One of the biggest things you have to give up on a gluten-free diet is beer. We always like to keep some beer on hand in case we have company, and while admittedly a case of beer could and did last a long time in our household, my then-fiance did enjoy the occasional Budweiser. And as is usually the case, after being told he could never drink regular beer again only made him want... a beer.
Well, the first thing we tried was Redbridge beer. On paper, it's great - brewed by Anheiser-Busch (keep in mind, his beer of choice was Bud), gluten free and available in our local grocery stores. When we first tried Redbridge, it tasted decent. I likened the flavor to Killian's. However, Vince wasn't thrilled with the aftertaste it left. Actually, I think we still have half the original six-pack we bought in the back of our fridge.
I wasn't quite sure what to do next for gluten free beer. I mean, sure, I saw some brands available online but I didn't want to buy an entire case of beer without trying it first! Well, when I was surfing the web the other day I came across mention of Oliver's Beverage Center on Colvin Ave, Albany.
Oliver's has the reputation of being the largest beverage supplier in the Capital Region, and boasts a selection of gluten free beers. Of course, they do carry Redbridge, but I was more interested in some of their other gluten free beer offerings. I asked an employee about gluten free beer and he was very helpful, showing me their small section of gluten free beers as well as their hard ciders. What really impressed me was the fact that they sell beers not only by the case and 6-pack, but by individual bottles as well. It's a lot easier to spend a few bucks on a bottle or two than commit to an entire 6-pack that may or may not be good!
I ended up purchasing two bottles each of Bard's Tale beer, and New Grist beer. We haven't tried the New Grist yet, but Vince was very impressed by the Bard's Tale beer. It had a good taste and not that bad of an aftertaste - we'd definitely buy it again. We're looking forward to trying the New Grist beer as well. Maybe this weekend. :-)
I also picked up some Woodchuck hard cider - their bottles say that it's naturally gluten free, and while I'm not a fan of stuff like that I know my hubby drank those Smirnoff drinks so we figured that might be worth a shot as well.
I've heard that Fox Barrel cider is very good but it's made in Oregon and I haven't been able to find it locally. Does anyone have any other gluten free beer recommendations?
2 comments:
I thought Bud was made from rice?
Nope, Bud has Barley in it. It's a pain too because a lot of brewers think the gluten is removed during the fermentation process which isn't always the case, so you can get misinformation.
Post a Comment