The bottles usually are allowed to have raised lettering but the bottles MUST have all labels and identifying marks removed.  However, all competitions have their own rules so you should always read their requirements before entering.  If your bottle cap is labeled you should mark it out with a sharpie.

How many bottles to I need to send?

You will need at least 2 bottles per entry.  Some competitions ask for 3 bottles.  Check the rules for the exact requirements.

Why so many bottles?

One bottle is needed for the actual judging of the beer in its category.  If your beer wins a gold medal then the second bottle is used for the “Best of Show” judging.  The BOS takes all the gold medal winners and they are all judged against each other to determine who the best of the best is.  Some competitions are so large they have to split the categories into smaller groups. The top 2-3 beers form the smaller groups are then brought together and the winner is selected from these beers.  It is referred to a mini best of show round.  Sometimes these competitions request three bottles so that they can have a fresh bottle for the mini BOS and still have one for the actual Best of Show judging.

What if I don’t know what category my beer should be entered in?

When in doubt, track down the local expert.  Bring your beers to a homebrew club meeting and ask for advice.  If you have a local homebrew store, take your beers there and ask them for feedback. (If they seem irritated by your request, start using a different supplier.  Homebrew shops are there to help homebrewers and should never act putout when advice is needed.)  Beers are judged against a defined set of style guidelines.  You can have an excellent beer but if it is a pale ale and you enter it as an American Light Pilsner, it is going to score poorly.  For a complete description of the BJCP style guidelines go to http://www.bjcp.org.

How are entries identified?

Entries are initially identified by the bottle label that is printed and attached to the bottle with a rubber band by the person entering the beer.  Once an entry is received, the entry is checked in and the bottles are marked on the bottle caps with an anonymous number along with the style category and sub-style it belongs to.  The bottle labels are removed prior to being judged so the judges have no idea who the brewer is of beer they are judging.  This is only way to be truly impartial.

What can I expect from my score sheets?

Well, since we all can’t win the gold, what other reason would we have to enter competitions? The answer is feedback.  The mission statement for FOAM Cup is feedback feedback feedback.

Beers are evaluated by certified beer judges that can help point out what is wrong and what is right about your beer.  They will comment on aroma, appearance, flavor, mouthfeel and give an overall impression of your beers. Keep in mind that your beer is being judged against standardized style guidelines.

When will I get my score sheets back?

That depends on the competition.  The FOAM Cup announces the winners the evening of the competition and score sheets are mailed back along with prizes and medals the following week.  This is generally that way most competitions work.

Cheers,
Desiree Knott
desiree@highgravitybrew.com
http://www.highgravitybrew.com
http://www.examiner.com/x-16115-Tulsa-Home-Brewing-Examiner
http://www.facebook.com/highgravitybrew

Thanks to Inter Wine for this information.

Just the other day a customer asked for clarification on how to pronounce Amarone. I wish I had known about this website then.

Cheers,
Desiree Knott
desiree@highgravitybrew.com
http://www.highgravitybrew.com
http://www.examiner.com/x-16115-Tulsa-Home-Brewing-Examiner
http://www.facebook.com/highgravitybrew

When a customer wants us to recommend a wine, we generally ask them what kind of wines they like. The typical answers are “I like sweet wine.” or “I like dry reds.” Well, that is a pretty broad statement. A Merlot is a dry red but so is a Cabernet. They are like night and day. It takes several more questions to help them figure out what they may be interested in.

Well, I just found a quick little quiz on the Food & Wine website that can help you figure out what your wine style is:

Which do you drink? 2007 St. Francis Wild Oak Chardonnay ($25). Photo Courtesy of St. Francis Winery. Whole Milk Go for richer, more full-bodied wines—California Chardonnay, for instance. Chardonnay Pairings Skim Milk You like lighter-style wines, such as Chablis.

Which juice do you prefer? 2008 Indaba Sauvignon Blanc ($10). Photo courtesy of Cape Classics. Grapefruit Juice You like things with high acidity—for whites, that means varieties like Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. Sauvignon Blanc Pairings Orange Juice You prefer sweeter, riper flavors, so stick to Chardonnay, say, or Viognier.

Which would you rather have on a steak? 2007 Perrin Nature Côtes du Rhône. Photo Courtesy of Perrin & Fils. Cracked Black Pepper Try spicy Old World reds, like Syrah and other Rhône varieties. Old World Pairings Béarnaise Sauce You want a lush, smooth California Merlot.

