Thursday, 4 December 2014

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


Wednesday, 3 December 2014

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

Tuesday, 16 September 2014

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

Saturday, 9 August 2014

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

Tuesday, 22 July 2014

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



The Gluten Free Beer Blog

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.