Beer and the Belly

For those of you who don't know, BEER contains gluten. When I first heard this, I cried, literally, into my beer. Tears, my friends, tears.

What ensued was a quest for the gluten-free beer. I didn't know how arduous and Tolkien-esque the quest would be. Beer contains gluten because it's made with wheat. If it doesn't have wheat, it's not a traditional beer.

I was bombarded at first with the smattering of ciders. Okay, ciders are good, exceptionally Fox Barrel. Sometimes, however, I feel like the enamel on my teeth is being swept down my gullet with every gulp. I can't do sweet.

There are several alternatively brewed beers out there, the most notable being Redbridge. It's an Anheuser-Busch product, and is actually pretty good. It's sweeter than most beers, but it's light, it's easy, and it pairs really well with the hot Austin summers and BBQ.

Jill, the wife, and I were walking through Specs one day when we stumbled upon the Widmer Bros Omission line. Hallelujah. Since we discovered we have severe gluten allergies, we had been craving a beer. As I said before, Redbridge is good, but it doesn't taste like beer. I'm partial to IPAs, and Redbridge does nothing to cure me of that desire. But, lo and behold, Omission has sustained my desire for a hoppy, crisp, and slightly citrusy lager. They have found a way to remove the gluten from the batches after they have been brewed. Part of the reason Omission tastes like beer is because it's actually brewed the way traditional beer is brewed: with wheat. They just add an enzyme to the finished product that eats away the gluten. I'm partial to the Cascade and Sterling hops, and these beers satisfy my craving.

Similarly, on the pricier end, Estrella Damm Daura, a producto de Espana, is processed to remove the gluten after the fermentation has occurred. It's a little closer to Redbridge in profile, drinking like summer.

There is a new product out that my wife and I tried not too long ago. It hails from Colorado, and as such has a palate comparable to the Rockies. It's named New Planet, and it's brewed with only gluten-free ingredients. The amber ale is slightly citrusy, washes clean from the palate, and settles in nicely with fish or chicken.

If you want to spend some money on higher quality Imperial Pints, go in for Green's. They have a tripel, blonde, and dubbel. This company also brews gluten-free start to finish, and has among the better beers I have ever had in my life.

In short, don't despair. There are options out there, you just have to search for them.