Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Gluten Free Ales, Beers and Lagers

Details of Gluten Free Ale, Beer and Lager that I've 'sampled' since being diagnosed as a Coeliac *hic*

Having had two bottles of Mongozo Gluten Free Pilsener bought for me I thought I'd give a run down of the other Gluten Free Ales, Beers and Lagers I've tried since being a Coeliac (as people 'Intolerant to Gluten' can't drink 'normal' Beer/Lager).

Gluten Free Ale, Beer and Lager
Enjoying a Redbridge Beer at The Yardhouse in Las Vegas in 2010

I must admit that I do like all of them, they all taste like 'the real thing'. Reading reviews in Crossed Grain magazine some people in 'taste tests' rated some more highly than others, but I can't say I'd avoid any of them. I do have a particular favourite in Redbridge Beer, but that's only available in the US.

I was a big fan of all types of lager, beer and ale before I was diagnosed as a Coeliac, so it is nice to know there are brewers out there providing for Coeliac customers.

Here's a list and links of those I've tried to date:


Hambleton’s Gluten Free Ale (GFA) and Gluten Free Lager (GFL) - I've tried both.

Green's Gluten Free Beers - I've tried both their of their new Premium Golden Ale and the Premium Pils. Previously I've tried a few of their other beers, including Pioneer and Trailblazer. Green's do have a wide-range, further details below.




CELIA at The Regent Pub in London

- Green's Supreme Golden Ale - on sale in a Sainsbury's in Birmingham

- Daas Blond Beer

Many of these beers and lagers are available in major supermarkets, although stock levels are generally quite low.

I've yet to try the following UK beers and lagers (they're definitely on my 'To Drink' list):












Stringers Brewery - Plan B - I heard about it via twitter in March 2012 from North Herts CAMRA & Stingers Beer - the beer will be available at the 2012 Hitchin Beer & Cider Festival on the 9th & 10th of March.

While in Las Vegas we tried Redbridge Beer which was great, and we picked up a case of Bard's Beer, which was nice too.

While writing this blog post I also spotted this excellent list of Gluten Free Beers on the Gluten Free Diet website. I can't wait to work my way through that list too!

I found out via twitter that the Orange Tree Pub in Baldock, Herts can cater for Coeliacs, with both food and drink, as they also serve Gluten Free beer and lager.

My 'working expertise' on gluten free alcohol is brought to the fore in the GFree Radio show
Enjoying a bottle of gluten free beer

In November 2014 the excellent GFree Radio Show had a gluten free drinks special and I was a guest on the show to discuss alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. You can listen to the show at 'GFree Radio episode 80: Our #GF drinks special'.

Non-Gluten Free, but Beer (and Minigolf) related Blog Posts:

Non-Gluten Free and just about Beer-related Blog Post:

Gluten Free Food & Drink-related Blog Posts:
- Great Gluten Free Tea Rooms

Links:
- For more information about Coeliac Disease please visit the Coeliac UK website.
- The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has a list of Gluten Free Beers on its website.

57 comments:

RSA Now said...

Hey that's great! I'm not Coeliac but one of my best friends is and he's very sad about not being able to drink beer, I know what to get him for Christmas ;)

Richard Gottfried said...

Glad to be of help ;-)

The beer (and food) for Coeliacs is getting better all the time :-)

Cheers.

Richard

Richard Gottfried said...

Following our attendance of the 2011 Town Criers Championships in Hastings (oyez!) and sampling some lovely Battle Cider at the Hastings Brewery Stall, I found out that the brewery are planning to launch a Gluten Free Beer soon!

Great news indeed. I can't wait to try a pint or three *hic*

Richard Gottfried said...

I’ve heard from the Beds & Mid Herts Coeliac Group, of which I am a member, that the upcoming Luton Beer & Cider Festival will, for the very first time, be selling Gluten Free Beer!

The Luton Beer & Cider Festival (organised by the South Beds Campaign for Real Ale) is now in its 29th year and at the 2012 event there will be four Gluten Free ales available, supplied by Greens. They are Bottle Conditioned Blonde, Brown and Dark, & Discovery.

