Gluten and Beer

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Alan Torell

Gluten and Beer:  What’s the gluten intolerant beer lover to do?

A person that is gluten intolerant (has celiac disease) has a real problem if they also happen to be a beer lover. The beverage that they love is almost certainly made from one or more of the grains (barley, wheat and rye) that are specifically prohibited from the only known treatment for the disorder — dietary avoidance of the gluten proteins that are found in these grains.

Gluten and Beer: What’s the issue?

The specific gluten or prolamin proteins in these grains (hordein in barley, gliadin in wheat, secalin in rye) trigger an autoimmune response known as celiac disease in persons that are susceptible (gluten intolerant). This autoimmune reaction causes injury to the absorptive lining of the small intestine, leading to a number of symptoms that may include abdominal pain, bloating, cramping and diarrhea. If not diagnosed and treated, a number of secondary problems occur often related to malnutrition caused by the intestinal injury. The only effective treatment is dietary modification to avoid exposure to the offending proteins by eliminating all foods and beverages made from the associated grains. Since beer is made from these grains, it is prohibited in the prescribed diet.

Gluten and Beer: What are the alternatives for a beer lover?

1. One could ignore the prescribed treatment (see the following DISCLAIMER). This would be generally unwise due to the potentially serious long term effects of the disorder. Celiac patients do vary quite a lot in the degree of their intolerance, so it is conceivable that if a person was only slightly intolerant, that person could get by with picking and choosing what dietary items can be tolerated. Many celiac patients are sufficiently intolerant and thus ill, that they must follow some form of gluten-free diet.

All of the following options assume general adherence to a gluten-free diet.

2. Follow a gluten-free diet except for beer. This also may be unwise for the same reasons as in the first option. Again, the degree of intolerance would be a determining factor.

3. Give up beer and all other alcoholic beverages.

4. Switch to alternative beverages such as wine, mead, cider and/or spirits. Some spirits have been deemed unsafe for celiac patients (those made from the involved grains such as bourbon, scotch, other whiskeys), but it has been argued that since the offending substance is a protein and even the smallest building blocks of proteins, amino acids, are not volatile, then the offending proteins or peptides would not be present in the finished spirit (as long as none were introduced after distillation). All of these potential libations are enjoyable and could be very acceptable alternatives.

4. Switch to gluten-free beers that are increasingly available commercially. These “beers” are made from grains and other substances that are gluten-free themselves. For the beer lover, taste will definitely be the key factor. I have tried some of the available offerings (Redbridge from Anheuser-Busch, New Grist from Lakefront Brewery) and they are drinkable alternatives. Several others are currently available or more will be certainly be developed given demand.

5. Make your own gluten-free beer. Since I am a home brewer, this is a good area for experimentation. There is information available on the best methods of producing a good beer with gluten-free ingredients, although it is somewhat scattered and disorganized.

6. Make your own beer and render it virtually gluten-free. This is still a controversial topic but there is a commercially available enzyme that specifically targets the offensive portions of the gluten proteins. Much more work needs to be done on testing the utility of this approach and determining if it really is a viable option.

If this was interesting or useful to you please leave a comment.

DISCLAIMER: This information is only intended for discussion and must not be construed as either general or specific advice. Persons with celiac disease must consider the context of their specific condition in collaboration with their personal physician for any specific recommendations regarding their healthcare.

Posted in celiac disease, General, gluten intolerance, Gluten-free Beer, Home Brewing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Home Brewing Beer – Smoked Beer

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Alan Torell

Home Brewing Beer – Smoked Moose Brown Ale

Home Brewing BeerHome Brewing Beer

allows me to exercise my creativity and my love of variety. I rarely brew the same type of beer twice, at least not yet. I don’t think that this is all that unusual for home brewers though. Quite a few of my brewing friends get really excited about trying new things even if they have a few favorites that they keep coming back to or try to constantly have a supply on hand. Eventually I’ll get there too I suppose. I do love having an aromatic hoppy beer around and something deliciously malty as well.

Home Brewing Beer Quest

One of my goals in home brewing is to have brewed all of the BJCP sub-style categories at least once. This will gain me experience using most of the abundant array of ingredients that are available. About half of the beers that I make are a new sub-style that I haven’t brewed before. I think I’m about halfway through the list.

