
While some people avoid Gluten free foods due to having a very serious medical condition (known as Celiac disease), Others are simply trying to better themselves by sticking to a strict gluten free diet. For those of you that are new to the world of Gluten free brews, you may not know that Gluten Free beers have a bit of a reputation for being…well, kind of terrible.
Not to worry though, I’ve got you covered!
I’ve compiled the following gluten free beer list, detailing each beers brewery, country of origin, ABV as well as their respective Beer Advocates rating – To help you find the best damn Gluten free beers on the market!
# | Beer | Brewery | Location | Alcohol % | BA Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | American Pale Ale | Burning Brothers Brewing | St. Paul, MN | ? | n/a |
2 | Cascadian Coffee Ale | Burning Brothers Brewing | St. Paul, MN | ? | n/a |
3 | Green's Endeavor Dubbel Dark Ale | Green's Gluten Free Beers | United Kingdom | 7.00% | 68 |
4 | Glutenator | Epic Brewing Company | Utah, US | 6.90% | 82 |
5 | Green's Quest Tripel Blonde Ale | Green's Gluten Free Beers | United Kingdom | 8.50% | 70 |
6 | Dragon's Gold | Bard's Tale Beer Company, LLC | Buffalo, NY | 4.30% | 64 |
7 | Green's Discovery | Green's Gluten Free Beer | United Kingdom | 6.00% | 61 |
8 | Gluten FREEk | Wicked Weed Brewing | Asheville, NC | 8.00% | 92 |
9 | Green's Amber Ale | Green's Gluten Free Beers | United Kingdom | 6.00% | 78 |
10 | Fox Tail | Joseph James Brewing, Inc. | Henderson, NV | 5.00% | 73 |
11 | St. Peter's G-Free | St. Peter's Brewing Co. | United Kingdom | 4.20% | 74 |
12 | Nickel Brook Gluten Free | Better Bitters Brewing Co. | Burlington, Ontario | 5.80% | 63 |
13 | Toleration Ale | Hambelton Ales | United Kingdom | 4.40% | 64 |
14 | Brunehaut Bio Ambree' Gluten Free | Brasserie De Brunehaut | Brunehaut, Belguim | 6.50% | 80 |
15 | NGB Gluten Free Lager | Minhas Craft Brewery | Monroe, Wisconsin | 4.00% | 63 |
16 | Green's Enterprise Dry-Hopped Lager | Green's Gluten Free Beers | United Kingdom | 4.10% | n/a |
17 | Eight Gluten Free Raspberry | The Big Rip Brewing Company | Kansas City, Missouri | 9.00% | n/a |
18 | I Wish Gluten Free IPA | Mikkeller ApS | Kobenhavn, Denmark | 5.50% | n/a |
19 | Boxer Gluten Free | Minhas Craft Brewery | Monroe, Wisconsin | 5.00% | n/a |
20 | Lazy Mutt Gluten Free | Minhas Craft Brewery | Monroe, Wisconsin | 4.70% | n/a |
21 | Gluten Free Golden Ale | Deshutes Brewery | Bend, Oregon | 5.20% | n/a |
22 | Green's India Pale Ale | Green's Gluten Free Beers | United Kingdom | 5.00% | n/a |
23 | Green's Dark Ale | Green's Gluten Free Beers | United Kingdom | 5.80% | n/a |
24 | Green's Blond Ale | Green's Gluten Free Beers | United Kingdom | 5.80% | n/a |
25 | Drummond Gluten Free | Drummond Brewing Company | Alberta, Canada | 5.00% | n/a |
26 | Zatec Gluten Free Beer | Zatecky' Pivovar | Czech Republic | 4.50% | n/a |
27 | Green's Premium Pils | Breen's Gluten Free Beers | United Kingdom | 4.80% | n/a |
28 | Green's Herald | Green's Gluten Free Beers | United Kingdom | 4.00% | n/a |
29 | Gluten Free IPA | Roc Brewing Company | New York, US | 6.00% | n/a |
30 | Green's Supreme Golden Ale | Green's Gluten Free Beers | United Kingdom | 4.80% | n/a |
31 | Elmer's Gluten Free Beer | Five Seasons Westside | Georgia, US | ? | n/a |
32 | Gluten Free Ale | Hambleton Ales | United Kingdom | 4.80% | n/a |
33 | Green's Golden Ale | Green's Gluten Free Beers | United Kingdom | 4.80% | n/a |
34 | Green's Pioneer | Green's Gluten Free Beers | United Kingdom | 5.00% | n/a |
35 | Gluten Free Lager | Hambleton Ales | United Kingdom | 4.80% | n/a |
36 | Green Gold Gluten Free | Mikkeller ApS | Denmark | 7.00% | n/a |
