Is this possible

[Pseudonym]

Hi guys,

So I've never attempted a brew before, but I was a big beer drinker for a long time, but unfortunately due to health issues I've had to stop drinking beer.

The reason for this is that apparently, during the fermentation process a lot of sugar is created, and I can't consume this type of sugar.

So, would anybody be able to tell me if it's possible to ferment the beer in a way that completely eliminates sugar? I'm not interested in taste at the moment, I just want to know if it's possible and how I could go about doing it, and measuring the sugar content.

It also has to be gluten free, and I would prefer to make a Gruit as opposed to an ale containing hops.

Thanks gents,

al

edit: I need to remove any longer chain sugars - anything that isn't a monosaccharide. It's my understanding that all of the sugar in the process is consumed besides the dextrins. So what I need to know is if there is any way to completely remove the dextrins from the beer.

 

[simon12]

First the sugar
If when you say completely you really do mean remove every trace then without alot more knowledge than me and maybe a lab then no. But there are certainly ways to reduce them significantly but by how much you would need to try it. I am not sure but I suspect a wine yeast may just chomp through all the sugars that a beer or ale yeast leaves behind. The cheapest way to test would be to get a cheap beer kit and some wine yeast and follow the instructions on the kit but ferment it at the ideal temp for the wine yeast (usually about 20c). When its done fermenting test it with a hydrometer and if it reads 1 or less there is little or no sugar left in it. If there is very little left (ie it reads more than 1 but less than 1.005 there are enzymes you can get that break down more of the complex sugars which may get it to 1. Also if you brewed all grain you could use a low mash temp to make sure there are less to start with. I would imagine you would need to add an artificial sweetener to make it taste anything like beer afterwards. You could likely write a book about all the things you try and the science behind it.
Gluten
The simplest way to remove gluten is add Clarity ferm (also called brewers clarex). This removes enough gluten that it cold be labeled as gluten free but there is likely an amount below 20ppm left.
Hope this helps

 

[terrym]

Pseudonym
Sadly I can't help you.
However I was a bit confused when you say 'during the fermentation process a lot of sugar is created'. I understand that a majority of fermentable sugars are consumed during the fermentation process, the main product of this being ethyl alcohol. So the sugar load is actually reduced, although that still leaves unfermentable sugars and the residue of the fermentable sugars the yeast can't handle. Is it these that you wish to remove?

 

[rodabod]

I would suggest looking at some lagers and maybe schwarz biers. Anything that has a very low final gravity. Can't help on the gluten front, I'm afraid.

 

[Fil]

think the op ment to say during the mash not fermentation,

unfortunatly its those complex sugars that survive the yeast during fermentation that provide the body and malty flavour of a beer, and without them your left with a thin tasteless product.

the yeast feed on the simple sugars converting them to alcohol the complex sugars that the yeast cant consume are the difference between a beer and a sugar wash.

 

[YeastFace]

I imagine if you removed the dextrins, you'd have something which wasn't at all palatable.

 

[Cwrw666]

What simon12 says about Clarity Ferm is true - it was developed to get rid of chill haze in beer, where perfectly clear beer goes hazy on refrigeration, which is caused by proteins in the beer. The Clarity Ferm effectively destroys all the protein, including Gluten, to an extent whereby you could sell it labelled as gluten free. Which begs the question as to why gluten free beers cost so much! (if I remember correctly, a vial of CF enough for 23L costs about 3 quid, but breweries can buy it by the litre pretty cheaply. And a gluten test for a brewery costs about £15)

As to the sugars - yes you could try wine yeast plus amylase enzyme. It would be very body-less beer though. Maybe there's something you could add to the beer to hide this. Wine makers on this forum often add glycerine to juice wines to give it a bit of mouth-feel.

 

[Slid]

Hi guys,

So I've never attempted a brew before, but I was a big beer drinker for a long time, but unfortunately due to health issues I've had to stop drinking beer.

The reason for this is that apparently, during the fermentation (this should read "mashing" rather than "fermentation") process a lot of (complex) sugar(s) is created, and I can't consume this type of sugar.

So, would anybody be able to tell me if it's possible to ferment the beer in a way that completely eliminates sugar? I'm not interested in taste at the moment, I just want to know if it's possible and how I could go about doing it, and measuring the sugar content.

It also has to be gluten free, and I would prefer to make a Gruit as opposed to an ale containing hops.

Thanks gents,

al

edit: I need to remove any longer chain sugars - anything that isn't a monosaccharide. It's my understanding that all of the sugar in the process is consumed besides the dextrins. So what I need to know is if there is any way to completely remove the dextrins from the beer.

Sorry to sound like a kill-joy, but are you sure beer is the rght thing to be thinking of making in large quantities and drinking?

Developing a palate for light wines could be an alternative?

 

[MyQul]

I'm with Slid on this. You may have to do so much to the beer to make it acceptable for your medical condition that you'll end up making something that doesn't taste much like beer or very nice at all. So it might be better to develop a taste for something your medical condition does allow you to drink

 

[Dutto]

Looking at your post, Wikipedia reckons "Examples of monosaccharides include glucose (dextrose), fructose, galactose, and ribose."

Dextrose is also known as "Brewing Sugar". As far as I am aware, the fermentation process turns the dextrose into ethyl-alcohol (C2H5OH) rather than changing the dextrose into long chain sugars.

With regard to "gluten free" there are literally dozens of home-brew kits that provide gluten free beer and this site specialises in them ...

http://www.glutenfreehomebrewing.org

However, having said all of the above I have to agree with SLID and wonder why you would want to get into what may very well be your own personalised version of Russian Roulette!

 

[mike77]

I'm actually quite interested in this as I'm diabetic so too much sugar raises my blood sugars. As mentioned adding amylase enzyme to the beer during fermentation would help to break down the longer chain sugars into sugars that can be fermented resulting in a lower sugar beer. Also mashing at the lower temperature end results in sugars that are more fermentable. Yeast selection would also help. Perhaps start with an ale yeast and finish off with a wine yeast with a higher attenuation. Some people do this to dry out IPA's.

I doubt though that you could eliminate all sugars. To measure how much sugar is left in the beer you need to compare the original gravity with the final gravity and then calculate the attenuation. However most calculators measure "apparent attenuation" so a reading of 1.000 does not mean zero sugar. You need to measure the "actual attenuation" which would need to be 100% to be sugar free.

I guess it just depends how badly you need to lower the sugar. I don't think it is possible to completely remove them but I thing you could dramatically reduce them. I don't know what your medical condition and I'm not a doctor. However sugar exists naturally in many foods so I think you must be having a very difficult/impossible job completely removing them from your diet.

I'm going to try the amylase enzyme in one of my beers that I thought could benefit from being a bit dryer/crisper.