Last weekend’s brewing session was the start of a smoked beer (BJCP 22B Other Smoked Beer). I had never made a smoked beer before and don’t have all that much experience drinking them but I have enjoyed several of the famed Bamberg rauchbiers, as well as some others. Alaskan Smoked Porter was the first one that I had tried, several years ago at the Great American Beer Festival. It was over the top for me at the time, frankly, probably a pretty young version. I didn’t really like it as it seemed pretty ashy.

My best experience was at a local beer establishment called the Huber Haus here in Omaha. They had acquired several small casks of beer from some small breweries in Germany. One of them was a rauchbier that was delicious in its balance of maltiness and subtle smokiness. That’s the style I have come to prefer – malty and subtly smoky.

On to home brewing beer, smoke-style. I had decided quite some time ago to fill in my BJCP style list with a smoked ale of some sort. Smoked porters seem to be fairly common – I’ve had several really good ones – but I wanted to do something a little different, so I chose a brown ale. I’ve also been a fan of The Brewing Network (great fun to listen to) and their show, Can You Brew It, had done a clone of Moose Drool (Big Sky Brewing Company of Missoula, Montana), a brown ale that I really enjoy. That clone brew became my base beer to which I added a measure of Briess Cherry Wood Smoked malt. I started out with just 500 g (about a pound, ~8% of the grist) for a 6.5 gallon kettle volume and I had stored the malt for at least 6 months, so it had some age on it.

The beer has just about finished fermenting so its time to keg it, carbonate it and drink it. I’m excited! I may even post the recipe and more details of the brew session. I know, I should make a recipe page! Cheers! — Alan

Posted in Ale, All Grain Brewing, Home Brewing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Cornelius Keg: Home Brew Tricks

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Alan Torell

Cornelius Keg: Home Brew Tricks

One of the first perceptions that drinkers have of a beer is its appearance. How does it look? Does it have a nice head? Is it clear? What color is it? This video shows a simple keg-to-keg transfer that will allow you to take a Cornelius keg of clear beer to a party, picnic or festival.

Clarity can vary quite a bit from one beer to another - from brilliantly clear in a light lager or kolsch-style beer to cloudy in the case of a German hefeweizen or a Belgian wit. How about a dry hopped pale ale or IPA? They often have a little haze, often from the dry hopping. Many breweries will filter their beer for clarity or use fining agents to encourage  particulates to drop out of solution quicker. Time is also a factor in beer clarity. A period of cold conditioning is a great help in clarifying a beer, whether in the bottle or after kegging a beer. That is what many home brewers rely on.

Cornelius Keg and Clear Beer

What happens if you move that Cornelius keg though? What if you want to take a keg to a party, a picnic or a festival? Usually moving the keg will kick up the sediment, resulting once again in a cloudy beer.

One method that I’ve used to solve this problem is to use gelatin as a fining agent in a kegged beer to getting yeast to more rapidly fall out of solution. Once it has settled, you then do a simple keg-to-keg transfer, leaving nearly all of the sediment in the first keg. The transferred beer can then be moved without kicking up sediment and you can take clear beer to your event. You can also use time and cold conditioning for clarification and then do the transfer but it will take longer of course.

Cornelius Keg Fining

The fining method that I use starts with kegging the beer after fermentation is complete. I then chill the beer at least overnight and add a gelatin solution once the beer is chilled. If you have the ability you can chill the beer before kegging or even fine the chilled beer before kegging. The gelatin solution is prepared by adding one envelope (1/4 oz or about 7 grams) of Knox unflavored gelatin to 200 ml of room temperature water. It is allowed to stand for about 10 minutes to allow the gelatin to “bloom” or hydrate. It will have a somewhat fluffy texture. This is then gently heated on a stove burner or in the microwave to 75C or about 165F and held at that temperature for 15 minutes to pasteurize the mixture. Do not heat it to a higher temperature or boil the mixture - this will denature the gelatin protein and render it ineffective. After that time period, add the solution to the chilled kegged beer and give the keg a good shake to mix it well. Let the keg sit cold for about 3 days (do not move it before transfer!) to allow the gelatin and yeast to settle. You then will clear the keg dip tube of a couple pints of beer, which will be cloudy just like any first tapped home brew keg. Once the beer pours clear, slowly transfer (low pressure, typically 4-5 PSI) to a 2nd prepared keg as demonstrated in the video. After the transfer is when I will typically carbonate the beer, though I may “cheat” and start to carbonate during the settling period.

