Fast track guide to brewing with Sorghum Malt

What's different about sorghum malt?

Lower diastatic power (about 25% of barley malt)

• keep adjuncts in the grain bill down to about 15% unless you are using added enzymes.
• a saccharification rest of at least 1 hour is needed ( 1 & 1/2 hours to be safe).

Sorghum malt is not well modified.

• crush/grind it finely (there is no husk to preserve anyway), and include the low temperature (40 & 50C) rests.
• the iodine test is difficult, if any grist is included in the sample, it will test positive. Only if you get a test sample of clear wort with no grist in it can it test starch negative.

Sorghum has no husk

• use rice hulls at 15% of the grain bill to form a filter bed for lautering.

Sorghum wort is more highly fermentable than a barely/wheat based wort. So the beer will tend to be not as sweet and more watery than normal beers.

• include something amaranth or buckwheat in the grain bill that will leave some unfermentable sugars and taste.
• include some maltodextrin (dried corn syrup).

Beer based on just sorghum tends to be sour.

• adjust the grain bill (see above).
• brew a beer style (like a Belgian wit) where this is appropriate.

Sorghum has a high gelatinisation temperature (>70C).

• use a Schmitz process decoction mash to get normal efficiency. Even a triple decoction will not be as good as only 70% of the grain will be boiled to gelatinise it. The amylases in sorghum malt are more heat sensitive than those in barley.
• keep the saccharification rest temperature to 65C or below until you have experimented with higher temperatures.

Sorghum malt is very pale. To get a darker colour:

• roast a small quantity of buckwheat of sorghum.
• use some kasha (roasted buckwheat grain), dark candi sugar, or dark brown sugar.