Green’s India Pale Ale
Beers like this IPA are proof that you don’t need barley to craft a delicious and drinkable Pale Ale.
Green’s has a reputation of brewing remarkable gluten-free beers and this, one of their newest offerings, is no exception. Enjoyable with a a earth and hoppy taste, with a bitter aftertaste, this is well worth trying.
Tasting Notes:
Look: pours an opaque burnt brown color with a dense light head that sticks around
Smell – smell is of hops with hints of brown sugar, apple and citrusy orange
Body -creamy and fizzy
Taste of earthy hopiness with a lingering bitter, yet pleasant aftertaste.
Made from Millet, Buckwheat, Rice & Sorghum.
6% Alcohol by volume
Served in a 16.9 ounce bottle
Brewed in Lochristi, Gent, Belgium by DeProef Brewery
Website: glutenfreebeers.co.uk
Dogfish Head Tweason’ale
How cool is it that one of the U.S. top breweries makes this one-of-a-kind true gluten-free sorghum-based beer? Dogfish Head brews this special brew between seasons, thus the name Tweason’ale. Because of this is isn’t always available.
Before the days of gluten-removed beers that flaunt the taste of barley, us celiacs were limited to beers, like this one, that were made with sorghum. It’s great that this naturally gluten-free ingredient could be used to substitute for barley, but the downside of sorghum has always been it’s distinct sweet and bitter flavors. Created during a time that gluten-free beers were pretty much judged by how well it masked the sorghum taste, this beer was genius. The strawberries and honey perfectly mask the sorghum flavor. But times have changed. Gluten-removed beers, although controversial, are here, and celiacs like me can enjoy a beer that reminds us why we like beer. So beers like this one serve a place, but as more of a specialty beer.
however, it should be notes that Dogfish head released this as a specialty beer, and as that, it stands on its own, and is quite drinkable.
Overall this unique is a welcome addition to the set of gluten-free beers available in the U.S.
Tasting Notes:
Look – dark burnt orange opaque color with a one finger head
Smell sweet earthy strawberry smell with hints of honey
Body – foamy, dry and watery
Taste – slight bitter taste with smooth middle and a hint of honey in the finish. This beer is not too fruity or sweet and it is just dry enough to make it drinkable.
Brewed by Dogfisg head Craft Brewery, Milton, Delaware, 19968-1308
Alcohol by volume: 6%
Website: dogfish.com
New Planet Seclusion IPA
New Planet Brewery, known for its sorghum-based gluten free beers has brought us something new and different. Perhaps this gluten-removed brew is called Seclusion because its so far and different from New Planet’s other gluten free offerings. To further differentiate this beer they have offered it in a 12oz can, not a bottle. In fact this may be the first gluten-free beer I’ve ever had served in a can.
Tasting Notes:
This IPA has a frothy head with a golden orange tinted body.
Lots of floral and citrus notes in the smell along with some toasted barley with the distinct taste of grapefruit.
Creamy and a little watery, this beer has the taste of a well-crafted IPA (India Pale Ale).
Finishes with the slightly bitter taste that you would come to expect from a well-crafted IPA.
Brewed by the New Planet Beer Company, Boulder, CO.
4.9% Alcohol by volume
Ingredients: Barley, Malt, Oats, Hops, and Yeast
New Planet makes the following statement about this beer: “New Planet Seclusion IPA is fermented from grains containing gluten and crafted to remove gluten. The gluten content of this product cannot be verified and this product may contain gluten.”
Website: www.newplanetbeer.com
Unity Vibration Kombucha Pale Ale
Kombucha beer has emerged as an entirely new style of beer. Combining the health-centric characteristics of fermented Kombucha tea, with elements of traditional beer, this hybrid brewing process has created a new, and interesting new category of naturally gluten-free beer.
This one-of-a-kind K.P.A. (Kombucha Pale Ale) is my first foray into Kombucha beers. In terms of tasting, this drink really was a hybrid. Half pale ale, half kombucha, and totally different than anything I’ve tasted before. I hear that kombucha is an acquired taste, and I admit I haven’t acquired it yet. I’d love to get the perspective of this hybrid beer from a kombucha drinker, but for me, this was a strange tasting experience.