I haven't tried any of these beers yet, so I'm looking forward to 'sampling' them *hic*

In addition to the non-Gluten Free Beer there will be a good selection of Ciders & Perries on offer, which are suitable for Gluten Free diets.

You can check out the South Beds Campaign for Real Ale here.

Full details of the 29th Luton Beer Festival can be found here.

Mpw1992 said...

Hi Richard,
I am the South Beds CAMRA member who has organised the gluten free beers at this year's Luton Beer and Cider Festival. I was a dedicated real ale drinker so it was a big blow to be diagnosed with Coeliac disease last November.
I look forward to trying some of the other beers on your list as I've only tried five of the Greens range, the St. Peters and one that Tesco stock occasionally.
I don't suppose any of the pubs you mentioned have draft GF beers?
I also used to home brew ales but have had to knock that on the head (although I've done a couple of ciders). I have found a maker of GF kits but he only makes them spasmodically and hasn't made any since last November.
I will be working on the foreign beer bar (where you will find the GF beer) on Friday and Saturday nights so introduce yourself if you can.
Martin

Richard Gottfried said...

Hello Martin,

Many thanks for your comment and for organising the Gluten Free selection at the Beer Fest :-)

I am yet to find a Gluten Free Draft Beer that is ready to drink. However, last October I did speak with Hastings Brewery and they are developing a Gluten Free Beer/Ale!

See you at the Luton Beer Festival.

Cheers,

Richard

Richard Gottfried said...

At the 29th Luton Beer & Cider Festival I had a bottle of the Green's Bottle Conditioned Re-fermented Blonde Beer. Very good it was too.

Richard Gottfried said...

Details of Stringers Brewery's 'Plan B' Gluten Free Beer and the Glebe Farm 'Pathfinder Ale' now added to the list of Gluten Free Beers & Lagers list.

Richard Gottfried said...

Via a tweet from @myparis34 I was sent a great article from Paste magazine about "The 14 Best (and Worst) Gluten-Free Beers". Well worth a read.

Richard Gottfried said...

I spotted a different Gluten Free beer on the 'no gluten required' blog today - St Peter's Brewery Sorghum Beer.

I haven't seen this one on sale in the UK and there is no mention of it on the St Peter's Brewery website. The St Peter's Gluten Free version in the UK is called G-Free.

Richard Gottfried said...

I heard from St Peter's Brewery that their Sorghum Beer (in the USA) and G-Free (in the UK) are one and the same, just with different names.

Richard Gottfried said...

Via a retweet made by the team at The World is Gluten Free on Twitter from a post by Gluten Free Seattle I have found out about two more Gluten Free Beers!

They are:
- Omission Beer
- New Planet Beer

Unfortunately both are from US-based businesses, but at least there are two more for me to seek out when I next visit the USA.

Richard Gottfried said...

Did you know there is a World Beer Cup?

Well, there is! Organised by the Brewers Association in the USA every two years there are thousands of entries and 100 categories and winners.

After playing Minigolf at The Camden Town Brewery I asked if the team there knew of any Gluten Free beers, lagers or ales and they let me know about the Canadian Brewery 'Brasseurs Sans Gluten' that is based in Montreal, Quebec.

The Brasseurs Sans Gluten brewery 'Glutenberg' beers won Gold, Silver and Bronze in the Gluten-Free Beer category at the 2012 World Beer Cup.

Looking on the website you can see the range of four Glutenberg Beers - Blonde, Rousse, Pale ale américaine and Glutenberg 8!

I'm looking forward to trying them all - when I'm next in Canada!

Anonymous said...

We attended Belgian Beer Weekend (in Brussels) earlier this month and my celiac wife tried Brunehaut gluten-free.

She raves about it and now, its all she will drink.

George V.

Richard Gottfried said...

Hello George V,

Many thanks for your comment. I haven't heard of Brunehaut before. I'll have to track a bottle or three down ;-)

Cheers,

Richard

Richard Gottfried said...

Via the Gluten Free Guerrillas I heard about another Gluten Free Beers :-)

Daas Beer is an award-winning premium organic craft beer from Belgium and is suitable for Vegan & Gluten Free diets!

I'm looking forward to trying Daas beer soon.

Check out Daas Beer here.

Check out Gluten Free Guerrillas here.

