Gluten-Free Beer: Revisited
A few months back, I talked a little bit about gluten-free options for beer drinkers. At the time, none of the beers really overwhelmed me but some stood up as decent options. Since then I’ve been on the hunt for more gluten free options, especially since my wife has been diagnosed with Celiacs. As I go along in my hunt for gluten-free beer, I’ll be sure to provide sporadic updates here.
After the last tasting, I began to contemplate the idea of gluten-free beer. In most cases, the beer was aimed at the industrial lager drinker, and why not? A small percentage of the population suffers from gluten sensitivities of various forms. If you have a small percentage to deal wirth, are you interested in catering to a market that only serves a small percentage of the beer market as it is? Regardless, the idea of a craft brewed gluten-free was intriguing. Would hops help cover the “odd” aftertaste associated with gluten-free beers? Would the brewers who have shown expertise with malt be just as skilled with other non-gluten containing grains?
The first example I’ve been able to try that gets into this realm isn’t actually an American craft beer but one from Belgium. Leireken Lager is an organic and gluten-free lager brewed in the pilsner style (as it begins to arrive on the American shores, look for label to refer to the beer as Pils instead of Lager). A golden straw colored beer with a rich fizzy head, Leireken looks the part. Even with a grassy hop aroma, you’ve got a solid pilsner in your hands. The one drawback is in the malt. Great pilsners have a certain brightness to the malt, a zing that comes out of a bready background and, in my opinion, brings the beer to life. The Leireken lacks that and it may be from the use of different types of grains.
Tasting this beer over the 4th of July weekend, I sampled some to a trusted beer drinker and we both noted that had we not known this was a gluten-free beer we likely wouldn’t have guessed. Upon learning of this fact, you become more critical and search for inconsistencies. Even then, I found Leireken to be a satisfying beer and one I would recommend to people with gluten sensitivities or without.
I’m still in search of a gluten-free IPA or other craft brewed styles. Do you have any local examples of gluten-free beer that has been tasty? Please, share your suggestions in the comments below.
2 Comments to “Gluten-Free Beer: Revisited”
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I’m only recently GF, so finding a decent beer is very difficult for me. Most, I find, are thin with an overwhelming taste of sorghum.
However- Greens, from Belgium, is outstanding! Their ‘Endeavour’, which is a Dubbel Dark Ale, is strong and hearty. It also has a long lasting head, which is rare in a GF beer.
Another of my favourites is St. Peter’s Sorgham beer. Not only is the bottle cool (it’s based on a 1770 oval beer bottle), but it is a fresh pilsner that I would reccomend to anyone.
Hey Mario,
Thanks for the review. That is a beer that I am not familiar with so I will have to look them up. There are more and more offerings from brewers of Gluten Free Beer. I am personally not an IPA fan, but New Planet beer has an IPA that I am told is excellent by those that like that style. You can order it online if it is not available in your state. There are also reviews on the Association site.