37 | Gluteus Minimus | Growlers | Maryland, US | 4.50% | n/a |
38 | Vladimir Gluten Free | Griffin Claw Brewing Company | Michigan, US | 6.00% | n/a |
39 | Gluten Free-Bird | SaltWater Brewery | Florida, US | 7.00% | n/a |
40 | Traminette Gluten Free Grape | The Big Rip Brewing Company | Missouri, US | 9.30% | n/a |
41 | Graceful Gluten Free IPA | Eternity Brewing Company | Michigan, US | ? | n/a |
42 | Gluten-Free Lemon Pale | Strange Craft Beer Company | Colorado, US | 5.50% | n/a |
43 | GCH Gluten-Free Ale | Sawtooth Brewery | Idaho, US | 4.80% | n/a |
44 | Tweason' Ale | Dogfish Head Brewery | Milton, Deleware | 6.00% | 71 |
45 | Pale Ale | New Planet Beer Company | Colorado, US | 6.40% | 60 |
46 | New Grist | Lakefront Brewery | Milwaukee, WI | 5.75% | 65 |
47 | Redbridge | Anheuser-Busch | Saint Louis, Missouri | 4.00% | 63 |
48 | Estrella Damm Daura | Damm S.A. | Spain | 5.40% | 74 |
49 | Off The Grid Pale Ale | New Planet Beer Company | Colorado, US | 5.00% | 63 |
50 | The Glutenator | Snake River Brewing Company & Brewpub | Wyoming, US | 7.00% | n/a |
51 | Alt Brew Farmhouse Ale | Greenview Brewing | Madison, WI | ? | n/a |
52 | Pale Ale | Ground Breaker Brewing | Portland, OR | 5.80% | n/a |
53 | Dark Ale | Ground Breaker Brewing | Portland, OR | 4.50% | n/a |
54 | IPA No.5 | Ground Breaker Brewing | Portland, OR | 5.60% | n/a |
55 | IPA No.2 | Ground Breaker Brewing | Portland, OR | 6.80% | n/a |
56 | Celia Saison | Ipswich Ale Brewery | Massachusetts, US | 6.50% | 76 |
57 | Amber Ale | New Planet Beer Company | Colorado, US | ? | n/a |
58 | Belgian Ale | New Planet Beer Company | Colorado, US | 5.00% | 81 |
59 | Blonde Ale | New Planet Beer Company | Colorado, US | 5.00% | n/a |
60 | Brown Ale | New Planet Beer Company | Colorado, US | 6.00% | 78 |
61 | Raspberry Ale | New Planet Beer Company | Colorado, US | 5.00% | n/a |
62 | Tread Lightly Ale | New Planet Beer Company | Colorado, US | 5.00% | 73 |
63 | Passover Honey Beer (retired) | Ramapo Valley Brewery | Hillburn, NY | 5.20% | 76 |
64 | Mbege Ale (retired) | Sprecher Brewery | Glendale, WI | 7.00% | 73 |
65 | Shakparo | Sprecher Brewery | Glendale, WI | 5.70% | 76 |
66 | Sorghum Pale Ale | Steadfast Beer Co. | New York, US | 6.80% | 82 |
67 | Night Mission | Glebe Farm | United Kingdom | 4.20% | n/a |
68 | Crop Circle | Hop Back Brewery | United Kingdom | 4.20% | 82 |
69 | Scarborough Fair IPA | World Top Brewery | United Kingdom | 6.00% | 83 |
70 | Against The Grain | World Top Brewery | United Kingdom | 4.50% | 82 |
Gluten Reduced – “Omission Beers”
Generally speaking – Gluten free beer is made with sorghum, millet, buckwheat or rice. There is however, a growing number of “gluten free” beers that initially follow the traditional ingrediants list and then are treated with enzymes to reduce their level of gluten below the required 5-ppm. Once these “Omission Beers” have gotten their levels of gluten below the necessary 5-ppm (5 parts per million) – they are then given the CSA’s recognition seal and deemed to be “risk free” for celiacs.
One of the biggest benefits of this processing is that you end up with a more familiar tasting beer.(hooray!) The down side to this special processing, is that there is still a very small part of gluten left behind, which for those who are gluten intolerant – may still cause you to feel sick if ingested. Because of this, I would advise you to exercise a bit of caution when trying any of the following brews as some celiacs have reported feeling a bit ill after imbibing.
That said, These beers definitely open up the number of options available to those seeking a gluten free brew and can often times be quite a bit tastier!