Tasting Notes:
Look: cloudy opaque, pale yellowish color with a very bubbly , 3-finger head, that settled quickly.
Smell: the hops in this brew give it a strong floral smell that is associated with pale ales, along with light citrusy notes.
Body: pale, thin and very carbonated.
Taste: Since the smell indicated that this was a pale ale, I was in for a bit of a shock when I sipped it and got a sharp, carbonated, and very citrusy, taste that finished a bit like hopped grapefruit with a hint of juniper Sound strange? For me It was. I’ll admit that this brew took me off guard, and never quite settled right with me.
If you go into this expecting a beer you may be disappointed, but if you go it with an open mind you may be pleasantly surprised,
Brewed by Unity Vibration in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
website: unityvibrationkombucha.com
Double hopped + Juniper
7% Alcohol by volume
Green’s Endeavour Dubbel Dark Ale
When it comes to quality gluten-free beers, before there was gluten-removed there was Green’s. And this is one my my long-time favorites.
A true gluten free beer, this dubbel is brewed with roughly twice the ingredients, and you can tell. For those of us that can’t drink normal “gluten beer”, a dark beer like this is a excellent treat.In fact in my many years of drinking gluten free beer, this is the darkest beer I’ve tasted. In my opinion, this beer is worthy of “treat” status.
Tasting notes:
Look – rich, dark brown and reddish color with a 1 finger whispy foamy head
Smell – sight dark chocolaty and earthy
Body– dark and creamy
Taste: dark chocolate and licorice overtones. carbonated. Slight bitter sorghum aftertaste.
Dubbel · 7.0% ABV
Gluten-free, Belgian-style Dubbel Ale
Made from millet, rice, buckwheat and sorghum
Brewed by Baildon Shipley West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Green’s Enterprise Dry-Hopped Lager
Body is slightly caramel color with a light bubbly head. There is a small amount of visible bubbles in the glass.
The smell is strongly floral from the hops. At the first sip I tasted was a dry and bitter, quickly replaced by the hoppy taste. The finish is very smooth with a slight bitter aftertaste. This clean finish is not at all what I’ve come to expect from beers like this that are brewed with sourgum. The smoothness and drinkability of this lager are a testament to the quality and craftsmanship of Green’s beers.
This is one Greens’s more recent beer offerings and its another great addition to their gluten free collection.
Alcohol by volume: 4%
Ingredients: water, millet, buckwheat, rice, sorghum, hops, yeast
Brewed at the DeProef Brewery in Lochristi, Gent, Belgium
Imported by Merchant du Vin
New Grist Gluten Free Pilsner
New Grist Pilsner was one of the first gluten free beers I encountered that was worth drinking. This sorghum-based pilsner style beer is well-crafted and widely available. It has become a staple at gluten-free friendly beer stores and restaurants.
This was the very first gluten free beer to be granted Gluten Free designation by the US Government.
New Grist was ground-breaking at the time, but the gluten-free beer industry has grown and evolved over the years, while this beer hasn’t. It is truly a sorghum beer. Where other gluten free beers are successful because they mask, or lessen the sorghum taste, this beer is defined by the sorghum taste. It’s inescapable, sorghum is central to the favor of this beer.
This was not a problem 10 years ago when so many of us gluten-free people were beer-deprived. We were greteful to get whatever was available! But in the current age of highly crafted sorghum beers and gluten-removed beers, it just one doesn’t standup.
Look –very light colored, I can easily see through the glass, almost looks like ginger ale
Smell – light and slightly-fruity
Body – light and bubbly
Taste – smooth, well-balanced, light pilsner taste. Reminds me of a light beer, until you get to that familiar bitter sorghum aftertaste
5.1% Alcohol by volume
Brewed and bottled by Lakefront Brewery, Milwaukee, WI
Website: lakefrontbrewery.com
RedBridge Guten Free Sorghum Beer
American Amber / Red Lager. Anheuser-Busch’s (Budweiser) gluten free offering. Their product was already 90% rice-based, why not tweak a few ingredients and make it gluten free to hit a growing market? Two good things about this beer: It’s inexpensive and you can find it in most grocery stores. The taste isn’t bad, it’s on the light side, comparable to Budweiser.