Which sounds more appealing? 2006 St. Francis Sonoma County Old Vines Zinfandel ($22). Photo courtesy of St. Francis Winery. Black Truffles You’re a fan of earthy, funky umami flavors. Drink Pinot Noir, especially from the Old World. Pinot Noir Pairings Blackberries You love fruit. New World reds are your thing: Australian Shiraz, California Zinfandel.

More Wine Tips from Food & Wine:

Cheers,
Desiree Knott
desiree@highgravitybrew.com
http://www.highgravitybrew.com
http://www.examiner.com/x-16115-Tulsa-Home-Brewing-Examiner
http://www.facebook.com/highgravitybrew

The beer turned out to be a nice amber color and had a great hop character. The candy syrup added a pleasant caramel quality and the American hops balanced the beer nicely. I was attempting to make an American Amber Ale and I really feel it turned out great. If I were to give it to someone to drink and didn’t tell them it was gluten free, they wouldn’t know. As a BJCP judge, I would give it a score in the low 30′s, a respectable score. I’m very excited.

I made a few mistakes in this first attempt. I over-sparged. We normally brew 10 gallon recipes and I made the mistake of eyeballing the volume in the kettle. This resulted in 7 gallons of wort to boil down instead of 6. To make up for it I added another pound of dark candy syrup to bring the gravity to what it should have been. I also should have precooked the rice. Even thought the rice was sprouted, it was too hard and I don’t think I got much out of the rice. So, I’m going to give it another try with the correct volume and precooking the rice. I will post my results for that one when I finally get it done.

I’m also ordering brown rice syrup from Briess to use for an extract version.  Once I get them both tested out I will offer them as kits.

Here is the recipe from my first attempt:

Cheers,
Desiree Knott
desiree@highgravitybrew.com
http://www.highgravitybrew.com
http://www.examiner.com/x-16115-Tulsa-Home-Brewing-Examiner
http://www.facebook.com/highgravitybrew

Oklahoma and the Fellowship of Oklahoma Alemakers (FOAM) took nine medals in the first round of this year’s American Homebrewers Association National Competition. FOAM is part of the Old West Region and judging took place on April 23rd & 24th, 2010.  The AHA Nationals are judged in 2 rounds, the first of which is in 9 different regions and the medal winners from the 9 regions are entered into the final round which will be held at this year’s Homebrewers Conference to be held on June 17-19th in Minneapolis.

Dave and I judged at this year’s first round for the Old West Region. I have to say I didn’t have a bad beer in all the entries that I judged.  The Old West Region had the most entries of all the regions with 748 registered entries.  It is comprised of three states, Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado.  The competition was tough.  Judging took place on April 23rd and 24th. Winners were posted this morning, April 29th.

Here are the winners from Oklahoma:

Shawn Scott of McAlester, OK and a member of FOAM won second place for his Bohemian Pilsener. He also won third place for his German Weizenbock and third place for his Old Ale.

Duane Evans of Owasso, OK and a member of FOAM took second place for his American Brown Ale.

Peter Polczynski of Tulsa, OK and a member of FOAM took first place for his Baltic Porter.

Jeff Pursley of Bixby, OK and a member of FOAM took second place for his Belgian Dubbel.

Jeffrey Swearengin of Tulsa, OK and a member of FOAM took third place for his Semi-Sweet Mead. He also took second place for his Pyment Mead.

John Karmazin of Claremore, OK and also a member of FOAM took third place for his Fruit Melomel.

All the winners receive points towards the Homebrew Club of the Year.  Last year FOAM placed 9th in the country.  With this year’s medals FOAM is looking to move up in ranking.  Congratulations to all the Oklahoma winners and wish them luck in the final round.

Cheers,
Desiree Knott
desiree@highgravitybrew.com
http://www.highgravitybrew.com
http://www.examiner.com/x-16115-Tulsa-Home-Brewing-Examiner
http://www.facebook.com/highgravitybrew

“Yuck, bacteria!” you say. Well believe it or not there is a style of beer that is purposely “spoiled”. They are referred to as sour beers.  Surprisingly, after I explained what a sour beer was and that this beer was now a sour beer, a large number of the ladies discovered they really liked the flavor.  The pale ale turned out to be the most popular homebrew of the evening. I’m betting that if you try a few of these special beers you will be a convert too.

The Beer Judge Certification Program classifies Sour Ale into 6 sub categories.

The first sour beer they describe is a Berliner Weisse.  This beer is a sharply sour low alcohol wheat beer that is popular in Berlin. It is often serve with syrups such as raspberry and woodruff and is very refreshing to drink.  They are difficult to find commercially in the US so if you have the opportunity to try one, please do.  It is one of my favorite beers.