Richard Gottfried said...

I've recently found out about a new bottled Premium Czech Gluten Free Lager called "Celia".

It's available to order online and I've heard that some pubs in London are also selling it. I'll be keeping my eye out and it's on my 'to drink' list now.

Richard Gottfried said...

Check out my blog post about "Gluten Free Pork Crackling!" - a great accompaniment to a Gluten Free Beer.

Richard Gottfried said...

I tried the new Green's Gluten and Wheat Free 'Supreme Golden Ale' at the weekend. Very nice it was too.

It was on sale in a Sainsbury's in Birmingham.

Richard Gottfried said...

I am always on the lookout for new Gluten Free Beers and so I was very pleased to hear from the Beds & Mid Herts Coeliac Group that the a 'mainstream' beer has been certified as Gluten Free and safe for Coeliacs by Coeliac UK!

It's called Crop Circle and brewed by the Hop Back Brewery near Salisbury. The bottle-conditioned Crop Circle has been fully tested to ensure it conforms with the strict standards for Gluten Free.

You can read the announcement from the Brewery here.

The beer is available online and through selected supermarkets and off-licences! I can't wait to give it a try.

Richard Gottfried said...

Check out my latest blog posts about Gluten Free Beers at:
- Attending the CELIA Gluten Free Lager event in London
- Cider, Perry & Gluten Free Beer at the 30th Annual Luton Beer & Cider Festival

Richard Gottfried said...

Check out The Gluten Free Beer Association - they've tried out quite a few Gluten free Beers that I hadn't heard about before!

It's great to know there are more GF beers out there for me to try!

Richard Gottfried said...

Via the Coeliac Victoria and Tasmania organisation's Facebook Page I recently heard about another brand of Gluten Free Beer - O'Brien Beer from Rebellion Brewing.

Another gluten free beer to add to my 'to sample' list :-)

Richard Gottfried said...

While recently shopping in the Whole Foods Market store in London's Piccadilly I spotted that they have two Gluten Free beers on sale!

One is CELIA lager, a very nice drink indeed, and the other is Daas Beer. A gluten free beer I was yet to try!

The Blond Beer was very good indeed and I will be buying it again.

Check out the Daas Beer website for more information.

Richard Gottfried said...

At the excellent Home Counties Gluten Free Food Fair organised by my local Coeliac UK support group - Beds & Mid Herts - I got to sample some great gluten free beers that I hadn't seen or tried before!

I've previously had a bottle or two of Schnitzer Bräu premium beer, but at the food fair the team from Oak & Barrel had also brought along the Schnitzer Bräu Lemon. This is a lighter beer (2.8% rather than the premium's 5%) and it tasted great. I bought a bottle and I'd drink it again as it's something a little different to the other gluten free beers available.

What I've noticed since diagnosis is that there are more and more gluten free beers, ales and lagers entering the market - which can only be a good thing for us Coeliacs.

Oak & Barrel also sell Riedenburger and Neumarkter Lammsbräu gluten free beers, but they were not on the stall this time - so I'll add them to my 'to drink' list.

Glebe Farm was at the food fair too and they'd brought along their recently re-branded 'Night Mission' beer (previously known as 'Pathfinder'). It's a nice beer and one I first saw at the Drinker's Paradise off-licence in Kentish Town/Camden last year. The Stratton House Hotel's bar also stocks Night Mission and I had a couple of bottles with my dinner there yesterday evening.

The largest gluten free beer specialist - Green's - was at the show and I was happy to see they had their full range of beers to sample. It was great to try three of their beers that I hadn't tried before.

The Export Lager Lite, Lager Dry Hopped and India Pale Ale add more variety to the great range that Green's has, with nine different lagers, ales and beers available. I really liked the India Pale Ale and filled up most of the case I bought with these. The Export Lager Lite was also refreshing so I picked up a couple of those too.

I also won a bottle of the Premium Golden Ale in the Tombola, a nice bonus :-)

A great day out and I'm looking forward to the 2014 Home Counties Gluten Free Food Fair.

To date I've tried 23 gluten free beers and I'm always on the lookout for others to try.

Links:
- Glebe Farm
- Green's
- Oak and Barrel
- Coeliac UK

Richard Gottfried said...

