New brewer with questions :)

[Dave Gluten Sensitive Williams]

Hi everyone! I'm just getting in to this home brewing thing.

It's (at least at first) more out of necessity than anything - I'm gluten intolerant and where I live the number of gluten free/reduced beer options are minimal, so I thought "to hell with it, I'll do it myself"

So, since failure is not an option and I want to brew reasonable sized batches from the start, I got a Brewzilla on sale.

I've brewed one batch using White Labs' Clarity Ferm. The beer is quite good for a first attempt and was (glad to say) very gluten reduced.

I have a couple of questions after going through the process once:

1. Sparging. The Brewzilla continuously recirculates the wort during the mash. Is sparging still necessary? If so, why (keep it simple! Last month I didn't know what sparging was!)
2. I'm finding the hydrometer frustrating. It really likes to stick to the side of the test jar instead of floating freely. Any tips on how to avoid this?

Those are probably the first of many questions!

 

[Tim Bulin]

@Trialben may want to chime in on brewing gluten free as he has been working with that.

As far as the 2nd question, I use a rather narrow test cylinder, the hydrometer does't seem to stick AND it doesn't take as much wort to fill it.

 

[Dave Gluten Sensitive Williams]

@Trialben may want to chime in on brewing gluten free as he has been working with that.

As far as the 2nd question, I use a rather narrow test cylinder, the hydrometer does't seem to stick AND it doesn't take as much wort to fill it.

The gluten reduced bit doesn't seem to be much of an issue - throw in the Clarity Ferm at the start of fermentation and you're done. I'm not Celiac and gluten reduced seems to be good enough. Which is good since I've yet to try a gluten free beer that actually tastes like beer!

Is your test cylinder plastic or glass? Mine is plastic and I'm wondering if that makes a difference.

 

[Zambi]

Yep, find @Trialben 's posts about his gluten free brewing!
It makes me wonder if I shouldn't try a GF beer at times
And remember, there is also always (simple) cider.

I brew on the stove top, so no experience with the brewzilla.
For hydrometer: narrow cylinder and give the thing a bit of a spin.
Alternatively: use a refracto meter, but remember that their readings are not correct in the presence of alcohol, so you need a correction table

 

[BarbarianBrewer]

I have the same issue with my hydrometer. A good spin and a level surface help. I may look into a narrow cylinder as others have suggested.

Regarding sparging. A sparge will rinse more sugars out of the mash so even with an electric all-in-one recirculating during the mash, sparging will be beneficial. While sparging is beneficial, it is not absolutely necessary. If you don't sparge you, you will leave more sugars in the mash but, you can account for this lower extract efficiency by starting with a little more grain, which isn't a big cost at the home brew level.

This chart is a good visual on efficiencies in the brewing process.

 

[Tim Bulin]

The gluten reduced bit doesn't seem to be much of an issue - throw in the Clarity Ferm at the start of fermentation and you're done. I'm not Celiac and gluten reduced seems to be good enough. Which is good since I've yet to try a gluten free beer that actually tastes like beer!

Is your test cylinder plastic or glass? Mine is plastic and I'm wondering if that makes a difference.

I use plastic, no problems here.

 

[Minbari]

Hi everyone! I'm just getting in to this home brewing thing.

It's (at least at first) more out of necessity than anything - I'm gluten intolerant and where I live the number of gluten free/reduced beer options are minimal, so I thought "to hell with it, I'll do it myself"

So, since failure is not an option and I want to brew reasonable sized batches from the start, I got a Brewzilla on sale.

I've brewed one batch using White Labs' Clarity Ferm. The beer is quite good for a first attempt and was (glad to say) very gluten reduced.

I have a couple of questions after going through the process once:

1. Sparging. The Brewzilla continuously recirculates the wort during the mash. Is sparging still necessary? If so, why (keep it simple! Last month I didn't know what sparging was!)
2. I'm finding the hydrometer frustrating. It really likes to stick to the side of the test jar instead of floating freely. Any tips on how to avoid this?

Those are probably the first of many questions!

You don't have to sparge with a recirc BIAB system, I didn't for years. But if you do, it does wash off the grain and get you a bit better efficiency. Other than that, don't have to

I find that a tall graduated cylinder works best and spin it.(the hydrometer)

 

[Dave Gluten Sensitive Williams]

I have the same issue with my hydrometer. A good spin and a level surface help. I may look into a narrow cylinder as others have suggested.

