St Peters G-Free Beer

St Peters Gluten Free Pilsner

 

St. Peter’s Brewery is based at St. Peter South Elmham, near Bungay in Suffolk. Locally malted barley is used, together with Kentish hop among others. 

Is stumbled upon this beer in a Co-op down near Ipswich, i cant recall seeing it any shops in the north of England.  

The smell is rather a herbal aroma, most likely due to the hops used (Amarillo hops) .The initial flavor is rather sharp, similar to that of Mongozo or Greens own pilsner. Despite the interesting start and slight bitter after taste the beer is not a great lager/pilsner its watery and lacking in note worthy flavor. There is an after taste that i cant explain that well, i just know its not that pleasant.

The beer says on the back its an ale with a lager finish, i don't mean to be harsh but it fails at being either. Its not the worst beer Ive tasted but its not the best by a long way either.

Alc: 4.2

Ingredients: TBC

My score: 3/10

Daura Damm

Daura Damm - Gluten free lager 

Daura Damm a Spanish lager you can find in most supermarkets around the UK, else where I am not too sure, it will certainly be available in Spain though, that's a given.

From 2008 onwards it won multiple awards, most recently the “Superior taste” award at the International Taste & Quality Institute in Brussels, I have to wonder then whether in the past and most recently whether Ive just been unlucky in my tasting of this lager. 

Opening the bottle i was suprised to be greeted by a floral yet familiar lager smell, only for a few seconds later to be left with little to entice the nostrils. Taste wise there is little to comment on, the flavor is like a weaker Budweiser, no offense to Budweiser Ive just always felt it was an easy beer to drink. This however is just flat, flat in flavor and almost completely flat after only a few minutes of pouring.

In my opinion its a bit of a disappointment considering its many accolades, the beer would be a bit more enticing to buy if it was a little cheaper, however like many gluten free beers its pricey for what it is. It would be a nice accompaniment to a football game and a Chinese takeaway in my opinion. Overall okay if you fancy just a lager, but its worth noting this isn't the only option for celiac's.

Alc: 5.4

Ingredients: Water,Barley Malt, Rice, Hops. 

My rating : 4/10

Omission IPA

Omission IPA

 

What a find this little beauty was. While walking round the busy streets of Dublin i stumbled across a bar called Against the Grain. A lovley bar that had at least 4 gluten free beers in their fridges. Not to mention a wide selection of world beer on keg and in fridge. So i picked this little number up. Omission is a USA based brewer thats dedicated to making gluten free beers for coeliacs :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXzEFNfGA18#t=100

So the actual taste of the beer, Very hoppy with fruity tones running through out,overall an enjoyable beer. As an example of American beers its not bad, that is to say I expect it to be very hoppy with a nice kick, while this beer has that its a too much initally and then not much after. The aroma was pleasant but something about the taste just didn't blow me away i found it a little harsh. While i read on the website they describe it as smooth im not sure that , id say that its a kind of hit face beer lots of hops and flavour but hard to break down everything.  Still this is a another good example of a sit and watch the day go by beer, If a little too hoppy and heavy handed for my personal taste. 

Alc:6.7

Ingredients: Couldnt Find them im afraid and the bar wouldn't let me take the bottle :(

My rating: 7/10

Greens Discovery

Discovery Premium Ale

Discovery is the first beer that Greens Brewery ever produced. It Is a beer i would refer to as a, watch the world go by beer. Its strong at 6% and carries hints of caramel and hoppy notes run throughout. lingering bitter/savory qualities remain after the first and last sip. This is a stand out example of a good well bodied ale that really does taste and feel the part. In comparison to some Gluten based beers such as Open Bloot from De Molen and Orval its lacking a little something. Maybe more hops or abv would just nock it up a notch, im not a brewer so i don't know what you would have to do, what i do know for sure though is this beer is class .

Alc: 6%

Ingredients: Water, Millet, Sorghum, Buckwheat, Hops and non GMO yeast 

My rating: 9/10

Greens IPA

Greens Indian Pale Ale

 

Greens IPA, I nice medium bodied IPA that's not overly strong or demonstrably bitter. Two things i expect in a quality IPA 6-8% alc and a nice bitter after taste. While this IPA isn't going to knock you off your bar stool its still a beer that's enjoyable to drink from start to finish. Greeting you with a pleasant flowery aroma with a hoppy tone, it then carries over to the pleasant sweetness of the initial taste, followed by a nice bitter malty lingering after taste that leaves an almost Moorish flavour in your pallet. 