Here's a list of the 23 gluten and wheat free ales, beers and lagers I've tried to-date:
1. Bard's
2. CELIA
3. Daas Blond Beer
4. Estrella Damm Daura
5. Export Lager Lite
6. Glebe Farm Pathfinder / Night Mission
7. Gluten Free Lager (GFL)
8. Green' s Refermented Brown Ale
9. Green's India Pale Ale
10. Green's Lager Dry Hopped
11. Green's Pioneer
12. Green's Premium Golden Ale
13. Green's Premium Pils
14. Green's Refermented Blonde Ale
15. Green's Refermented Dark Ale
16. Green's Supreme Golden Ale
17. Green's Trailblazer
18. Hambleton’s Gluten Free Ale (GFA)
19. Mongozo Pilsener
20. Redbridge Beer
21. Schnitzer Bräu Lemon
22. Schnitzer Bräu Premium
23. St Peter's Brewery G-Free™

I've yet to try the following gluten and wheat free beers and lagers (they're definitely on my 'To Drink' list), although not all of them are available in the UK (yet):
1. Against the Grain
2. Ambar
3. Brunehaut
4. Crop Circle by Hopback Brewery
5. Glutenberg Beer Blonde
6. Glutenberg Beer Glutenberg 8
7. Glutenberg Beer Pale ale américaine
8. Glutenberg Beer Rousse
9. Green's Discovery
10. Green's Endeavour
11. Green's Herald
12. Green's Mission
13. Green's Pathfinder
14. Green's Quest
15. Neumarkter Lammsbräu
16. New Planet Beer
17. O'Brien Beer from Rebellion Brewing
18. Omission Beer
19. Riedenburger
20. St Peter's Brewery Winter Ale
21. Stringers Brewery Plan B

If you know of anymore gluten and wheat free ales, beers or lagers please do let me know!

Richard Gottfried said...

I recently received a dozen bottles of gluten free ale, beer and lager. Read the blog post about them at "More gluten free beer, ale and lager"

Richard Gottfried said...

While recently shopping in the Piccadilly branch of Whole Foods Market in London I had a quick look at the gluten free beer section and spotted a new one on the shelf!

It's from St Peter's Brewery and is called Dark G-Free.

I'll definitely be buying it again in the future as I much preferred it to the other G-Free beer.

Check out St Peter's Brewery's website for details of their full range.

Richard Gottfried said...

I heard via the Beds & Mid Herts Coeliac Group that the 2014 Luton Beer Festival has a draught gluten free beer on offer this year!

Monty's Brewery have a beer called 'Masquerade' that has been certified gluten free by Coeliac UK.

Good news indeed.

I'll have to get a bottle of Monty's Masquerade soon.

Check out the Monty's Brewery website.

Richard Gottfried said...

Via Twitter I just found the gluten free website Glutenlibre and through their Facebook page noticed a link to a story about Burning Brothers Brewing - a brewer of gluten free beers suitable for Coeliacs (Celiacs)!

Links:
- Burning Brothers Brewing website
- Burning Brothers Brewing on Facebook
- Burning Brothers Brewing on Twitter

Richard Gottfried said...

While in Dorking, Surrey last Thursday we popped into Cobbett’s Real Ales on West Street to have a look at the cider on offer and to see if they had any gluten free beer. And they did!

They stock some of the Green's range and while there I picked up a bottle of the Amber.

Tim from Cobbett’s Real Ales was a nice chap and the shop is well worth a visit.

Link:
- Cobbett’s Real Ales
- Green's gluten free beers

Richard Gottfried said...

John Mittler, a friend of mine in Finland, kindly let me know about a gluten free beer he found in a supermarket with a 70% discount!

What a bargain.

It's not a gluten free beer I'd heard of before!

He gave the 'Riedenburger Gluten Frei' beer a try, and while it wasn't too his taste he did enjoy the first sip! He commented that he was very glad he doesn't have to consume only gluten free beer.

Check out a photo of the bottle of Riedenburger Gluten Frei beer - and the early stages of the BBQ - here.

I'm looking forward to giving the Riedenburger Gluten Frei beer a taste in the future.

