Gluten Free Beer Problem

Dutto · Jul 16, 2016

Has anyone made one of these "Gone With The Wheat" gluten free beers?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00I3DWU8Q/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I started one for a mate with Coeliac disease on Thursday morning and followed the instructions to the letter.

However, here I am on Saturday morning after nearly 48 hours with the FV in the brewing fridge set at 24 degrees (20-25 recommended on the box) and there is absolutely no sign of life in the FV and not so much as a bubble through the air-lock! (The FV was used last week and the lid & bung both seal perfectly.)

So two questions:

1. How long does it normally take to start fermentation?

2. If the original yeast in the kit was dead will the introduction of another yeast (Youngs Ale Yeast is sat on the shelf ready to go) in any way affect the "gluten free" aspect of the finished article?

At nearly thirty-two pounds I don't fancy sticking it down the drain just yet ... :nono: :nono:

... but on the other hand I don't want to poison a mate for the sake of a few quid! :whistle: :whistle:

As usual, all advice and help will be gratefully received. :thumb: :thumb:

Dutto · Jul 17, 2016

The OG of 1.042 hadn't moved in 48 hours so after no advice I dropped the temperature down to 19 degrees and then introduced a sachet of rehydrated Youngs Ale Yeast.

The yeast was rehydrated with a teaspoonful of sugar and a pinch of yeast nutrient that was boiled up in 100ml of water and then allowed to cool before introducing the yeast. When the yeast was "active" I introduced it to the FV and hope it kick-starts the fermentation.

Regardless of bubbles etc I will just leave the FV for another week and then take a SG reading. Here's hoping again! :whistle:

Simonh82 · Jul 18, 2016

That definitely sounds like dud yeast. Hopefully you can get it going with the Young's yeast.

simon12 · Jul 18, 2016

Youngs ale yeast is gluten free, some yeasts are grown on barley but the levels of gluten left in the yeast mixed with the volume of beer makes them close enough.

Dutto · Jul 18, 2016

Many thanks to both replies!! :thumb: :thumb:

I still can't see anything that looks like "normal" fermentation but the temperature is okay and the Youngs Ale Yeast was active when I introduced it to the brew so I will just leave it for a week and then check the SG to see if it is falling towards the 1.012 level that I am told to expect.

The last thing I want to do is to get a mates hopes up ("Gluten free beer? Yes please!") and then finish up poisoning him! :doh:

Dutto · Jul 20, 2016

I broke all my own rules (again) and took another sample today!

Good News!! :thumb:

The SG has dropped from 1.042 to 1.032 so I will now sit back, leave it alone and hope that it comes good! :thumb: :thumb:

Dutto · Aug 1, 2016

This brew has to be the slowest EVER!!

It has taken just over 18 days for the SG to fall from an OG of 1.042 to an SG of 1.020!

It is still fermenting though. (The SG is still dropping at the rate of +/-0.001 a day, the sample is still cloudy and has tiny bubbles in it and the layer of yeast on the bottom of the FV is still slowly building.)

The recommended FG is below 1.010 so it looks as if I will have to leave it for another 10 days or so before I can even consider bottling it and at 28 days it will make it the longest ever fermentation of a beer that I have encountered.

The good news is that the sample tasted like a decent (but still yeasty) Pilsner so it's looking good. :thumb: :thumb:

I sincerely hope my mate likes it when it's finished because at the moment this brew is taking up my brewing fridge and I don't fancy starting another brew if I can't cool it down. :nono: :nono:

Simonh82 · Aug 2, 2016

Why not take it out of your brew fridge. The yeast character will have been largely set within the first few days of fermentation, when the yeast were multiplying and kicking out esters. It should be safe to bring out into the open now and if it is slightly warmer then it may speed things up a little.

Dutto · Aug 3, 2016

Simonh82 said:
Why not take it out of your brew fridge. The yeast character will have been largely set within the first few days of fermentation, when the yeast were multiplying and kicking out esters. It should be safe to bring out into the open now and if it is slightly warmer then it may speed things up a little.

Thanks.

I've jacked the temperature up to 21 degrees in the fridge to keep things steady.

I've also checked the hydrometer and it appears that it may be reading 0.006 high; so maybe the end is in sight because at 0.006 high it means that the last SG was actually 1.014 and today's adjusted reading is at 1.012 ... :thumb: :thumb:

... which is very close to my "near enough is good enough" method off brewing! :whistle: :whistle:

Memo to self "Get another hydrometer!"

Dutto · Aug 6, 2016

SG stayed steady at 1.012 so I cold crashed the brew down to 8 degrees for two days and bottled it today. :thumb: :thumb:

The brew tasted very "thin" and it hadn't cleared very much, but it must have been fermenting like mad because the depth of trub in the bottom of the FV was as deep as any I have ever witnessed.

However, when I went to clean out the FV I discovered that the trub was really soft and disturbed very easily; which indicates that when the beer clears, the yeast in the bottom of the bottles will be an absolute beggar to leave behind when pouring!

In truth, I'm glad that little project has been ticked off my "List of Things to Do" ... :thumb: :thumb:

... and I sincerely hope that my mate makes the 21 litres I've bottled for him last until at least the New Year! :whistle: :whistle:

Dutto · Jan 6, 2017

My mate left a few of the bottles behind when he picked the brew up in August (I don't know how he missed them :whistle:) before we left on a three month break.

When we got back home at the beginning of November the GF brew had cleared and the one I sampled tasted superb; so I had another one at the beginning of December with the same result. :thumb: :thumb:

However, the one I tried a few days ago just didn't taste quite as good so I've waited a few days before trying another one. The brew seems to have gone very "thin" with very little taste of anything except a very vague lemonade flavour!

So, if anyone else decides to brew a "Gone With The Wheat" gluten free Pilsner, I suggest:

o Drink it fairly soon after it clears.

o Don't lay it down on the shelf for much more than four months.

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