Alc: 5%

Indgredients: Water, Millet, Sorghum, Buckwheat, Hops, and non GMO yeast.

My rating: 8/10

Greens Blond Ale

Greens Blond Ale

Greens Blond ale, the first ale Ive reviewed on my blog that's an out right Blond. Comparisons to Crop Circle are invertible however as both beers are very light in color and have fruity tones. Greens Blond is rather light with an almost elderflower taste to it, but also carries a bitter after taste that doesnt over stay its welcome . In comparison to Crop circles pale ale i found that Crop circle was more well rounded and refreshing. Not to disregard this beer in any way just a blond or pale to me should be refreshing and this beer lacks somthing in that department, a certain smoothness.

 Alc: 5.8

Ingredients: Water, Hops, Yeast, De-glutenised sweet mash.

My rating: 7/10

Greens Amber

Greens- Amber

 

  

Greens Amber, a nice bitter ale, dark in color and not overwhelming in flavor. Like all Greens beers its nice to see it keep a nice head through out drinking. In comparison to the other best bitter ale Ive reviewed so far id have to say there's something lacking in Greens Amber compared to that of Night Mission which comes across more well rounded.  

Still this and Night Mission are good examples of bitter ales and should really be what other gluten free beer brewers hoping to make a good bitter, strive to taste and look like. 

Alc:5%

Ingredients: Water, Hops, Yeast, and De-glutenised sweet mash. 

My rating: 7/10

Greens Dark

Dark Ale 

Greens Dark the first dark beer to added to my blog and hopefully in time not the last. Out of all the beers Ive seen in the gluten free beer market dark beers are seemingly the rarest. Generally in pubs and bars Ive worked in people either want lager or bitter, and on occasion Guiness. I have to admit out of all the 8 different beer types i know of, porters, stouts and dark ales are probably my least favorite, that said I aim to review based on prior knowledge of gluten based beers and generally beers that i find do taste the part.

So to the actual tasting, i found it rather sweet initially and that transcended into a roasted heavy flavor similar to that of some stouts. The appearance is very dark like a porter or a stout. I wouldn't say its as strong in flavour as a stout but more in the middle, not too overwhelming but the flavor does linger.

Again its not my favorite type of beer and it didn't blow me away but it does give gluten free drinkers the dark option and does a good job at imitating some of its gluten based contemporaries.

Alc:5.8

Ingredients: Water, Hops, yeast and De-glutenised sweet mash. 

My rating: 7/10

Greens Supreme Golden Ale

Supreme Golden Ale

Greens Supreme Golden Ale, a rather extravagant name for a golden ale. This is one of two  Green beers i found all over Dublin from bars to restaurants. This ale however is rather lacking, it has a sweet taste to begin with followed by a malty after taste but its very light in what flavor it has and comes across rather watery. All in all this beer is rather forgettable, not much in the way of taste and supremely watery.

Outside Dublin have a look in your local supermarket not counting, Asda and Waitros they tend to stock Daura and nothing else. Outside the UK id do some searching. It seems like Greens Beers are pretty well spread out, looking at other beer blogs  it seems they also supply to USA. 

Alc: 4.8

Ingredients: Water, Hops , Yeast and De-glutenised sweet mash

My rating: 3/10

Greens Dry Hopped Lager

Dry Hopped Lager

 

The first Dry hopped lager that i have reviewed so far and hopefully not the last. I don't know if there was any elder flower used in the brewing process or whether im just that poor at taking in beer aroma but that's the smell i was first greeted with. The beers taste was malty at first with a rather sweet flavour. Happily the beer also had some really nice lingering hoppy tones that really bring the flavour home. In a word, moreish.

Out of all the beers Ive tasted thus far i can say that this one really took me by surprise having had mixed results with lager and pilsners in the past i was pleasantly surprised with this addition. Dry hopped is something that Ive experienced once before and that beer contained gluten, this one really stuck with me. As mentioned its one beer that i dont know much about and with only one prior example to go on so I maybe being a little kind with my score but still im left wanting more and i think that's worth a good rating. 

Alc: 4

Ingredients: Water , MIllet, Sorghum, Buckwheat, hops and non GMO yeast. 

