Help Gluten free

I tried to find the thread.  I can’t seem to find it.  So the wife has celiac disease, and she loves beer as much as I do.  So now to make her the best beer I can make for her.  She’s a fan of the Belgian styles, wheats, pale, blondes, cream, and Brown’s.

So where is a reliable starting point? Link? Recipes?

I am also aware that sorghum extract for starters, but the small batches I’ll be making for her will probably just be dry yeasts.  Now that I learn that liquid yeasts are not gluten free.  Then, the gluten reducers are a no go.

Consider 100% oat malt.  I’ve had success with Clarity Ferm for making beer for people with minor gluten intolerances.

Why is clarity ferm a no go?

Her tolerance of gluten is not just sensitivity, she’s completely intolerant.  Reducing the protein to what 7ppm? It’s not free of gluten which is where we have to stay.

Didn’t the last Zymurgy issue have a Belgian recipe that was gluten free? Maybe using rice malt?

I thought it took it lower than that.

Take a listen to Experimental Brewing a couple episodes back.  We interview James Neumeister of Groundbreaker Brewing in Portland.  They have multiple GABF medals for their glutem free beers and he has tips for homebrewers.

Nope.  Clarity Ferm will reduce but not eliminate gluten.

Correction whitelabs pdf says < 10ppm

Right on Denny thanks.

He uses a sorghum base, but uses tapioca maltodextrine for body.  He also uses things like date sugar and chestnuts.

Right, I said lower, not eliminate. I swear I saw less than 5ppm and testing at 3ppm.

Unfortunately the side effects are starting to damage her peripheral nervous system and she’s having heart problems.  So it’s a complete intolerance.  Which is rough, cause who doesn’t love gluten??

Start with page 34: Zymurgy September/October 2016

Does oat malt have the diastic power to convert in the mash?

Yes, but the most common oat malt, golden naked oats, probably does not.

Fawcett oat malt is a maybe.  My concern is it may have cross contamination.  So I am back to the drawing board on this one… maybe she can have a fruited cider that might be a close substitute for beer.

A small mead perhaps? The taste of buckwheat honey is very similar to malt extract, at least to me it is.

Despite having a couple friends with celiac, this is why I’ve never tried to brew a gluten free batch. Cleaning everything becomes a major concern. Usually we just worry about cleanliness on the cold side of brewing, but from a gluten perspective everything from the mill to the tubing becomes a serious contamination concern.

Molasses beer G-Dubs Style?