Best Tasting gluten-free Beer?

[gatita]

I am brand new to the whole gluten-free beer thing, since I prefer wine. But the heat wave here in Cali has me wanting to try beer again. I used to like India Pale Ales and ambers, and brands like Gordon Biersch or Sam Adams.

 

My local Safeway has two brands: Omission (this one scares me because it's made from barley with the gluten 'removed') and Redbridge by Anhauser Busch (not a Bud fan, so am skeptical). Am going to head out to a BevMo for more options. Maybe Trader Joe's has something?

 

What can anyone recommend?

 

Thanks and cheers!

 

 

[mamaw]

Green's 

[IrishHeart]

Hubs says Greens or New Planet 

[Marie1976]

Our Trader Joe's doesn't have gluten-free beer. Bevmo is good for gluten-free beer. I have tried New Grist, Redbridge and one other one, forgot the name, and they were okaaaay... but honestly, gluten-free beer in my opinion is just NOT the same as real beer. I was a "beer person" before, and now I'm not because I'm not impressed with the gluten-free variety. I prefer hard cider or wine over gluten-free beer. Maybe I'll try Greens or New Planet like others have suggested...

 

Here's a good drink for summertime: Pour 1 shot of Smirnoff vodka, 1 shot of Malibu rum and a small can of pineapple juice over ice, and add a splash of Coke. Yum!  

[karichelle]

All Trader Joe's has is hard cider, which is made by Woodchuck and is delicious.

[nvsmom]

I like Greens too. 

 

I tried Dauruma (I can't remember the exact spelling) almost a year ago. It said it was gluten-free so I grabbed it and I realized halfway through the bottle (I'm a slow drinker) that I was being glutened - It was one of those beers started for barley that is "supposedly" gluten-free to 6ppm.  I reacted strongly to it.  Personally, I would avoid any beer started from barley just to be safe.

[Kate79]

Best tasting gluten-free beer I've had, hands down, is from Harverster Brewing - which is a dedicated gluten free brewery in Portland, OR.  You can find it in Oregon and Washington - maybe in California, but I'm not sure.  You can order online, too - www.harvesterbrewing.com.  They have both an IPA and a Pale Ale, as well as Dark and Red, and usually some experimental flavors.  The IPA is really good.

 

New Planet's Pale Ale is a pretty good sub for an IPA and is easy to find.  They're other flavors are fine, too.  Green's is also good, but a little sweet and expensive.  St. Peter's Sorghum beer has a very strong hoppy flavor, too - a lot of people don't care for it, but if you were really into IPAs, you might enjoy it.

 

Stay away from Omission and Daura.  After reacting to Daura and seeing that many people react to it and Omission, I think this whole 'low-gluten' thing is a (hopefully unintentional) scam.

[kareng]

New Planet is good.  They have added 2 new "flavors" recently.  The new flavors haven't made it to my area yet.

[GlutenFreeRupert]

New Planet is my favorite gluten free beer as far as flavor, variety, and accessibility. 

[mbrookes]

I used to be a "beer only" person, pre-Celiac, so I really do love beer. In Mississippi due to some weird laws, we are limited in our selections.

Red Bridge (Budwieser) is about like a Bud Light. OK, but not really good. My only other choice is Daura. It is much better than the Red Bridge, and I have not reacted to it. I really look forward to my annual trip to Virginia where I can get Green's.

[peeptoad]

I "4th" Green's ... I also like New Planet Pale Ale, but that's the only of theirs I"ve tried. I didn't like Redbridge at all when I had it... just didn't taste enough like beer to me.

[Pegleg84]

For American gluten-free beers, New Planet Pale Ale hands down for a nice easy drinking and tasty beer. Green's comes in next for something a little heavier (and stronger!) Their amber is amazing, and the blonde is delicious but at 8% or so totally kicked my arse! There's also a brewery that does a strawberry beer that 's really nice (I can't remember the name of it).

 

I tried one of the "gluten removed" beers once. Not only did it leave me with a rather funny feeling, it was also extremely disappointing. Never ever ever ever again.

 

Things are looking up on the Canadian gluten-free beer front too. There's a brewery in Quebec called BSG (Brasseurs Sans Gluten) that are making AMAZING gluten-free beers, so good I feel like I'm drinking normal beer. They've started exporting to the US, but I have no idea where you'd find it.

 

I've also tried the New Planet Raspberry Ale which is quite nice.

 

Bards tastes like water. New Grist is barely tolerable. I haven't had Redbridge, but don't think it's much better.

 

Ciders are great too.

 

Happy drinking

[Kate79]

"There's also a brewery that does a strawberry beer that 's really nice (I can't remember the name of it)." - It's probably Dogfishhead - they have a strawberry-based gluten free beer called Tweason Ale.  Pretty good if you like fruity beers.

[gatita]

Thanks for all the tips! I saw Green's at my natural foods store but it was like $7a pint... I've tried New Planet and loved it.

 

Omission was also super good. I was afraid to try it but it didn't bother me at all. I thought I was super sensitive, but it says less than 20 ppm. But if I can find New Planet, I'll stick to that because it was like a good IPA.

 

Redbridge tasted like non-alcohol beer to me, or Bud Light.

 

So when I can afford it, I'll try a Green's, but I'm pretty happy with Omission and New Planet right now!

[Brigi]

Celia... "Beer type: Organic, Pilsner ABV: 4.6% Brand Origin: Czech Republic. CELIA Organic is an organic Czech lager containing 100% Saaz hops and Moravian malt. CELIA is traditionally batch brewed for over two months by Žatecky Pivovar, which is one of several microbreweries co-owned by the Carlsberg Group around the world."

I used to get it when I lived in London UK  and had access to a number of great tasting beers, my favorite one being Celia. After coming back to Canada I tried hard to find something that would taste like a bitter, light lager. I don't like sugary beers with fruity tastes, so I was a bit disappointing, thinking I'd never find anything remotely close to what I used to enjoy while living in London. I found New Grist, but that's also not really what I was looking for.  They started selling Celia in Quebec, however, it's not available in Beer Stores or LCBO in Ontario. I got in touch with them and found out I could get it, but  I can only do so, if I order 5 cases x 24bottles, 60.00(+tax each). This quantity is way too much for me.  Given it's best before 20th July 2019, I'd be able to take 2 or max 3 boxes. If anyone out there looking for something similar. Please let me know. I'm dying to have a taste of my favorite gluten-free beer again.