My rating: 8/10

Greens Premium Pilsner

Premium Pilsner

Upon opening this pilsner i was greeted with a nice lager hoppy aroma that  I was hoping for. The initial taste is rather sharp which i like and expect in some pilsners. However after the initial pleasantries i found the beer rather lacking in flavor and again like some of the gluten free lagers before it i am left disappointed in how watery it tastes and how flat the flavor is. 

Similar to Daura in that after an initial kick there really isn't much to it. If I am drinking a pilsner i am looking for two things a earthy taste, sometimes even a little spicy or tangy. Second i want the flavor to linger after the initial kick which don't get me wrong this beer has that initial sharpness, but sadly no follow through.

Alc: 4.5

Ingredients: Water, Hops, Yeast, De-glutenised Sweet Mash

My rating: 4/10

The Green Invasion

Greens Gluten Free Beer

Instead of doing my usual little factoid paragraph for each gluten free beer i have decided that a summary of Greens brewery would be a better idea. 

Greens brewery was a collaboration of sorts between Derek Green and  a Belgium Professor. Their goal being to produce a variety of gluten free beers. In 2004 they made their first beer called, Discovery.

Since then they have created a variety of gluten free beers that range from dark ale to a premium pilsner. They source these beers out all over the world, such as Canada, Usa and parts of Europe. That said like most gluten free beers they are rather niche, speaking with some pub goers and even a brewer from Kirkstall they couldn't recall ever hearing of Greens gluten free beer. However, while on a short break to Dublin i found Greens beers all over, from the Against the Grain bar to Pizza Express ( who do gluten free pizzas).They certainly seem to be one if not they biggest gluten free beer provider ive come across and looking through their beer selection there is sure to be somthing for everyone whos interested in trying a variety of gluten free beers. 

Link:

http://glutenfreebeers.co.uk/en/page/index.html

Is Gluten Free Beer Really Gluten Free?

Is gluten free beer really gluten free? well technically no, the content is however so low that many celiacs can tolerate it. However there are  those who cant tolerate even the smallest amount of barley and barley malt, the latter being in most gluten free beer.

This is more of a concern if you have a sensitivity and bad reaction to even the most light in gluten content foods and drinks. I count myself lucky in that while i am a celiac i only have a bad reaction when tasting things such as bread and most wheat based products. Of course i am no doctor or dietitian but i do advise that if you've had bad reactions to gluten or barley in the past that you either consult your GP/ Dietitian or avoid the risk of further health complications. 

Personally i have talked with doctors on the subject of Celiac disease and while i have been told that severe reactions are rare their is still the danger of having an intolerance to more then just gluten. 

This isn't me handing out ticking clocks or don't eat this don't eat that!!!.  Eat and drink what you want just be careful if you think you maybe intolerant schedule an appointment with your doctor and get yourself checked, if you've been drinking gluten free beers and find your having stomach or other internal issues talk to your doctor. Again its rare to have such severe intolerance but it does happen. 

Lastly, Ive recently tasted some American Omission Gluten free beers!!! and most of Greens Gluten free beers! so i will be posting their reviews very soon. Forgive my slackness, i recently went to Ireland and found a host of gluten free shops and bars so stay tuned for my little guide to Dublin!!!

Scarborough Fair IPA

Scarborough Fair IPA- Wold Top 

Wold tops  Scarborough Fair IPA. Brewed with pale Wold grown malt base, its a heavily hopped beer and a the first IPA Ive reviewed so far. highly commended in the Gluten Free Beer category at the prestigious FreeFrom Food Awards 2013. 

Upon pouring the golden colored ale i was greeted with pleasant aromas of elderflower, there's a lightness to the smell that's appealing. First taste its quite fruity with a bit of  hoppy kick, the after taste is very bitter in contrast. I found it rather jarring at first to have such a pleasant sweet start, then to be met with a heavy bitter after taste. In some ways it may turn some people off but i found it actually very enjoyable, its a beer to be enjoyed over time, at 6% you'd be wise to do just that. 

This IPA has a lot going for it in my opinion as a IPA it may not stand out amongst some of its gluten based competitors but as a gluten free beer its highly commendable. 

If you live in the UK this is not a hard beer to get hold of, find it in farm shops, Sainsbury,  booths and online at these sites. 

http://www.woldtopbrewery.co.uk/tag/scarborough-fair-ipa/

http://www.gluten-freeshop.co.uk/

 

Alc: 6

Ingredients: Water, Barley Malt, Maize, Hops, Yeast

My rating: 8/10

Mongozo

Mongozo - Pilsner

Mongozo, a African word that means cheers in the  Chokwe language. The brewery focuses on exotic flavors such as coconut and banana in their beers. Based in Belgium they import their beers all over the world, from the USA to Australia. 

