Gluten Free Beer

Now here's a topic that I can energetically embrace - gluten free beer! After the rigors of having to deal with a gluten free diet, everyone needs a little drink once in a while - might as well make it gluten free. All kidding aside, it is pretty amazing to see just how many gluten free beers there are available. First of all, for those of you that aren't familiar with the brewing process, it almost always starts with barley (which is a type of wheat). So just how the heck do they make gluten free beer without barley? Well the brew masters have to get pretty creative and look for alternatives. The most common substitutes used are rice, buckwheat (which ironically is not wheat - it's actually a fruit) and sorghum. Sorghum is just another type of annual grass which has the benefit of being extremely drought tolerant.

By the way, while researching about gluten free beer, I stumbled upon some really interesting history of German beers and The German Beer Purity Law (Reinheitsgebot in German - or maybe someone sneezed, sorry, couldn't resist) of 1516. Can you believe that? The Germans take their beer drinking serious and have nearly 500 year old laws on the books governing the purity of beer. In case you are wondering, the law simply stated that the only ingredients that could exist in beer were water, barley and hops - pretty simple.

So, back to what's available for gluten free beer options. Searching around I complied this list:

Canada

• Les bieres de la Nouvelle-France - They produce two gluten free beers, La Messagere and La Messagere Red.

• Green's - They have at least eight different beers that I came across. Mission, Quest, Pathfinder, Endeavour, Trailblazer, Pioneer, Herald and Discovery.
• Sant Peter's Brewery - Has a gluten free pilsner named G-Free
• Hambleton Ales - Makes 2 different gluten free beers - GFA and GFL
United States
• Anheuser-Busch - They make a lager that is brewed from sorghum and is called Redbridge.
• Bard's Tale Beer - Dragon's Gold - which is also made from sorghum
• Lakefront Brewery - Honey Beer (careful how you say that, she might throw it at you) made from, you guessed it, honey. As an added note, this beer is actually Kosher certified.

This list is by no means exhaustive, there are many more out there, but it represents the lion's share of gluten free beers available here in the US, Canada and the UK. I personally have not taken a taste test, but maybe that would be fun - a gluten free beer taste-a-thon! You may have some trouble locating a store that stocks these beers, so I would seek out a beer specialty shop that is sure to have a wide selection. Many of these specialty stores will also allow you to order small quantities of rare beers that they don't stock, so make sure and check with the store manager if you don't find just the gluten free beer you were looking for - he may still be able to find if for you. Bottom's up!