Brewing to Style
With the right materials and brewing techniques, there are arguably few if any styles of beer that cannot be brewed gluten-free. Some styles that lean on a particular flavor profile from the grain may require some re-imagining (wheat or rye beers for example), but are certainly not impossible to recreate.
Gluten free grains do have different flavor components, extract potential and color contributions. Unique husk qualities (relative to barley) impacts the types of roasts available in GF grain products. With those factors in mind, don't expect a “1 to 1” substitution of gluten free malts for their barley and wheat namesakes with similar effect. Gluten free stout, for example, is a popular target for homebrewers but can require rebuilding conventional recipes from scratch with a combination of different gluten free grains.
Starter suggestions for some popular styles below:
| BJCP # | Style Name | Comments | Malts and Fermentables | Yeast / Bacteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05B | Kölsch | Pale Rice Malt, Biscuit Rice Malt, Buckwheat, Caramel Millet Malt | Propagate Labs Kolsch | |
| 07A | Vienna Lager | This has been a popular style with Zero Tolerance brewers. See Recipe links for details. | Vienna Millet Malt, Munich Millet Malt, Goldfinch Millet Malt, Biscuit Rice Malt | S-23, W-34/70 |
| 15B | Irish Stout | Stouts can be a unicorn beer in GF brewing. Harder to nail the color and roast flavours, but do-able. C240 millet and gas hog rice (with hull or naked) can help on color. D240 candi syrup is a little hard to source but can provide color and coffe roast flavors. See Cale Baldwin's interview with Alan Windhausen (from 33:10) for some specific tips on brewing stout. | Rice or Millet base malt, roasted buckwheat, American roast millet, gas hog rice, C240 millet, D-240 candi syrup | K-97, US-05, S-04, Nottingham, (Propagate MIP-410 Dublin Ale - if available in GF format) |
| 21A | American IPA | A hop-forward style that is easily accessible by beginners and extract brewers with sorghum syrup, or using all-grain. | Pale Millet Malt, Pale Rice Malt, Biscuit Rice Malt, Crystal Rice Malt | US-05, Nottingham |
| 21B | NEIPA | Beyond choosing the right yeast (less attenuative and low flocculating), choosing a grain bill that provides protein to bind with polyphenols (for haze), some viscosity and head retention is important. For those who can tolerate GF oats, target about 5%. Buckwheat and flaked quinoa can provide additional body and head. Raw millet may also provide haze-friendly protein. Good results from Ondea Pro (check NEIPA discussion thread highlights). See also Scott Janish blog entry on achieving haze in NEIPA | Pale / Goldfinch millet, biscuit rice, flaked quinoa, buckwheat, flaked GF oats, GF malto-dextrin / dextrose | Lallemand New England, S-04, M36, Propagate Lab MIP-110 Hazy IPA or MIP-120 Juicy IPA |
| 23B | Flanders Red Ale | Normally the product of longer term fermentation involving mix of lactobacillus, pediococcus, sacharomyces and brettanomyces. However, approximation of style can be achieved with kettle souring or a kveik/lacto blend at warm temps. | Rice or millet base malt (pale/biscuit/goldfinch), Vienna millet, Munich millet, naked gas hog rice or millet roast for color | Lactobacillus (various GF options including SourPitch). US-05, acid-tolerant wine yeast, or high temp tolerant kveik. Brettanomyces character more apparent in Flanders "Red" than "Oud Bruin". Propagate Lab may be one source for GF brett. Home lab work is another alternative. |
| 24A | Witbier | Wit = white (so don't shy away from calling it wit if the other attributes are there). | WB-06, Lallemand Wit, Mangrove Jack Wit | |
| 25B | Saison | BE-134, WB-06, T-58, Propagate MIP 300, 302-304, 330 |