Hello

[oldbloke]

I'm 56. I made a couple of batches of beer 40 years ago, but didn't take it further.
Decided to get back into it now as my wife was diagnosed with coeliac disease and can't have "real" beer anymore (though some people will debate how much gluten is left in beer after all the chemical magic has happened). But the only gluten-free kit I could Google up went off the market, so I never got started on that.
A friend had a glut of plums so I made some wine out of that instead. Drinkable but slightly odd when un-aged, though some people claim to actually like it. Hoping it will age into something good.
Next did some elderberry (picked wild, locally). Excellent stuff even without aging. Must do more than 1 gallon next year!
After that, found a recipe for an ersatz beer that's gluten-free, made a trial gallon, and got something that tasted good despite messing up syphoning and priming.
A later 4 gallon batch is better in some ways but about a third of the bottles won't clear.
Have a gallon of parsnip in the airing cupboard that's still fermenting (very slowly now) after 8 weeks. I think using half&half white and brown sugar was probably a mistake, but the small taste at last racking was OK.
Started a gallon of mead this month.
Decided to do a gallon(or more) of something each month, using a Livejournal poll to let my friends choose what I make when there's nothing particular in season.
April will be a tea wine - Earl Grey, probably.

 

[Cussword]

:thumb: Welcome OB, you are not that old :nono:

 

[Dieseljockey]

Welcome Oldbloke...your never to old.. :lol: for brewing that is. :rofl:

If your into fruit wines take a look at the WOW that a load of guys on here do.

 

[Moley]

Greetings (from a mere 53 yo whippersnapper) :

I'm not trying to get rid of you as soon as you've arrived, but you might also like to take a look at the Harris winemaking forum.

One of their core members, Fermenting Tom, is a prolific and hugely experienced winemaker. He is also coeliac, so it could be worth comparing notes.

Having said that, he's retired and travels a lot, and hasn't been around for a week or so.

 

[Mike1981]

Welcome OB :drunk:

 

[oldbloke]

Ta Moley, might take a look over there. The gluten thing isn't geenrally a problem with wine, except for the recipes they put wheat in, so I'll just stay away from those.
Sometime I want to try a millet beer, like they make in Africa, as that's gluten-free. Is searching this forum for "millet" likely to turn anything up?

 

[Aleman]

Sometime I want to try a millet beer, like they make in Africa, as that's gluten-free. Is searching this forum for "millet" likely to turn anything up?

No She is coeliac too I can get hold of malted sorghum which is gluten free . . . Minimum order is 1 tonne . There is a sub forum on Homebrewtalk that is dedicated to gluten free brewing, and there is loads of information on there . . . but they also have access to a lot more GF ingredients that we do.

Incidentally most all barley malt beers come in at or below 20ppm which is the EU limit for gluten in a product to be classed as Gluten Free (as per the Coeliac Society) . . . . .but this is something that only our partners can decide as each persons reaction to gluten is different and it is really only themselves who can make the decisin to take risks with their health.

 

[oldbloke]

My wife will very occasionally risk a pint. I'd guess the lighter beers are going to be lower on gluten, but she prefers mild. She worries though as her mother had it undiagnosed for years and now has serious neural problems.
Are you familiar with the gf recipes of Duncan Incapable over on JimsBrewKit ? So far I've only tried his Red Diesel - pretty good.

 

[mickeyt69]

Welcome OB :drunk:

 

[YogiB]

Hi OldBloke,
Welcome :

I've just bought the ingredients for an orange and spice mead (seen on another forum); looks like now might be the best time to make it for Christmas Drinking.

YogiBeer

 

[John_Henry]

Good to have you hear. Not 100% but have you looked at quinoa beer? Tried it in South America, very good and similar to barley based beer, think it might be OK for your mrs, but as I say not 100%, so check it out first. You can buy seed to grow here: http://www.realseeds.co.uk/grains.html I think you can get quinoa fairly easy from your local health food shop.

 

[oldbloke]

quinoea is something I intend to check out in the future. We have it as a kind of couscous substitute sometimes. I suspect the stuff on the supermarket shelf could be mashed or even malted then mashed, as easily as the specialist stuff - and cheaper. Probably wants a bit of amylase though.

 

[John_Henry]

quinoea is something I intend to check out in the future. We have it as a kind of couscous substitute sometimes. I suspect the stuff on the supermarket shelf could be mashed or even malted then mashed, as easily as the specialist stuff - and cheaper. Probably wants a bit of amylase though.

My first experience was in Peru/Bolivia I had a kind of stout made out of it that would easily rival most I've tried. I assume you could Malt it as you would Barley. Defo worth a look if it fits the bill. From what I heard over there if anything its easier than your standard barley brew.

Let us know if you give it a go. I'd be very interested to see.