You should now be able to transport the keg to you event and have clear beer ready to serve. Cheers! — Alan

Posted in Equipment, Fining, Home Brewing, Kegging, Tricks and Tips | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Home Brewing Beer – All Grain Brewing with Joe II

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Alan Torell

Home Brewing Beer - All Grain Brewing with Joe II

Here is more of the home brewing process using all grain methods, taking us through the end of the boil, chilling the boiled wort (pronounced “wert” or “vert” as the Germans say), checking gravity, fermenting and packaging.

The process of home brewing beer…

…even starting from all grain, should now look pretty familiar if you’ve done a few extract batches. The process steps really are exactly the same. Some differences are that you do need to boil the entire volume of wort and it is really useful… actually nearly essential to have some type of chilling system other than just immersing the hot kettle in an ice bath or a snow bank (either would take an unreasonably long time).

Home brewing beer starting from malted grain…

… results in finished beer in just the same way as extract brewing. The fermentation is conducted in the same way and packaging can be done in bottles or in a keg as Joe shows. One of the major advantages to brewing all grain is that you can use a number of malt types that are difficult or nearly impossible to effectively utilize with the steeping method for specialty malts that is used in extract brewing. Some outstanding malts like Munich and Vienna malts must be mashed in order to use them. It is true that Munich malt extract is sometimes available, but it should be evident that it is pretty easy to start from the malted grain itself… and it’s just so much fun to do! One way to get your feet wet without going all the way to an all grain batch is to conduct what is often called a partial mash or better, a mini mash. It’s really not “partial” because you do conduct a full mash, it’s just done on a smaller scale to provide some of the character of all grain, while still getting most of the fermentable sugar from from malt extract. It is simple to do, requiring only some attention to the details of temperature and time when compared to steeping specialty grains. We’ll discuss this further when I go Old School to beat the heat of summer. Cheers! — Alan

Posted in All Grain Brewing, Home Brewing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Home Brewing Beer – All Grain Brewing

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Alan Torell

Home Brewing Beer - All Grain Brewing

This video is a pretty good introduction to home brewing beer starting from malted grain. This is how I brew most of my beers and I have brewing equipment not unlike Joe in the video. This video shows about half of the entire process and I will post the sequel at a later time.

Home brewing beer starting from grain…

…is more complex than from extract. However, it is definitely not beyond the capabilities of any aspiring home brewer, especially if you have done a batch or two of extract beer. It just takes more steps while following good procedures. The primary difference is that you are making the fermentable portion of the beer (the extract) instead of starting from a commercially made malt extract. This is done through mashing the grain - the part demonstrated with mixing the crushed grain with hot water in the cooler. Please do not be intimidated. If you can make oatmeal, you are halfway to mashing. You can also buy all grain ingredient kits to help you get started - even with the grain already crushed, so you don’t have to have a malt mill. It is all good fun and the mash smells fantastic!

Home brewing beer from all grain…

…does take some extra equipment but it is not difficult to make your equipment. Again, don’t be intimidated by the seemingly complicated system that Joe is using. You don’t have to have a “fancy” stand to hold your equipment. I didn’t when I started - I mashed in a cooler on the counter of my kitchen and boiled on the kitchen stove. You will need a mash/lauter tun (pronounced like “ton,” as in a ton of bricks) or MLT. It can be a round beverage cooler as Joe uses. I use a 48 quart rectangular cooler most of the time. You can make a copper manifold to strain out the grain, as Joe showed in his cooler. A manifold is easy to make, but I use a stainless steel mesh tube taken from a toilet water supply hose. How’s that for adaptation? I can’t take credit for that one. I was not much of a “do it yourself” guy before learning to home brew, but making this type of equipment just takes following more directions.