If you are a beer drinker I don’t recommend Redbridge. However, I’ve met several non-beer drinkers with celiac disease who enjoy this beer. So it you are used to drinking beer like Miller Lite, Coors Lite or similar, you may just enjoy Redbridge. It seems that this beer, and other like it, will always have a place in the world of gluten-free beer.
Tasting Notes:
Look: pours with very minimal head, clear with a hint of amber.
Smell is faint, but toasted grain is present.
Body is thin with lots of carbonation.
Taste is light and watery, the bittersweet taste of sorghum is present, yet it is well-balanced.
Alcohol by volume: 4.8%
Brewed by ANHEUSER-BUSCH, Saint Lewis, Missouri
website: redbridgebeer.com
Gluten Freek Double India Pale Ale
The flowers on the label aren’t just there for decoration, they seem to be a reflection of the contents in this hoppy gluten-removed beer.
This self-proclaimed “West Coast Style” India Pale Ale has a light-blonde color and a strong, flowery, lavender smell. In fact, my wife said, “It smells like purple.”
This double IPA really does has double the flavor of some gluten free IPA’s I’ve tasted.
As floral as it comes on at the beginning, this beer is equally as bitter on the backend.This strong bitter tasting finish is in fact the thing I like least about this beer. But for this same reason, I expect diehard IPA fans will love it.Its worth trying, and has lots of body and character, but I don’t think I could drink more than one in a sitting.
Wicked Weed Brewing Company
Asheville, North Carolina, USA
7.5% Alcohol by volume.
labeled: Gluten < 20PPM
Stone Delicious IPA
Stone Delicious IPA with Lemondrop and El Dorado Hops
Very hoppy with a strong, delicious, yet bitter lemon taste that blends very well, and makes this IPA a standout, and a must-taste for any fan of Indian Pale Ales.
Stone Brewing Company categorizes this beer as ” Crafted to remove gluten. They have batches of beer independently tested for gluten and have the results of these tests on their website where each batch is listed as “under 10 PPM”.
I’ve had a half a dozen of these beers in the past year and I haven’t noticed any gluten-type effects. However, as with all gluten-removed beers, if you have celiac disease, I advise you use caution, and your own discretion when considering consuming gluten-removed beer.
7.7% alcohol by volume
Originally released in January 2015
For More information about this beer visit the Stone Delicious IPA page on the Stone Brewing Website.
Estrella Damm Daura
Because barley is used instead of sorghum, this gluten-removed lager taste much more like you would expect a beer to taste like.
I was lucky enough to taste this beer early on, before the other gluten-removed hit the market. At that time I was enamored with the taste. It was the first beer that was brewed with barley that I was able to taste in over 10 years. I hadn’t realized it before, but the taste that I was looking for in other gluten-free beers was in fact barley. Estrella does a job of making sure you don’t miss it here. It’s taste is a major feature of this beer.
This is the type of light lager that you may expect from Europe. It is a beer that isn’t over-bearing, and is great for drinking at outdoor events.
This beer is light and bubbly in appearance, and has a strong “malt” flavor it it. It finishes smooth, and is very drinkable.
Awards
Spain – Gluten-free Lager – Bronze Medal 2015
Europe’s Best Gluten-free 2014
In 2011 Estrella Damm Daura won Three Gold medals for Best Gluten free beer. First, a Gold Medal at the World Beer Championships in Chicago, IL. Secondly the won Gold at the International Beer Challenge in London, UK. Third they won the World’s Best Gluten-free Lager Award (for the 3rd consecutive time) at the World Beer Awards, also held in London, UK.
Made using barley malt, but is reported to have less than 6 parts per million (ppm) of gluten.
Less than 20ppm is generally considered safe for people with gluten intolerance & Celiac disease.
Brewed by the S.A. Damm beer company, Barcelona, Spain.
www.estrelladamm.com
Alcohol by volume 5.4%