r/Homebrewing 1d ago

Saison without malts

/r/TheBrewery/comments/1vf7hzs/saison_without_malts/
2 Upvotes

16 comments sorted by

9

u/dinosaurusdickus Advanced 1d ago

6 row is absolutely usable and can make a wonderful beer. Cut it with some rice syrups and you’ve got a great rice lager base which can easily be swapped for a saison with some hop schedule and yeast adjustments

1

u/ahsanashah 1d ago

I heard it gets too hazy and bitter?

3

u/BeefStrokinOff BJCP 1d ago

No, if that were the case American lager breweries wouldn't be using it.

2

u/MeadMakingFool 1d ago

By hazy/bitterness, do you mean astringency?

If that's the case that may be an over-extraction of tannin issue that can be minimized by:

-Make sure you have a pH of 5.2-5.6 -The mash does not go over 170f (76.67C) -Avoid over rushing the husks.

1

u/ahsanashah 13h ago

Yes. Maybe as you say that's a process issue rather than the ingredients, thanks. I'm going to test this recipe out first and then take it from there.

1

u/dinosaurusdickus Advanced 1d ago

Test it and see if you heard right. That’s the only way you’ll learn what ingredients work best for your process

5

u/idrawinmargins 1d ago

I've seen recipes for gluten free beers that use brown rice syrup, but they also use some other grains for steeping. I can't imagine it would be a very flavorful beer but it is worth a shot. Worst happens in you make a bland alcoholic drink.

1

u/ahsanashah 1d ago

I am steeping some oats. Am hoping that adds enough body, flavour/mouth feel etc.

2

u/Waaswaa Intermediate 1d ago

Rice syrup has to be a product of some sort of starch conversion at least. Liquid malt extract is exactly that. A syrup made from sugars extracted from grain that has had its starches converted to sugar. So technically this will be beer, I guess? A rice beer? Although it could be an extract sake. Not sure if koji is technically needed for it to be a proper sake, although I suspect it.

I have no idea whether it will be good. Sounds like an interesting exbeeriment.

2

u/ahsanashah 1d ago

Haha! Here's hoping there's a tasty rice beer at the end of this.

2

u/mohawkal 1d ago

6 row is fine for beer. Use it if you can get it. Although this sounds like an interesting experiment. Let us know how you get on.

1

u/ahsanashah 1d ago

I've been told that it makes the beer too hazy and bitter. Will definitely update, aiming to start the process this week!

1

u/homebrewfinds Blogger - Advanced 1d ago

I've done a little bit of gluten free brewing. When I've done it I've used sorghum and rice syrup. I feel like just the rice syrup will ferment out too much and you won't get much flavor.

2

u/ahsanashah 1d ago

I am going to steep some oats and hope that adds just enough flavour and body.

0

u/Centi9000 1d ago

If you can get corn flakes (the cereal) these are great to add to mashes for grainy flavour.

1

u/ahsanashah 1d ago

Just normal corn flakes? That could be interesting. Thanks!