The second sour beer sub-category is the Flanders Red Ale.  This is a complex, sour, red wine-like Belgian-style ale. This is the indigenous beer of West Flanders, whose most famous brewery is the Rodenbach Brewery, which has been in business since 1820.   Flanders Reds are aged up to two years in oak barrels. The resident bacteria in the barrel is what gives this beer its sour character.  The Flanders red is more acetic and the fruity flavors are reminiscent of a red wine.  Oklahoma has now has a few Flanders Red on the shelves and several states carry a nice variety of this style of beer.  Commercial examples include Rodenbach Klassiek, Rodenbach Grand Cru, Bellegems Bruin, Duchesse de Bourgogne (available in Oklahoma and I LOVE this beer), New Belgium La Folie, Petrus Oud Bruin (available in Oklahoma), Southampton Flanders Red Ale, Verhaege Vichtenaar, Monk’s Cafe Flanders Red Ale, New Glarus Enigma, Panil Barriquée, and Mestreechs Aajt.

Next is the Flanders Brown Ale or Oud Bruin, indigenous to East Flanders, typified by the products of the Liefman brewery (now owned by Riva), which has roots back to the 1600s. While Flanders red beers are aged in oak, the brown beers are warm aged in stainless steel. The Oud Bruin is less acetic and maltier than a Flanders Red, and the fruity flavors are more malt-oriented.  Commercial examples include Liefman’s Goudenband, Liefman’s Odnar, Liefman’s Oud Bruin, Ichtegem Old Brown, and Riva Vondel.  Unfortunately there aren’t any commercial examples in Oklahoma that I’m aware of.  If you know of any, please add a comment so I can go buy some!

Straight (Unblended) Lambics are sub-category four and these beers are complex, sour/acidic, pale, wheat-based ale fermented by a variety of Belgian microbiota.  Lambics are spontaneously fermented sour ales whose origin is in the area around Brussels (the Senne Valley).  Straight Lambics are VERY sour and acidic and can take a bit to get used to.  There aren’t many commercial varieties on unblended Lambics as most breweries blend lambics from various batches.  The most readily available in the US is the Cantillon Grand Cru Bruocsella but it isn’t available in Oklahoma at this time.

The Gueuze is the most extreme of the sour flavored beers in my opinion. Their sour and acidic character are often accompanied with aromas that are described as barnyard, earthy, goaty, hay, horsey, and horse blanket. It is by far the sour beer that requires developing a “taste” for.  Gueuzes are blends of one, two and three year old lambics.  Gueuzes are highly effervescent while lambics are typically not carbonated.  Try this sour beer after you’ve tried the Flanders Red and Browns and have soaked in what the good characteristics of a sour beer are.  You may be surprised to find you like this stronger version of sour beer. Commercial examples include Boon Oude Gueuze, Boon Oude Gueuze Mariage Parfait, De Cam Gueuze, De Cam/Drei Fonteinen Millennium Gueuze, Drie Fonteinen Oud Gueuze, Cantillon Gueuze, Hanssens Oude Gueuze, Lindemans Gueuze Cuvée René (available in Oklahoma), Girardin Gueuze (Black Label), Mort Subite (Unfiltered) Gueuze, and Oud Beersel Oude Gueuze.

The last sub-style in the Sour Beers is the Fruit Lambic.  These are by far the most popular and well known of the sour beers.  I recommend starting with fruit lambics before trying the other styles.  I have a lot of friends whose girlfriends and wives won’t drink beer but they LOVE fruit lambics.  These sour beers are blended with fruit and are highly effervescent.  Think of them as the champagne of beer.  In fact, their tradition glass looks very much like a champagne glass.  The most famous in the US is the Lindemans fruit lambics which are offered in raspberry, black currant, apple and cherry, most of these are available in Oklahoma. Other commercial examples include Boon Framboise Marriage Parfait, Boon Kriek Mariage Parfait, Boon Oude Kriek, Cantillon Fou’ Foune (apricot), Cantillon Kriek, Cantillon Lou Pepe Kriek, Cantillon Lou Pepe Framboise, Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus, Cantillon St. Lamvinus (merlot grape), Cantillon Vigneronne (Muscat grape), De Cam Oude Kriek, Drie Fonteinen Kriek, Girardin Kriek, Hanssens Oude Kriek, Oud Beersel Kriek, and Mort Subite Kriek.

So, give these unique styles of beer a try and let me know what you think!

Cheers,

Desiree Knott
High Gravity Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies
7164 S Memorial
Tulsa, OK 74133
(918) 461-2605
desiree@highgravitybrew.com
http://www.highgravitybrew.com