Gluten Free Buckwheat Ale

The Goal:  A gluten free all grain beer

The Challenge Encountered:  Getting the sugars high enough

The Outcome: Yet to be determined

The Process: Modern Medieval Ale-wifery

5 gallons of wort extracted and ready to ferment

Buckwheat Ale Ingredients:

4 lbs Sprouted/Roasted/Milled Organic Buckwheat

9 lbs Cooked/Mashed Sweet Potatoes

25 Organic Dried Black Mission Figs

8 Organic Apples Cored/Peeled/ and made in to Applesauce

5 lbs Clover HoneyYield: 5 gallons

6 Gallons Purified Water 

1.5 oz Hallertau Hops

1.0 oz Irish Moss

This gluten-free all-grain beer has been in the works since we first started brewing 3 years ago. Our first batch fell victim to our inexperience. We discarded the mash because it became a thick porridge-product. It might have mashed but more likely it would have clogged up the mash-tun and/or made a wort full of grain particles. Therefore making a beer with sediment and more susceptible to contamination. 

Since those early days of brewing, we have improved our skills, knowledge, and most of all experience and equipment. We went all-in to brewing and vinting. Gerald and I  home-brewed beers, ales and mead, increasing equipment inventory and our experience with each brew. Gerald has since worked two seasons in a winery. I volunteered at many beer and wine events to learn about tasting, styles, and products. There is always more to learn and with every batch we think of ways to improve the process. 

The process and ingredients of this gluten-free beer made me feel like a medieval ale-wife.We did not follow a recipe; rather, we took samples, measurements and even tasted the wort until we got it to where we wanted it. We were creative and used what we had in stock to make adjustments. We were monitoring the boil under the stars. I could not help but whisper words of prayer and love into the brew. 

So on to the steps of making this Buckwheat Beer!

Part 1: Preparing the Buckwheat

Sprouted Buckwheat, Milled Buckwheat
Rice Hulls, The Mash they made.

Gerald sprouted, roasted and milled the organic buckwheat.  

Continuous Improvement: 

Rice Hulls: Gerald added Rice Hulls to the milled buckwheat to give it structure in the mash. The rice hulls did indeed help. We had less clogs in the mash-tun with the rice hulls added. 

Part 2: Gathering the Equipment

Propane Burner Stand and  10 gallon Brew Pot

We bought a propane burner and stand, a propane tank and propane. We also bought a 10 gallon stainless steel pot, a 10gallon mash-tun, and a stainless steel mash-tun paddle.

Continuous Improvement:
Propane Burner: Temperature is a big deal in brewing. The kitchen stove either took too long or could not reach the temps  we needed. The propane burner worked wonderfully!

Stainless Steel Paddle:  A previous batch was ruined by contamination from a wooden paddle. I sanitized in an iodine solution but the porous wood could not be properly sanitized. The stainless steel paddle can be thoroughly sanitized and is great to use. 

10 gl Pot/Mash-Tun: A 10 gallon pot and mash-tun makes a big difference when brewing and sparging grains. There was plenty of room for the mash and water. The mash-tun insulated excellently and kept the 160 degree strike-water temperature up to release enzymes from the grains to make the mash.

Part 3: Gathering Brewing Specific Ingredients

Yeast with Go-Ferm Added

A trip to the brew store for hops, Go-Ferm,  Ph-Stabilizer, and yeast. A trip to the water store for purified water.

Continuous Improvement:

Go-Ferm: In the past we had a problem with stuck fermentation or yeast that failed to start. Using Go-Ferm helped to rehydrate the yeast, or wake them up.  Go-ferm also protects the yeast from ethanol toxicity.

Ph-Stabilizer: Getting ph right matters. Two previous beers went acidic.While sour beers are growing in popularity I want my beer to come out as planned. So we added a ph-stabilizer. 

Yeast Nutrient: In the past we have bought yeast nutrient. Now, we add just a little wort to the yeast. So the go-ferm wakes it up and the added wort feeds the yeast. Gerald developed this method working at the winery. 

Part 4: BREW DAY 

Aside from the hours it takes to get everything out and sanitized. It takes many more hours to prepare as you can see and then many more hours to brew. Then there is clean-up. We usually plan a brew about a month out then brew on a weekend. We brewed on Martin Luther King Day (After Donating clothes and food to charity in honor of MLK). So maybe we will call this a Social Justice Ale or Have Faith Ale or The First Step Ale or Step One Buckwheat Ale...So many options.

The Brewing Process- Abbreviated:

Mash #1

Mashed Buckwheat, Rice Hulls, and  5 lbs  Sweet Potatoes. 