Link - Riedenburger Brauhaus Gluten Frei

Richard Gottfried said...

Further details of the Reidenberger Brauhaus "glutenfreies Hirsebier"

Richard Gottfried said...

I was given a jar of of Green's Dark Ale Mustard at the 2014 Allergy and Free From Show.

Check out what I made with it (and what I plan to use it with).

Richard Gottfried said...

I spotted two new gluten free beers available in Marks & Spencer today.

The Belgian Golden Ale and Belgian Premium Pilsner are brewed by Brouwerij De Brabandere in West Flanders, Belgium and have been specially brewed for Marks & Spencer.

Further details can be found on my blog post "New Gluten Free Beer and Cakes at M&S."

Richard Gottfried said...

During a BIG twitter conversation with @GlutenFreeGuerrillas, @flourlessinlond, @kgollop, @GFreeRadio, @happywombelle, @gfreeb and @lizprice79 about gluten free/cross-contamination in pubs on Friday we got chatting about places that serve gluten free beer.

Links and details to some new gluten free info below:
- The 100% gluten free restaurant - 2 Oxford Place - in Leeds has four types of gluten free beer available - Celia Lager, Greens Amber Ale, Greens Dark Ale and Estrella Daura Cerveza.
- The Stag pub in Hampstead, at 67 Fleet Road, London, NW3 2QU serves Mongozo beer.
- The Truscott Arms in Maida Vale, at 55 Shirland Road, London W9 2JD has three gluten free beers available - the pub was the venue for the Gluugle launch party in March 2014.
- The Hanbury Arms at 33 Linton Street, Arlington Square, London N1 7DU serves Celia Lager.
- The Lauriston Arms at 162 Victoria Park Road, London E9 7JN serves Celia Lager.
- The Hanbury Arms and The Lauriston Arms are the sister pubs of The Regent Pub at 201 Liverpool Road, Islington, N1 1LX, the venue for the Celia Time event in february 2013.

FlourlessinLondon said...

I recently got in touch with Greens to ask about where could I get my hands on some of their beers in London and they recommended a few places: Pizza Express, La Polenteria, The Cornish Tiger (1 Battersea Rise, SW11 1HG), The King and Queen (1 Foley St, W1W 6DL), Peyton and Byrne (National Dining rooms, the National Gallery, Whitcombe St, WC2N 5DN). Just in case it's of interest ;)

Richard Gottfried said...

Excellent. Thanks for the tips.

I like the food at La Polenteria too.

Richard Gottfried said...

Emily spotted four gluten free beers from Les bières de la Nouvelle-France in Quebec, Canada. They are:
- Messagère
- Messagère Red Ale
- Messagère Millet
- Messagère aux fruits


More info on the Les bières de la Nouvelle-France website and Facebook.

Richard Gottfried said...

My friend and fellow blogger Katie at the Apple & Spice blog let me know about a new restaurant in Manchester called Tea 42 as it has an extensive gluten free menu!

It also has a huge range of gluten free beer available!

Tea 42 is a fine dining restaurant, tea room and wine bar. You can view the food and drink menus online.

I can't wait to visit, it sounds great.

Check out the Tea 42 website, Facebook and Twitter.

I like visiting Manchester - I always seem to do very well when I play in minigolf tournaments up there :-)

Richard Gottfried said...

The excellent GFree Radio Show had a gluten free drinks special (episode 80, 14 Nov 2014).

I was a guest and discussed alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages (and pub snacks), along with cross-contamination risks.

You can listen to the show at 'GFree Radio episode 80: Our #GF drinks special'.

Richard Gottfried said...

While on a recent visit to Newbury, West Berkshire we visited a shop called Oldbury's in the town centre.

There was a good range of gluten free products on sale and I also spotted they were selling the Glebe Farm beer 'Night Mission'.

Richard Gottfried said...

On a recent trip to London's West End I popped into Whole Foods Market in Piccadilly and saw the have five gluten free beers on sale.

Richard Gottfried said...

A tweet from Helen Swindlehurst reminded me that Monty's Brewery sell a gluten free beer that I am still to try - Masquerade from Monty's Brewery.

Links:
- Masquerade gluten free beer at Monty's Brewery
- Masquerade gluten free beer at Best of British Beer

Richard Gottfried said...

