Sorghum seeds

[Tmike]

20201110_153848 (2) (2).jpg (190.94 KiB) Viewed 1387 times

I have a few sorghum plants came up in my garden and i have the seeds and was wondering how can i make beer with this. Something simple easy if can. I only brewed through the premade can hme and nothing else. Dont want poison myself but would like to make a beer with primitive ingredients.

[The_Professor]

https://www.glutenfreehomebrewing.com/a ... torial.php

It's actually pretty easy. Takes some timed work.

[bpgreen]

I think the only way to use the seeds in a brew would be to do a partial mash. You'd need to use a base grain to convey the starches to sugar.

Did you already discard the canes? If not, you can use those to make a syrup and use that in a way that is similar to LME, but it would be a guess how much the syrup would add.

[The_Professor]

.....You'd need to use a base grain to convey the starches to sugar...

...unless the sorghum was malted.....

[Tmike]

No not malted, never did that and it looks very complicated after researching it. Was just hoping it was to wash em out and just smash em all up and boil heck out of it and and add few other things. Still clueless . Plan B. Would any master brewer here have simple instructions and simple ingrediants to make beer with these seeds. Ill be the guinea pig for ya. Would like to one day say made a beer from scratch.

[mashani]

No not malted, never did that and it looks very complicated after researching it. Was just hoping it was to wash em out and just smash em all up and boil heck out of it and and add few other things. Still clueless . Plan B. Would any master brewer here have simple instructions and simple ingrediants to make beer with these seeds. Ill be the guinea pig for ya. Would like to one day say made a beer from scratch.

You would need to use some high enzyme base malt (2 row or 6 row, 6 row would be better if you are using a lot of the seeds) as the majority of the "other things" and do a partial mash, or else use amylase enzyme.

To do it truly "from scratch" you have to malt them. No way around that, without using some kind of base malt (already malted something) or the enzyme. The enzyme is what turns the starch to sugar so the yeast can eat it. You won't get the needed amount of enzyme required from those seeds themselves without malting them.

Another way I can think of would be to perhaps get something like the "rice balls" that you can find in an Asian store and try to use them with a mixture of rice. "rice balls" contain a fungus that likes rice, and produces a kind of amylase enzyme (amyloglucosidase) that will turn the starches into sugar, and also usually contains a yeast strain that will then eat the sugar. You would end up with "rice sorgum wine" of some sort. If that tastes good at all, I can't say. I don't like anything with sorgum in it when it comes to beery things... tastes like iron too much for me. You can also buy straight up amyloglucosidase, it is the stuff used to make "Brut IPAs", it is basically an industrially refined and purified version of the enzyme the fungus makes they use to make corn syrup from corn kernals. There is a low but theoretical chance of some toxins being made by the fungus itself in certain conditions, and at an industrial scale they don't like that kind of theoretical stuff.

If that is "from scratch" enough for you I can't say, is it more "from scratch" then just using a base malt or amylase you can get in a brew shop for a few bucks?

The only other possible choice I can think of would be to try to add a bit of sugar just to help the yeast get going, and then use a starch eating yeast, a strain of Brett or some kind of Sacc var Diastaticus yeast IE a yeast that makes it's own glucoamylase enzyme when it can't find anything easy to eat. You probably won't be keen on Brett (especially with Sorgum, I like Brett beer but that makes me ::shudder::), but something like Bella Saison dry yeast might work. Maybe. I do think you would have to add sugar to get it going though, and then it will slowly try to tear apart the starches. It might take a long time to ferment out with that much starch though. Yeast like that can possibly eat it but it depends on how happy it is. You might need to add yeast nutrients, I don't think unmalted sorgum is going to make it very happy from a nutrient standpoint.

[bpgreen]

.....You'd need to use a base grain to convey the starches to sugar...

...unless the sorghum was malted.....

I was writing my post while you posted.

You are correct.

Of course.

So is mashani.

Of course.

But this is a brewer who has so far only brewed with HME.

My suggestion of a partial mash is a stretch.

The suggestions you guys are giving? Maybe I'll ty. But probably not. I haven't had much success in the past.

[The_Professor]

.....You'd need to use a base grain to convey the starches to sugar...

...unless the sorghum was malted.....

I was writing my post while you posted......

......this is a brewer who has so far only brewed with HME....

You are right, of course. But...

......Dont want poison myself but would like to make a beer with primitive ingredients.

My first short reply was sort of a "do you really" response.

My reply to you, BP, was more of a short clarification to the OP.

I totally understand that malting and mashing can sound incomprehensible. Mashing largely because of foreign terminology.

No not malted, never did that and it looks very complicated after researching it. Was just hoping it was to wash em out and just smash em all up and boil heck out of it and and add few other things....

First
A key question would also be, how many pounds of these seeds do you have. With less than a few pounds you would be talking an addition to a recipe.

If you were to smash up the sorghum and add some milled six row barley you could add that to some water holding at 150-165 for 60-90 minutes. You would then have "mashed" the sorghum and barley to be used for brewing.

If you were to do a couple soak and rest cycles of the sorghum, then put it onto a terracotta plate for a few days while it sprouts, then dry it in your oven at the lowest temperature, you would then have "malted" the sorghum, and you could do the "mash" without the barley addition.

I know, I know.....but if you wanted....