UKH

I enjoy making wines usually but want to make my own ales, ive made a few without malt extracts because im gluten intolerant, but they just lack in body.
Any thoughts on what I could do to make my ale less watery?

there are malt/malt-like products not made from barley and so gluten free (but you should doublecheck)  that are used in international beers such as rice malt (you can buy it but it may work out expensive at £1 per 100g) and corn [i.e. maize] malt. There are also beers like the Nigerian variant of Guinness that use sorghum (I can assure you that stuff doesn't lack body! look out for it in corner shops, it's great!) but no idea how easy it's going to be to source sorghum malt.

Good luck

pedant alert: The question was about ale and I mentioned beer, yes there is a pedantic distinction between the two - but I just don't care. So there

I asked the barman in the Scafell Inn once about their ‘gluten free beer’ and he told me it was made in the normal way, but the parts per million of gluten was so low that it was OK for gluten intolerant (don’t know about full on coeliacs).  Gluten Free beer kits are often based on sorghum, a GF grain. 
 

https://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/briess-white-sorghum-syrup.html

Lots of mass produced beers have pretty low PPM gluten levels - Corona for example (not that I'm endorsing drinking such things) is below 20ppm, so likely fine for many but I believe it has to be below 10ppm to pass gluten free standards (may be incorrect on exact figure there).

Other brewers add enzymes such as Brewers Clarex to 'eat' the gluten after the beer has been brewed - I believe this is how Sheffield breweries like Abbeydale and Triple Point make their beers GF.

Essentially two ways - using gluten free grains - sorghum, buckwheat, fonio malts or removing gluten using eg Brewers Clarex. Note, this is added during fermentation. Mash temperature will impact body in terms of how much longer chain sugars remain that are unusable by yeast (as will yeast choice). Minerals in the water can also affect mouthfeel, and perceived body.

Lactose is used in some beers to add body. Originally it was used in milk stout but now found in some craft beers, particularly low alcohol ones that would otherwise be thin. It's not as sweet as sucrose and the sweetness can be balanced by the roasted grains or hop bitterness. 

Trying to brew using gluten free grains would be a big step up brewing using malt extract. You can get gluten free malt extract: https://www.homebrewcentre.co.uk/senson-gluten-free-liquid-malt-extract-lme... and kits: https://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/beer-kits-home-brew/beer-type-homebrew... and you can get enzymes too: https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/clarity-ferm-enzyme-per10ml-vial/?v...

I brew all grain and have used Clarity Ferm for years. I had it tested once and it was <5ppm so it does work and doesn’t affect the beer. Tried for years with the alternative GF ‘grains’ and they were universally rubbish.

Not sure they are all "rubbish" but taking sorghum as an example: it's significantly different to barley. As a direct barley substitute yes it will be rubbish, but treated as a different thing and used as part of a heavy stout/porter it can, as a matter of taste, be a good addition (a bit of a "marmite" decision there)

Those of us who love Nigerian Guinness would argue in its favour, but if you wanted to make an easy sinking pale ale... it may be an awful choice!

This.

It is how most commercial "gluten free" beers are made.

Clarity fern is sometimes also called clarex. It is an enzyme you add at the same time as inoculation with the yeast.

It is used by some breweries at an alternative to isinglass to induce clarity because they want to be able to label the beer as vegan. It has the accidental side effect of making it gluten free.

This is where I get it from:

https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/product/nbs-clarity-15ml/?v=79cba1185463

White labs also sell single dose shots. But I find the NBS clarity fine to use and I overshoot the dosing to make sure.

Amazing as always UKC!

Yes, another thumbs up for the NBS Clarity.