Regarding sparging. A sparge will rinse more sugars out of the mash so even with an electric all-in-one recirculating during the mash, sparging will be beneficial. While sparging is beneficial, it is not absolutely necessary. If you don't sparge you, you will leave more sugars in the mash but, you can account for this lower extract efficiency by starting with a little more grain, which isn't a big cost at the home brew level.

This chart is a good visual on efficiencies in the brewing process.

Interesting chart - thanks

If I don't get better with the hydrometer soon I may have to invest in a swear jar

 

[Brewdomestix]

Hi and welcome.

I can't help with the Brewzilla as never owned one but congratz on landing yours on sale.

My hydrometer often sticks to the side of the trial jar too. Actually I have two and they both do that from time to time. As others have said, spinning works just need to have a few goes sometimes. Another method is to look roughly what level it was at before you remove the hydrometer from the trial jar and then lower slowly to that same point so that it doesn't bob about so much.

 

[Minbari]

Interesting chart - thanks

If I don't get better with the hydrometer soon I may have to invest in a swear jar

As another mentioned. Pre-fermentation. A refractometer works very well and only requires 2 drops.
Technically you can use one to determine the end of fermentation. (Just can't use the actual numbers)

 

[GFHomebrew]

If your Gluten Sensitive and not Coeliac then Clarity Ferm is your friend @Dave Gluten Sensitive Williams you can brew with Gluten based products and use the Clarity ferm to lower the PPM of Gluten content.

I myself can't tolerate any Gluten in anything food beer whatsoever so I start with Gluten free grains and brew from there.

I found before diagnosis now that I'm looking back in hindsight lite pilsner style beers are better for the gut then the stouts and big malty beers I think there may be more Gluten remaining in the end product (my own opinion).

So keep this in mind if you still find you get sick.

On the trial jar keep it level man if I'm testing a sample on something that's not level it'll stick on one side of the sample jar.

Sparging rinses the remaining sugar from the grain regardless of recirculation or not.
It's a PPG thing you don't sparg you get less efficiency it's your call many brewers choose not to sparge and adjust their brewhouse accordingly.

Welcome to brewersfriend.

 

[Donoroto]

Hi everyone! I'm just getting in to this home brewing thing.

It's (at least at first) more out of necessity than anything - I'm gluten intolerant and where I live the number of gluten free/reduced beer options are minimal, so I thought "to hell with it, I'll do it myself"

So, since failure is not an option and I want to brew reasonable sized batches from the start, I got a Brewzilla on sale.

I've brewed one batch using White Labs' Clarity Ferm. The beer is quite good for a first attempt and was (glad to say) very gluten reduced.

I have a couple of questions after going through the process once:

1. Sparging. The Brewzilla continuously recirculates the wort during the mash. Is sparging still necessary? If so, why (keep it simple! Last month I didn't know what sparging was!)
2. I'm finding the hydrometer frustrating. It really likes to stick to the side of the test jar instead of floating freely. Any tips on how to avoid this?

Those are probably the first of many questions!

I also use a 35 liter Brewzilla, recirculate continuously, and sparge. I simply dump hot water into the malt pipe as it is draining after I lift it from the kettle. 2 gallons is typical.

One reason to sparge is to rinse more of the 'goodness' (sugars) off the spent grain. More goodness means less waste.

Another reason is to add water. With 6 1/4 gallons of water and 12 pounds of grain I'm just about at the upper limit of my BZ capacity. Once I remove the grain, I'm left with about 5 1/4 gallons of wort. That's not enough to make a 5 gallon batch for me, so I add about 2 gallons of water to get about 7 1/4 gallons total. I boil off about a gallon and a quarter in 60 minutes, leaving me with just around 6 gallons into the fermenter, perfect for a 5 gallon batch after fermentation.

I hope that helps. Anyway, welcome to Brewers friend!

 

[Brewer #408936]

elastic man​

Hi everyone! I'm just getting in to this home brewing thing.

It's (at least at first) more out of necessity than anything - I'm gluten intolerant and where I live the number of gluten free/reduced beer options are minimal, so I thought "to hell with it, I'll do it myself"

So, since failure is not an option and I want to brew reasonable sized batches from the start, I got a Brewzilla on sale.

I've brewed one batch using White Labs' Clarity Ferm. The beer is quite good for a first attempt and was (glad to say) very gluten reduced.

I have a couple of questions after going through the process once:

1. Sparging. The Brewzilla continuously recirculates the wort during the mash. Is sparging still necessary? If so, why (keep it simple! Last month I didn't know what sparging was!)
2. I'm finding the hydrometer frustrating. It really likes to stick to the side of the test jar instead of floating freely. Any tips on how to avoid this?