The Mongozo premium pilsner is the winner of multiple converted beer awards, such as  coming first in the Worlds Best Beer Awards.Its also fair trade and brewed with organic ingredients.

Upon opening the bottle there was little to no aroma, the taste however initally made up for that with a sharp kick. The after taste had bitter maltiness going for it. However like the other lagers/Pilsners mentioned before its rather watery and a bit light on flavour. Its a shame because the initial flavor had something going for it. Still, as beers go its by no means the worst beer in the world.

Alc: 5%

Ingredients: Water, Barley malt, rice , yeast, hops.

My rating: 5/10

Crop Circle

Hop Back Brewery - Crop Circle 

Crop Circle, brewed at the Wyndham Arms in Wiltshire. The brewery and chain of pubs has been going since 1986. Since then it has grown to win great recognition for its beers and ales around the UK. 

The beer has a lovely head to and a pleasant aroma. The taste matches the smell , their is a refreshing fruitiness in this beer along with a bitter after taste. Not so bitter that it dominates and not so fruity that it could turn sickly. 

This is a lovely example of not only a gluten free beer but in general a golden ale, refreshing with bitter after tones and a taste that's pleasing after many a sip. 

Below is a link to their site which shows all the shops/bars that stock Crop Circle. 

 http://www.hopback.co.uk/gluten-free.html

Alc: 4.2

Ingredients: Water, Maris Otter Malt, Maize, Two English and two Continental Hop varieties and Hop Back Yeast.

My rating: 8/10

Ambar

Cerveza Especial - Ambar

 

Ambar a Spanish made Lager, it was shortlisted in the Freefrom best beer awards 2012 and highly commended the following year. Its brewed with the unique barley malt and hop from the northern Spanish region that this beer originates.

The beer kept a light head and had a tangy flavor, most likely down to the hops. Overall this lager was easy to drink and reminded me of something like corona, it would go well with a slice of lime or lemon like the beer Sol.

Still its similar to Daura in the sense its rather flat after the initial taste, gluten free beers out of Spain dont seem to back up the volume or awards with much in the way of taste. Still with both beers put in front of me id go with the Ambar over the Daura, there is nice flavour in there.... somewhere.....

Alc: 5.2

Ingredients: (Water,  Barley malt) Im guessing, i couldn't find the ingredients anywhere. 

 My rating: 5/10

Night Mission

Glebe Farm- Night Mission

Glebe Farms Night Mission is the first ale to be reviewed in this blog and hard to beat in terms of a traditional bitter. 

The name 'Night Mission'  came about due the farms' historical links to the wartime planes used in WW2. There are many airfields in the area of Glebe farm where the pathfinder planes would take off, land and sometimes crash.

This is a beer that looks very much the part and indeed tastes the part, if you've been looking for a tradition English bitter or an amber ale that gives you that bitter taste this is a great choice. The beer kept its head through out the drinking process and with a great bitter taste that lingers, its a great gluten free beer that would make any grumpy black sheep pub goer pause for thought.

Alc:4.2

Ingredients: Secret .....

My rating: 8/10

Wold Top Beer/Lager

Wold Top- Lager/Beer

Yorkshire based Wold Top, Winner of SIBA North Gold Award for specialty beers Nov 2009 and Highly Commended in the Free From Awards 2010. This beer is an interesting mix of an ale with lager hops, more in the realm of a lager but still with a bitter sweet taste of an ale.

The smell is a pleasant smell of hops and bitterness. The lager holds a very nice head throughout the drinking process. Its refreshing with a bitter sweet after taste, overall a very pleasant experience. A nice point also is that the beer can be found for as low as £1.50 in farm shops around Yorkshire. Its also stocked in some pubs in Leeds and Harrogate, such as the Harrogate and Leeds Tap.

A pleasant beer through and through,  it really does taste and look like a proper lager, even to the extent it tastes better then a fair few lagers that contain gluten, (in my humble opinion of course). 

Alc:4.5

Ingredients: Water, Barley malt, Maize, Hops and yeast.

My rating: 7/10

Celia

Celia-Lager

Celia is a Czech lager/pilsner, winner of the coveted Free From best gluten free beer award of 2013. Celia is not only vegan friendly, gluten free but also environmentally healthy by sourcing its ingredients locally from Czech farms. Something i really like about this beer is that it is easy to find in the UK, if you go to the Celia lager website there is a map of all the UK based stores.Outside the UK you can find it online or just Celias own website. 