These pieces of home brewing equipment are easy to obtain from many home brew suppliers - either from local home brew shops or from several excellent online suppliers. So if you absolutely have no inkling to make certain items, you can by them.

Until the rest of the brew session with Joe, Cheers! — Alan

Posted in All Grain Brewing, Equipment, Home Brewing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Beer Rating: Bell’s Expedition Stout

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Alan Torell

Bell’s Expedition Stout

Expedition StoutBeer Rating: Description and opinion about newly discovered beers and old favorites.

Expedition Stout is another big, big beer that I would not hesitate to take on an adventure. Drinking this beer is actually an adventure in itself with the enormous complexity of flavors. This is one of the best current examples of the style known as Russian Imperial Stout, once brewed in England as a big, bold beer for export to the Russian Czars. It is supposed that eventually the czars imported brewers and set up breweries just to make this type of beer. This beer is brewed by Bell’s Brewery of Comstock, Michigan.

Beer Rating Tastes The Beer

This beer is black and essentially opaque – there is just a hint of deep garnet when the glass is held up to a strong light. It has a dense, dark tan to brown head. The aroma is dominated by a complex blend of dark fruit such as plums, prune and caramelized figs, with bread crust, espresso roast and dark chocolate. There is also a hint of alcohol, leading you to anticipate the flavor, which does not disappoint. What follows is a mirror of the aroma, but splintered into numerous additional complex notes, giving a great depth of flavor. Intensely malty with toast, bittersweet chocolate and coffee – more fruit, raisin, dark cherry. Each sip reveals a new twist to the flavor expedition. Again, the hint of alcohol but a little stronger and distinctly smooth in the finish, preparing you for the next sip, and the next.

Beer Rating Conclusion

Be prepared for an adventure when you tackle this beer. It is definitely a sipper and would be great beside the fire while you contemplate the flames and life. The myriad of flavors that can be teased out of this complex stout really stands the test of contemplation too. Expedition Stout might be best sipped from a tulip glass or brandy snifter – capturing the lovely aromatics. If you enjoy this beer or stouts in general, here is another great beer to try – Guiness Foreign Extra Stout. Cheers! — Alan

Posted in Beer Rating, Beer Tasting, Craft beer | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Beer Rating: Avery The Maharaja

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Alan Torell

The MaharajaBeer Rating: Description and opinion about new beers and old favorites.

Avery The Maharaja

The Maharaja is a big beer with a thick wallop of hops, very fitting for the Imperial India Pale Ale style. It is a seasonal beer, only available in the summer, brewed by Avery Brewing Co. of Boulder, Colorado. A bomber sized bottle is the smallest size available so, if you venture into its realm, be prepared for… The Maharaja.

Beer Rating Tastes the Beer

The Maharaja is a dark amber beer with a creamy off white head. It has a notable haze – forgivable given the anticipated hop load. The hop aroma is thick and in your face with a heavy, resiny and dank character. The nose also has significant malt, especially dark crystal, and faint alcohol. The flavor is decidedly balanced to the bitter side, again as expected, but the marked hop flavor is fairly smooth rather than harsh. It does have that stick to your tongue quality, though, which is somewhat reinforced by the dark crystal notes. Malt is definitely there as a strong backbone, contributing its support to the big mouthfeel. Moderate carbonation gives a little bit of a lift to the finish which also has a substantial lingering bitterness.

Beer Rating Conclusion

Be prepared as this is quite a mouthful, having hop aroma and flavor in spades, both with the pungent quality to which a real hophead can wrinkle the nose and curl the tongue. The dark crystal character and hops, though harmonious and very flavorful, make it difficult to quaff more than one these at a time. Remember that it’s a bomber size portion too, unless you are fortunate to have a keg of this brew. Definitely worth a taste for the adventurous hop lover, but be prepared to bow down to The Maharaja. Cheers! — Alan

Posted in Beer Rating, Beer Tasting, Craft beer, Craft Beer Review | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Beer Rating: Leffe Blond

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Alan Torell

Beer RatingBeer Rating is about description and opinion about new beers and old favorites as I encounter them.

