Making beer that's not beer

This weekend, the latest grand experiment will be one step closer to completion -- a gluten-free brown ale.

The ale, of course, is for Mrs. Wife, who was so rude as to develop a gluten allergy shortly after buying me my beer equipment. All of the commercial gluten-free beers we've tried so far have been amazingly hit-or-miss (the best still being a brew Deschutes serves in its pubs but doesn't bottle). So I expect a challenge, but brewing in half-batches I think I can tinker up something drinkable for her.

This inaugural brew is based off of a recipe I found on Homebrewtalk.com, with some alterations based on what ingredients I had on hand and what was easy to find in the stores. It includes sorghum extract, maple syrup and molasses, with some buckwheat and quinoa grain hopefully contributing to the mixture. Hops featured are Fuggles and East Kent Goldings, both of which should fall nicely within Mrs. Wife's tastes.

We'll see what putting in this much sugar does.

Brew day went reasonably well. The grains didn't behave quite the same as barley would in the sock, but that was to be expected.

And it still got some color in before I added the other ingredients.

The smells wafting out of the kettle were still what a regular beer comes across like, if a little less intense, so I also chalked that up as a good sign.

The need to protect against cross-contamination added a whole new level to the regular cleanliness and sanitation I strive for. I actually went out and bought a whole new brewing kit -- new fermenting bucket, carboy and bottling bucket with all the accouterments -- just to ensure that as I continue to make my regular beers, I never have to worry about what was in a fermenter the last time I used it.

Brew day was almost three weeks ago. Vacation, weekend travel and some other things that came up kept me from transferring the beer to a secondary, so I expect it to be somewhat cloudy when it gets bottled this weekend. But since I'm seeking as much flavor as possible to compete with the sorghum taste, letting it sit in the primary probably hasn't hurt.

Knew we got a basement for a reason.

After bottling, I'm expecting the usual couple of weeks before the beer's properly carbonated. I'll update then with a taste test.