Buckwheat and quinoa in gluten-free beer
Buckwheat and quinoa are not true cereals, but both can be malted and brewed. They bring flavours you will not get from sorghum or rice. They also bring sticky mashes and very few enzymes.
Pseudocereals are seeds that act like grain
Buckwheat and quinoa are pseudocereals. They are the seeds of broad-leaved plants, not grasses, so they contain no gluten. Buckwheat is related to rhubarb and sorrel. Quinoa is related to spinach and beetroot. In India buckwheat flour is kuttu ka atta, the flour many families use during fasting days, so it is easy to find.
Both carry plenty of starch, which is what a brewer needs. The trouble is everything else around that starch: gums, saponins and a near-total lack of the enzymes that convert starch to sugar.
Buckwheat tastes toasty while quinoa stays neutral
Buckwheat has a strong personality. Raw, it tastes grassy and earthy. Toasted into kasha, it turns nutty and roasty, close to a brown malt. That makes it useful in darker gluten-free beers, where a toasted buckwheat portion can stand in for some of the crystal and roasted barley character you are missing.
Quinoa is milder. It adds body and a light grain note without much colour. Unrinsed quinoa tastes bitter and soapy, because the seed coat carries saponins. Rinse it in several changes of water, rubbing it between your hands, until the water stops foaming.
Malting at home is possible but slow
You can malt both seeds at home. The basic steps mirror barley, covered in our guide to the barley malting process:
- Steep in cool water for 8 to 12 hours, draining and resting in air half way.
- Germinate in a shallow layer, turning twice a day, until the rootlet is about the length of the seed. That usually takes two to four days.
- Dry at 40 to 50 °C until crisp. Raise to around 80 °C at the end for colour if you want it.
Keep germination cool in Indian summers. At 30 °C mould wins the race. A tray in an air-conditioned room or a spare fridge set high works better than a warm kitchen counter.
Bring the enzymes in from outside
Even well malted buckwheat and quinoa are low in diastatic power. Most homebrewers add enzymes rather than rely on the malt. A practical approach for a 20 litre batch:
- Cook the grain or malt first to gelatinise the starch. A short boil works.
- Cool to around 65 °C and add a gluten-free amylase blend according to the pack.
- Hold for 60 to 90 minutes. Check conversion with an iodine test on a few drops of wort.
Starch is converted when the iodine stays brown instead of turning blue-black. If it still turns dark, give it more time before you add more enzyme.
Sticky mashes need rice hulls
Buckwheat in particular turns into porridge. Its mucilage makes a mash that sets like glue. Rice hulls are gluten free and help a lot. Use 10% or more by weight with high buckwheat recipes, rinsed first. A brew-in-a-bag set-up also copes better than a false bottom, because you can lift and squeeze the bag rather than wait for a slow runoff.
Quinoa runs off more easily but still benefits from a handful of hulls. For an easier first beer, blend either seed with a better behaved grain. Our guide to sorghum and other gluten-free grains covers the main options.
A simple recipe to try
A brown ale style beer for 20 litres, starting gravity around 1.050:
- Sorghum syrup: 2.5 kg (60%)
- Toasted buckwheat, cooked: 1.0 kg (24%)
- Rinsed quinoa, cooked: 0.5 kg (12%)
- Rice hulls: 0.15 kg (4%)
Add a gluten-free amylase, 25 IBU of an earthy hop and a dry ale yeast confirmed gluten free by its maker. Ferment around 18 to 20 °C. Expect a beer with a dry, nutty finish and a touch of roast.
Why some grains convert and others never will comes down to enzymes and starch structure. That is the part of brewing science a recipe cannot hand you.
Gluten-free yeast and finishing need checking too
A gluten-free grain bill means little if something else in the beer carries gluten. Check each ingredient with its supplier: yeast, nutrient, finings, flavourings and any adjunct syrups. Most dried brewing yeast is fine, but ask for it in writing. Avoid barley-based finings and anything listing malt extract.
If the beer is for a friend with coeliac disease, brew it on kit you have cleaned with care, use a fresh bag or hoses and never share a mill with barley that week. Tell them honestly that a homebrew has not been laboratory tested.
Start with one toasted batch
Toast 500 g of buckwheat in a dry pan until it smells like roasted nuts, cook it and add it to a sorghum syrup base. Taste the wort before you pitch. That single step shows you what buckwheat can add before you take on malting.
Common questions
Is buckwheat gluten free?
Yes. Buckwheat is a pseudocereal related to rhubarb, not wheat. It contains no gluten. Check that the flour or groats were not processed alongside wheat.
Why does quinoa need rinsing before brewing?
Quinoa seeds carry bitter, soapy saponins on the seed coat. Rinsing in several changes of water removes most of them.
Can buckwheat convert its own starch?
Only weakly. Even malted buckwheat is low in enzymes, so most brewers add a gluten-free amylase after cooking the grain.
What does buckwheat beer taste like?
Toasted buckwheat gives a nutty, roasty flavour close to brown malt. Raw buckwheat is grassier and earthier.