Leffe Blond

Leffe Blond is a golden beer similar to some made by the Trappist monasteries of Belgium. It is not an “Authentic Trappist Product” since it is not brewed within one of the Trappist monasteries, but is rather an “abbey beer,” having some looser connection to an existing or former abbey.

Beer Rating – Taste the Beer

Leffe Blond fills the glass as a brilliant gold and with a substantial frothy white head. Its aroma is fruity, with notes of pear, peach and honey. There is an accent note of spicy clove and allspice. The fruity notes echo in the flavor, again with clove and pear, but also apple. A slightly sweet, grainy malt is supportive in the background, helping to reign in the ester primary flavors. There is little in the way of hop bitterness or flavor, just enough to prevent a cloying sensation. The beer has a medium body and moderate to high carbonation, lending a fairly crisp and dry finish.

Beer Rating Conclusion

This beer has a very interesting fruit and spice profile of the yeast fermentation character. Clean malt in the background gives a nice beery base in support. The relatively crisp finish lends to a highly drinkable beverage. A drier finish could make it even more drinkable, but with the only moderate strength of the beer, it is not needed. Cheers! — Alan

Posted in Beer Rating, Beer Tasting, Craft Beer Review | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Craft Beer Reviews: Odell 5 Barrel Pale Ale

Posted on April 28, 2011 by Alan Torell

5 Barrel Pale AleCraft Beer Reviews is a continuing feature describing new beers and old favorites as I encounter them.

Odell 5 Barrel Pale Ale

This is a craft beer that I’ve enjoyed on multiple previous occasions. It’s an easy drinker that has garnered numerous awards for Odell Brewing Company of Fort Collins, Colorado.

This beer pours clear and with a light amber color, creating a white head. It’s aroma is dominated by a spicy, floral hop. The flavor also has a definite hop flavor that is balanced by clean malt graininess. Its balance is to the bitter side, but is overall fairly balanced. It has medium body and carbonation, with a dry finish. The aftertaste continues with the same light malt and hop notes.

This craft beer is straight forward and extremely drinkable, the latter a great characteristic of any beverage. It displays very nice hop character with spicy, floral notes. Although it has won most of its awards as an English Pale Ale, it doesn’t have the caramel and yeast character notes of the typical English Strong Bitter. It seems more of a clean American Pale Ale with an English-style hop character. At any rate, it is a very enjoyable brew. I guess that’s why I’ve come back to it before. Cheers! — Alan

Posted in Beer Tasting, Craft beer, Craft Beer Review | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Craft Beer Reviews: 21st Amendment Bitter American

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Alan Torell
Craft Beer

Craft Beer

Craft Beer Reviews will be a continuing feature describing new beers and old favorites as I encounter them.

21st Amendment Bitter American

This craft beer from 21st Amendment Brewery comes packaged in a can with excellent graphics of a “chimp-onaut” and the moniker of “session ale.”  Although the original 21st Amendment is in San Francisco, this beer is partner brewed by 21st Amendment in Cold Springs, Minnesota. Lucky for me, it’s available right here on its home turf for me to try on my visit to San Francisco and the original brewery at 563 2nd Street, just 2 blocks from AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants.

This craft beer pours a clear, medium gold with hints of orange. It has a low white head that lingers at the rim throughout the enjoyable glass. The initial hop aroma is of pineapple and hints of orange… even through the congestion of a recent head cold. With warming, a bready and light toasty malt aroma emerges.

The flavor is very balanced with bitterness and malt flavors in near equal presence. Hop flavor is quite notable in the overall clean palate. The finish is dry with a very pleasant lingering of both malt and hops. The low carbonation and light to medium body also contribute to this overall smooth and very drinkable beer.

This is a very enjoyable craft beer which seems to be styled after English session ales with an American bent toward citrusy hop character, sometimes called “extra” pale ales. There could be a hint of caramel in the malt profile that I’m barely picking up through my blunted senses.

I’m glad that I looked for this beer on my trek back from the pub to my hotel. It’s a very tasty, smooth beer that I could drink everyday. Cheers! — Alan

Posted in Beer Tasting, Craft beer, Craft Beer Review | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment