Before I knew that I couldn't eat gluten, I really liked beer and I've missed it over the years!. It has only been in the past couple of years that really good gluten free beer is popping up because of the Craft Beer Revolution in B.C. and the American west coast. I really like O'Mission Pale Ale, I've also tried their lager, which is good if you like a regular lighter beer. This beer comes in 6 packs and retails for around $17-$18. The gluten is supposed to be removed, I do find that it doesn't bother my sensitive Celiac stomach but...I do worry whether this process is really legit? I wanted to update an experience that I had with this beer last weekend. It might just be me and my system but I was really sick from this beer and as a result, sadly (because it tastes so good!)won't drink it again. I am not a big drinker, I might have a beer on the weekend or a glass of wine with dinner. It was unusual that I had 3 of the O'Mission ales last Friday night. I had severe diarrhea for the next 2 days and felt horrible, everything in my system came out. It is now Wednesday and I am not back to normal yet, better but not all better. I'm not sure if it was the amount of alcohol or the small amount of gluten, either way, I'm not going to risk it again, I will stick with beers like Forager below that are not originally made out of gluten but other safer ingredients. I wanted to write this update because of my experience. I have no idea if this beer is really safe or not, as I said earlier, it is unfortunate because it really is the best "gluten free" beer that I've tried. As my fellow celiacs know, once you get sick, it is never worth the risk to try it again, no food or drink is worth it...I never eat gluten, ever.
I've recently tried FORAGER gluten free lager, it won the Bronze medal at the "World Beer Championships", it comes in a 6 pack also, usually around $18. I like the fact that it is Canadian. I think that my favorite is Harvester beer from Oregon *they have changed their name to" Ground Breaker Brewing", it comes in larger single bottles, which retail in Canada for about $8.
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One of the first gluten free beers that I tried was New Grist, I bought it from Whole Foods in California in the fall of 2008. It is made with sorghum, rice, hops, water and yeast. It is crisp and refreshing and tastes like a nice light lager. It is now available in 6 packs in Canada in many liquor stores.
Bard's is a gluten free beer made with malted sorghum, yeast, hops and water. The creators of this beer say that their taste difference is due to the special care that they take malting the sorghum.I do like it a little bit more than the New Grist but it is likely a matter of personal taste preference. It comes in 6 packs and is sold widely in Canada. It is also a lager but it has more of a deep richer flavour.
Greens gluten free beers come in single serve bottles, I've only seen the blond, amber and dark varieties on the shelf in the odd liquor store in Canada but I do notice that there are many types on their website. They are difficult to find and often a store will carry only one type. I have tried all three and I like the amber the best. Some of the types are naturally gluten free while others have de- glutenised barley. Again, I wonder about the gluten removal process but I know that these beers do not bother my stomach.
Daura Damm: I have tried this Spanish gluten free beer but it was a long time ago, so I think I need to give it another try sometime soon... It really has won a lot of awards! It is a lager and boasts a less than 3 ppm (parts per million) gluten content. Visit their website for more information.
Glutenberg: My friend and her husband own an award winning popular craft brewery on Powell Street in Vancouver, BC. I went to visit her one day and she brought in a gluten free beer for us to share, it was a can of Glutenberg's American Pale Ale in the red can. I was really impressed by the flavour and she told me that it has won awards. This Montreal based company started brewing in 2011 and is really popular in Quebec.
*Note, if you live in B.C. Canada, you can often get liquor stores to order in beer for you.
What the heck is sorghum? Click on the word to go to the Wikipedia link if you're curious.
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