Gluten Free Beer Review
On one of El’s and my Thursday Adventures, we went hiking in New Hampshire! On the way back, we stopped at a beer store and a liquor store since New Hampshire does not tax alcohol. They also have giant outlet-like liquor stores, and their beers stores have so much variety.
We went to the Lazy Dog Beer Shoppe in Londonderry, New Hampshire and it was kind of amazing. The staff was super nice and helpful and they sold chocolate that was fundraising for a local animal rescue shelter. To my surprise, they had a small variety of gluten free/gluten removed beers that I hadn’t tried before. I decided to get a “create your own six-pack” of gluten free beers I hadn’t tried before.
Before I was diagnosed with Celiac, I was a decently big beer drinker (meaning it was my go-to drink of choice because I didn’t know what else to get). I have tried a few different GF beers before, but they usually don’t taste great (*cough cough* avoid Glutenberg) so I have made it a mission to find the best tasting GF beers.
Before we get into the meat of the review, I wanted to quickly explain the difference between a gluten free beer and a “gluten removed” beer. Gluten free beer uses grains that are naturally gluten free in the fermentation process (like sorghum and brown rice). These beers should be perfectly fine for someone with Celiac to drink.
Gluten removed beers use glutinous grains (wheat, barely, rye) to make the beer, but then goes through a process to remove the gluten. Although gluten removed beers should be okay for those sensitive to gluten to consume, I am fairly certain they are still legally obligated to state that there still might be gluten in the drink, so that should give you some warning to drink with caution if you have a gluten sensitivity. I personally can handle a small amount of gluten from time to time, cross contamination usually never gives me any sort of bad reaction, so I usually am okay with drinking gluten removed beer. Use your best judgement and knowledge of your body, and consult with a doctor or professional if you are really worried.
I am no beer expert in the slightest, so this is all just my own taste and opinions. To get a sense of the types of beers I liked before I was diagnosed, my favorite cheap beer was Yuengling and I didn’t really like Coronas. I hope that gives you some idea of my taste? Maybe next time we will bring in a "real" beer expert...
Omission Pale Ale (Light Blue Label)
Omission beers are the first gluten removed beers I tried and actually liked. I was first introduced to the Omission Lager (the one with the yellow label) during a trip to Miami, and have been in love ever since. I didn’t realize they had more than just the lager, so I was very excited to try more Omission. I really liked this one a lot. It is of course a pale ale, as most GF beers have to be, but it wasn’t super blonde I guess?
Omission IPA (Light Green Label)
I was excited for another Omission beer, but was let down by this one since it made me sick. Honestly the taste was pretty good, I enjoyed it a lot while I was drinking it. But I got sick afterwards, so be cautious with this one if you are sensitive to gluten. Like I said earlier, gluten removed beers might still have gluten in them, and maybe this particular bottle didn’t get as much gluten “removed” as it should have? It could have also been the food I was eating that made my stomach upset, I will drink another at some point to confirm if it’s the beer that was the problem.
Green’s Discovery Gluten Free Amber Ale
This was a new brand I tried! Green’s was actually created because the founder had a gluten intolerance. Their breweries are located in Europe and all of their beers are made from naturally gluten free grains, so they are safe for people with Celiac. Taste wise I wasn’t super impressed with this beer, it tasted like any other beer, nothing to write home about. I also think this bottle was too big for me. I was sipping it for so long it got warm. It kind of just made me feel full and bloated. It wasn’t terrible, I would try more of their beers, but I wouldn’t get this size again.
Another new brand, and I loved this one!!!! It was so good, it honestly might be my new favorite beer! This beer is a sorghum malt beer, and to me it feels on par with Yuengling. The creator, Craig Belser, has Celiac as well, so I feel very safe and happy to drink this. After visiting their website, I think they only have one type of beer but I can’t wait to buy more! I also love the packaging, for some reason it gives me nautical/New England/kind of old timey vibes.
Best GF beers so far:
-Omission Lager (yellow label) (gluten removed)
-Bard’s Beer Bard’s Gold (gluten free)
-Omission Pale Ale (light blue label) (gluten removed)
-Green’s (gluten free)