Gluten-Free Tasting Panel
After introducing the topic of Gluten-Free (GF) beers a couple weeks back, I wanted to get to know the beers a little better. I compiled a selection of GF beers that have a wider distribution and sat down with a pair of people with gluten sensitivities.
First, I want to explain why I chose tasters with gluten sensitivities and not just beer geeks. Beer geeks can drink whatever they like. We would hold the GF beer to the standard that we hold traditional beer. People with gluten sensitivities don’t have the option of having traditional beer. For then, gluten-free is the only option, otherwise they pay in the form of various physical ailments for as many as ten days. To have a true idea of how these beers are received by the market they are intended for, I needed to have people with gluten sensitivities.
That said, giving away beer was never harder. I was able to find just 4 willing p[articipants and only two showed up for the tasting. The boyfriend of one of my gluten-free participants joined us to give me a second beer geek opinion (in addition to my own).
For this tasting we had 5 GF beers and 2 ciders, also a gluten-free option.
- Lakefront New Grist Sorghum Beer
- Bards Tale Dragons Gold
- Greens Quest
- Greens Discovery
- Greens Endeavour
- Ace Pear Cider
- Samuel Smiths Organic Cider
The tasting was very casual and I asked the participants to judge the beers on a purely hedonistic scale. It became quite apparent that Green’s made what was considered to be the best of the bunch. The Tripel came the closest of the beers to tasting like a traditional beer. One thing I picked up from all of the beers was a subtle sweetness and a tanginess that comes through in the finish. The intensity of this tangy finish seemed to dictate how the beer was received, with the beers where this flavor was most prominent receiving less praise.
As we moved on to ciders it was commented that while ciders were definitely an option for a gluten-free diet, they were different, and not beer. The sweetness associated with the ciders is what set them apart from beer. With that in mind, we still tasted the ciders. The Ace and Sam Smith’s are from opposite ends of the spectrum. The Ace Perry Cider being sweet, spritzy and very much a pear cider, while Sam Smith’s was slightly bitter and dry, but with the undertone of apples, the fruitiness providing balance.
The final opinions separated the samples into three categories. The first was made up of the Green’s beers and was considered to be the premium, craft beer selections. In the next category were the New Grist and Bard’s which were described as being good for a BBQ or tailgating. The ciders were put into their own category .
If you have any experiences with gluten-free beer, please share them below. Also, please share whether or not you have gluten-sensitivities. If you are gluten sensitive, would you like to see a separate section at RateBeer for these beers?
One Comment to “Gluten-Free Tasting Panel”
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Good to see this option being explored. I recently had Deschutes gluten free beer and I was impressed. I didn’t notice any difference from a standard beer. Sadly its only available in their tap rooms.