Specific gravity was 1.005

Mash #2

Boiled some wort with another 5 lbs of sweet potatoes, the home made applesauce, and figs then put through the mash-tun on top of the buckwheat/Rice hulls,and sweet potato mash. 

Specific gravity was 1.024

The Boil

Added 5 lbs Honey, Hallertau Hops, and Irish Moss. 

Specific gravity was 1.070

Cooled the wort. 

Racked into a glass 5 gallon carboy

Topped off the wort with purified water.

Pitched the yeast.

Attached a blow off valve and put into the insulated  fermentation box.

Now we monitor and wait. This beer may come out and it may not. I will keep ya posted. 

Kombucha!

This is my first kombucha batch. I was given the SCOBY by a friend. Once faced with the slimy SCOBY, I screwed my face up into a wince and could not believe I have ever willing consumed kombucha.  I got the thing home and pushed the SCOBY to the back of the fridge. Honestly, I was pretty grossed out by the growing yeast and bacteria culture. I know that kombucha is good for my health. I know I like to drink it. However, when faced the brown-green, inch thick living culture, I did not want to think about consuming it or even brewing with it. 

I put off brewing it for along time. Well, for about 2 weeks. Finally with all the holidays over and the fridge cleaned out from holiday left overs. The SCOBY was exposed and staring at me again. I stopped procrastinating and got down to making kombucha. 

Day 1: I brewed a strong green tea. I let the tea cool overnight. I also brew beer and have learned the hard way that it is very easy to shock or kill yeast if the wort is too hot. So, I did not take any chances in shocking my SCOBY and let the very sweet green tea cool completely. 

Day 2: I took out the SCOBY and used ziplock bags for gloves. I removed the SCOBY from the jar. I added a step in warming up the cold jar with hot water so the cold jar would not slow fermentation. Yet not too, hot to shock yeast.  I added the tea, and one cup plain raw kombucha (store bought from whole foods). Next, with a little help from my daughter,  I coaxed the SCOBY out of the bowl, careful not to break it. It resisted a first. Then it was as slick and quick as a fish!  In a swift swish and plop it was in the tea. I made quite a shudder as it went through my fingers--see picture above. 

Now I will monitor temperature and wait. I will let you all know how it turns out.  

Basic Ingredients for Unflavored Homemade Kombucha Tea (KT):

1 SCOBY (you can order one here if you can’t make your own)
8 green tea bags (I doubled this because I like strong tea)
1 cup sugar (I used honey and added a little extra)
1 gallon of water
1 gallon  jar
1 old t-shirt ( I used coffee filters)
1 Rubberband (to secure coffee filter/cloth lid)

Directions for Unflavored Homemade Kombucha Tea (KT):

1. Boil 64 oz of water (8 cups) in a large pot.
2. Add 8 green tea bags and allow to steep for 20 minutes. Remove the tea bags.
3. Add 1 cup of sugar and stir well.
4. Allow the tea to come to room temperature and pour into a clean one-gallon mason jar or crock.
5. Add 64 oz more water to the jar and place the SCOBY (along with any KT it came with) into the jar.
6. Cover with a piece of old t-shirt, and secure with a rubber band.
7. Allow the homemade kombucha to ferment in a dark place (mine was in the pantry) for 7-14 days. Mine was ready after 8, but I live in Southern California, and it’s been warm lately. The fermentation time will vary depending on your location, your SCOBY and how sweet or sour you want the homemade kombucha. Sample by moving the SCOBY aside and taking a little out with a clean spoon. After this time, your tea may be slightly carbonated and will be unflavored (only tea-flavored). You may drink the homemade kombucha tea then or to do a second fermentation with different fruits for flavor and more carbonation.

sourced from : http://stupideasypaleo.com/2013/05/19/homemade-kombucha/

I also like the Wiki how directions: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Kombucha-Tea 

Mini Camino Cali Style Dec 3, 2013 thru Jan 2, 2014

We made it happen! We walked for 30 miles over 3 days along the beautiful Monterey Peninsula Coastline. I felt absolutely blessed by the awesome trekkers who joined us for our Mini-Camino Cali Style walk. What a healthy way to ring in the New Year!

On Dec 30th the intrepid walkers began to arrive from afar. It was amazing to me that a member from my Camino Family from Spain was actually sitting in front of me in my living room. Now I was forming a new Camino Family.

Thank you to all who walked along with us and those who walked in spirit with us on Facebook. Happy New Year! This is only the first of many walks, pilgrimages, workshops and much more to come from Mountain Goat Enterprises!

As always my friends, Buen Camino!

Please feel free to browse our photos from the 3 day trek!
Thanks to Dawn, Giny, and Derrick for sharing your photos with me to share :)
christina sierra's photos on Google+