The Beer kept a nice little head for a while after opening, and had a rather rural smell to it. The taste was malty and easy to drink,also there was a surprising hint of spice in the after taste, most likely down the hops. After drinking two bottles i found it to have an almost chewy texture on my teeth. This is a nice easy Pilsner, its different to other beers Ive reviewed so far in its spicy tones and refreshing feel. 

Alc: 4.5

Ingredients: Organic barley malt, Organic Saaz hops, and water from the zatec foothills.

My score: 7/10

Saxon

Saxon- Lager

Saxon Lager, brewed by Calsberg, it claims to be the very first gluten free beer ever brewed in the UK. The beer has a unique ingredient in its brewing process ,Antioxidant sodium metabisulphite which helps cut down the gluten content.  

Going strong since 2006, Ive never come across it till recently. I cant say its been a happy surprise to finally taste it however. On opening the can you get lager smell and subsequently it poured very nice. However the flavor is so un-remarkable its barely noticeable, seeing the list of ingredients water is at the top and i wonder if that is actually the only ingredient .

The nice head that came out of the can quickly dissipated leaving a flat look to coincide with the flat taste. I remarked in the Daura review that it was a bit of a disapointment in the flavor and as a whole. This lager is just poor, there is little to recommend and little to be positive about, does it taste like beer? yes, but barely. 

 Alc:4.1

Ingredients: Water, Barley malt, Starch, Hops, Antioxidant sodium metabisulphite

My Rating: 2/10

GFL

GFL - Lager

GFL - Lager from Nick Staffords Hambleton Ales. The Brewery does both a lager and an ale both can be found in Booths or on the Gluten free Beer website i recently posted, and the very source:

 http://www.hambletonales.co.uk/

For the UK based drinkers here is the first gluten free brewed lager, first brewed in 2005 to supply a lager to the coeliacs of the UK.  While the brewery isn't completely dedicated to gluten free beer its still admirable to brew and bottle an ale and lager for 9 years and still be going strong.

With out looking at the beer description provided on the back of this bottle its clear that a fruity alternative style of lager is what Hambleton Ales were going for. The smell is an undeniable mix of citrus and surgery hops. The flavor does an admirable job of matching the initial smell with a sweet and overall pleasant drink. However some, myself included may find it a bit too sweet, whether i could sit and drink a few of these is rather debatable but as an alternative to the common perception of lager this rather odd in comparison with some of its contemporaries.

It has to be said though like Daura its a visual disappointment, the colour is fine but the head is non existent.A common issue with gluten free beer which deflates the look.   

Last point, when i started this blog i was kind to this beer on reflection and multiple tastings its really not up to scratch and average to poor attempt to imitate a proper lager.

Alc: 5.2

Ingredients: Yorkshire Water, Sorghum, Malted Barley, Brewing Sugars , Hops. 

My rating: 4/10

The Reviews

At what times I will review a beer is not planned as such, however when time allows over the next week or so i will be posting reviews and pictures of at least 4 gluten free beers with more to come in due time.

A reason behind my Blog is partly to do with a growing love of beer and partly due to a large  variety of beer I recently came into possession of. So as a side note I say thank you to my very generous girlfriend for buying me a crate of diverse gluten free beers, which she ordered from a gluten free website, that i shall link below.

Lastly each review will have a score attached to the beer, a picture of the beer in question, description of the taste, and finally a nice little factoid to accompany the review. 

Gluten free beer shop (one of many): 

http://www.gluten-freeshop.co.uk/

Drinking free! .....Free of gluten that is....

Hello there and welcome to my humble blog where I try and help fellow celiac's and people wishing for a little less gluten in there lives to find a damn nice beer to drink.

The general idea behind this blog is to share my opinion of what i think is either a good value or just a good tasting gluten free beer. While I am by no means an expert in the field of beer i have tasted many of the common and less common beers out there and i believe i can give a reasonable assumption of something that at least looks and tastes like beer. This may sound a bit preachy and readers may find them selves thinking, "well how bad could gluten free beer be". Well to put it simply, .......bad.

I must stress though that my short little reviews are just my opinion, everyone has different tastes and likes different types of beer. My main hope is to enlighten some people to the wide variety of choice that is out there for those either stuck with or interested in a gluten free diet.