Those are probably the first of many questions!

In the case of the Brewzilla, continuous recirculation during the mash helps with temperature stability and efficient extraction of sugars from the grains. The recirculation process acts as a form of "mash recirculation sparging," which helps to rinse the grains and extract sugars effectively. With this method, a separate sparging step may not be necessary. However, if you notice a significant decrease in efficiency or want to experiment with different techniques, you can consider incorporating traditional batch sparging or fly sparging methods.

 

[Semper Sitientum]

My $0.02 regarding Clarity Ferm. My wife was diagnosed with a gluten sensitivity almost a year ago. After discovering Clarity Ferm, the first time I used it was for a NEIPA with 10% white wheat malt, which bumped up the gluten. Being a skeptic, I sent a sample in for testing. To my surprise and delight the results came back at less than 10 ppm - even better than what White Labs advertises. Since then I’ve used it on every batch. I dose at 2 ml/gallon since I brew less than 5 gallon batches. A couple of notes from WL - Its impossible to over dose (but it would be a waste of money) and it denatures very quickly above 130F. So, pitch during yeast pitch. Also, I find RiteBrew has the best price even shipping.

 

[Mont Y. Märzen]

Not only have my hydrometers always eventually stuck to the side when they stop spinning, (glass or plastic hydrometers, glass or plastic tubes of any diameter or height) but they always stop spinning and settle down with the SG scale facing away from me! I consider this the Murphy's Law of Gravity.

 

[Dave Gluten Sensitive Williams]

My $0.02 regarding Clarity Ferm. My wife was diagnosed with a gluten sensitivity almost a year ago. After discovering Clarity Ferm, the first time I used it was for a NEIPA with 10% white wheat malt, which bumped up the gluten. Being a skeptic, I sent a sample in for testing. To my surprise and delight the results came back at less than 10 ppm - even better than what White Labs advertises. Since then I’ve used it on every batch. I dose at 2 ml/gallon since I brew less than 5 gallon batches. A couple of notes from WL - Its impossible to over dose (but it would be a waste of money) and it denatures very quickly above 130F. So, pitch during yeast pitch. Also, I find RiteBrew has the best price even shipping.

A local brewery uses Clarity Ferm and I've never had a problem with their products, so I was reasonably confident I wouldn't get sick.

It's not that expensive but I can't get it locally so the shipping typically costs way more than the product. RiteBrew has a great price you're right. A shame they don't ship to Canada.

 

[Dave Gluten Sensitive Williams]

Not only have my hydrometers always eventually stuck to the side when they stop spinning, (glass or plastic hydrometers, glass or plastic tubes of any diameter or height) but they always stop spinning and settle down with the SG scale facing away from me! I consider this the Murphy's Law of Gravity.

Agreed. Almost a certainty the scale will be on the other side. I've started taking a burst of photos on my phone to solve that!

 

[Dave Gluten Sensitive Williams]

I also use a 35 liter Brewzilla, recirculate continuously, and sparge. I simply dump hot water into the malt pipe as it is draining after I lift it from the kettle. 2 gallons is typical.

One reason to sparge is to rinse more of the 'goodness' (sugars) off the spent grain. More goodness means less waste.

Another reason is to add water. With 6 1/4 gallons of water and 12 pounds of grain I'm just about at the upper limit of my BZ capacity. Once I remove the grain, I'm left with about 5 1/4 gallons of wort. That's not enough to make a 5 gallon batch for me, so I add about 2 gallons of water to get about 7 1/4 gallons total. I boil off about a gallon and a quarter in 60 minutes, leaving me with just around 6 gallons into the fermenter, perfect for a 5 gallon batch after fermentation.

I hope that helps. Anyway, welcome to Brewers friend!

Interesting point about the water loss, I hadn't really considered that. My first attempt didn't boil off as much as the recipe expected, but I was using an extension cord and I've read that can make quite a difference. Next time I'll figure out how to get the Brewzilla near enough to the wall socket and see what difference that makes.

 

[Dave Gluten Sensitive Williams]

Thanks everyone for your comments!

For my next attempt, I think I'll try no sparge (because less work is good if I can get away with it )
I'll also check my kitchen counter is level for the hydrometer (no guarentee of that - the house is fairly new!) and persevere. If that doesn't work, a refractometer sounds interesting and possibly more idiot-proof.

 

[Minbari]

I don't worry about boil off. Boil 5 gallons, just top up the fermenter to the correct gravity. Easier to top up than boil more off