Brewdog recently launched a new gluten free beer.

You can find out more about Vagabond Pale Ale on the Brewdog website.

I look forward to giving it a try.

Links:
- Brewdog website
- Brewdog on Twitter
- Brewdog on Facebook

Richard Gottfried said...

Emily spotted that the pop-up shack restaurant Bone Daddies Shackfuyu on Old Compton Street has a gluten free beer on sale. And it's one i've never heard of before - Koshihikari Echigo Beer.

A 500ml bottle will set you back £10.20.

That's the most expensive I've seen a gluten free beer sell for!

As someone with Coeliac Disease I'm used to paying over the odds for food and drink, and often receiving smaller portion/pack sizes for the privilege.

Understandably there is the cost it import the beer, but I hope it tastes magnificent at that price.

None of the food on the menu is marked 'GF'. I've asked if any is suitable for Coeliacs and will report back...

Richard Gottfried said...

The latest newsletter from CELIA Lager announced that they will be launching a new drink - CELIA Dark!

find out more about CELIA lager on their website, where you can also sign-up to the newsletter.

Links:
- CELIA Lager website
- CELIA Lager on Twitter
- CELIA Lager on Facebook

Richard Gottfried said...

I recently heard about the new gluten free beer from Brewdog called Vagabond and I asked Bottledog Kings X if they were stocking it.

They are. Great news.

They also let me know they stock a couple of gluten free beers from Danish brewery To Øl! I haven't heard of them before.

I look forward to trying these gluten free beers - as long as they are safe for Coeliacs...

Links:
- Bottledog Kings X
- Brewdog
- To Øl

Richard Gottfried said...

I heard from Brewdog that their Bottledog store stocks gluten free beers from Mikkeller from time to time. That's another brand of gluten free beer I hadn't heard of.

Links:
- Mikkeler
- Gluten free products at Mikkeler
- American Dream
- Peter, Pale & Mary
- Green Gold
- Brewdog

Richard Gottfried said...

Since I was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease in 2008 I've found out about 75 gluten free beers, ales and lagers! Here's a list of them.

Richard Gottfried said...

My mate Jam Trubridge let me know that you can get gluten free beer at the Crafty Crow on Friar Lane in Nottingham.

Looking on their website they have five gluten free beers, including one from Wold Top Brewery that I hadn't heard of before - Marmalade Porter.

Richard Gottfried said...

Trembling Madness drinks merchant and medieval ale house in York has a gluten free section of beers. I bought a bottle of Hoptical Illusion and Mongozo Buckwheat White Beer there.

Richard Gottfried said...

Glebe Farm have launched a brand new gluten free beer!

It's called Glebe Farm Gluten Free Wellington Bomber Porter and you can find out more on the Glebe Farm website. I can't wait to give it a try.

Links:
- Glebe Farm
- Gluten Free Wellington Bomber Porter
- Glebe Farm on Twitter
- Glebe Farm on Facebook
- Glebe Farm on Google+

Richard Gottfried said...

The 9 White Deer Brewery in Ballyvourney, County Cork, Ireland has produced a new gluten free beer!

Their 'Saor' beer contains less than 5 parts per million of gluten according to testing.

For more information check out the links below:
- 9 White Deer Brewery website
- 9 White Deer Brewery on Twitter
- 9 White Deer Brewery on Facebook
- Coeliac Society of Ireland

Richard Gottfried said...

MexImport got in touch with me via Twitter to let me know that Ocho Reales Ale from Mexico is also gluten free.

Links:
- MexImport
- Ocho Reales

Richard Gottfried said...

Emily spotted that Pitt Bros BBQ in Dublin, Ireland has gluten free option on the menu. And the new House Lager - 'House Brew' - is gluten free!

Great to hear.

Links:
- Pitt Bros BBQ website
- Pitt Bros BBQ on Twitter
- Pitt Bros BBQ on Facebook

Richard Gottfried said...

Check out my gluten free beer update post with details of the Bedford Beer Cave in Tunbridge Wells, Westerham Brewery Co, the Flatstick Pub in the USA and the Ghostfish Brewery Co.

Link:
- Gluten Free Beer Update