~Enjoy
# | Beer | Brewery | Location | Alcohol % | BA Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Omission Pale Ale | Widmer Brothers Brewing Co. | Portland, Oregon | 5.80% | 78 |
2 | Omission Lager | Widmer Brothers Brewing Co. | Portland, Oregon | 4.60% | 74 |
4 | Omission IPA | Widmer Brothers Brewing Company | Portland, Oregon | 6.70% | 80 |
5 | M.E.H. Cream Ale | Rickoli Brewery | Colorado, US | 4.30% | n/a |
6 | Quicher Bichen | Rickoli Brewery | Colorado, US | 8.00% | n/a |
7 | Enormous Richard | Rickoli Brewery | Colorado, US | 8.60% | n/a |
8 | Elke Brown Ale | Rickoli Brewery | Colorado, US | 6.80% | n/a |
9 | Social Lubricant | Rickoli Brewery | Colorado, US | 8.00% | n/a |
10 | Old Rickoli Barleywine | Rickoli Brewery | Colorado, US | 12.50% | n/a |
11 | Hop Session | Rickoli Brewery | Colorado, US | 5.00% | n/a |
12 | Totally Eye-P.A. | Rickoli Brewery | Colorado, US | 6.80% | n/a |
13 | The Authoritah! | Rickoli Brewery | Colorado, US | 7.40% | n/a |
14 | Disturbed Reflection | Rickoli Brewery | Colorado, US | 9.70% | n/a |
15 | Black Pline | Rickoli Brewery | Colorado, US | 9.80% | n/a |
16 | Statik | Rickoli Brewery | Colorado, US | 13.00% | n/a |
17 | Attack of the Cones | Rickoli Brewery | Colorado, US | 6.00% | n/a |
18 | Vanilla in "yo Rye" | Rickoli Brewery | Colorado, US | 7.00% | n/a |
19 | Bourbon Barrel Peach | Rickoli Brewery | Colorado, US | 12.00% | n/a |
20 | Prairie Path Golden Ale | Two Brothers Brewing Company | Illinios, US | 5.10% | 80 |
Why Drink Gluten Free Beer?
As I mentioned in the beginning, the main target market for gluten free beer is for people who suffer from Celiac disease. For those of you who are not familiar with the disease, someone with Celiac disease will often (if not always) have a strong negative reaction to gliadin (a gluten protein) found in wheat. For some, dietary restrictions aren’t just limited to a wheat free diet – but can include other popular grains, such as barley and rye.
There is also a growing movement of people that have taken up the voluntary action of maintaining a gluten free diet, most people who fall into this category are typically on a special wheat or gluten free diet. While still others, have resigned not to eat gluten based products for any number of other reasons.
In either case, conscious decision or not – There is a growing beer market for those of you who love beer, but aren’t particularly fond of gluten. I heard that stuff is terrible for you…
Consider Your Choices…
Lets face it – The gluten free beer options are kind of limited at the moment, and chances are that your local liquor & grocery stores may only carry 1 or 2 of the options listed above. Does this mean that you are doomed to drink the same brews constantly? Heck No!
For those of you who have been living gluten free for awhile now, you may have already caught on to the fact that there are many more alternatives on the market. (If you know what to look for)
Ciders
These brews make for a great light and refreshing summer time beer. And with the hard cider beer market absolutely exploding right now – breweries around the world are ramping up production and producing all kinds of great new brews. Not just hard cider flavors anymore – there are dozens of variations and brands to choose from.
I’m personally very fond of anything angry orchard produces, but there certainly isn’t any lack of options out there!
Mead
Mead is thought to be the worldest oldest alcoholic beverage, most likely discovered by pre-historic man quite by accident – this is the brew that changed the world forever! At it’s core it is simply fermented honey & water, but it has evolved to become so much more rich and complex than that. Often accompanied with various fruits, grains, hops & spices – There are plenty of great tasting mead options on the market, that offer an awesome gluten-free alternative to your usual beers.
With the craft beer movement gaining momentum, mead has finally started to get the attention it deserves again. It is after all – the ancestor of all modern beers in the world, it would be dis-respectful not to try it!
Lonkero
First popularized in Finland, Lonkero is more of a mixed drink than any kind of beer – but very tasty none the less!
Lonkero, or “Long Drink” as it has affectionately become known is made up of Gin and most commonly grapefruit soda. It can also be fermented like a proper beer, but the end goal is ultimately to replicate the taste of gin and grapefruit juice. If you like a Tom Collins or a gin & tonic – The Lonkero might just be your new favorite brew.
Ginger Beer
Ginger Beer is a rather interesting beast. Not only is it a beloved brew – but the term “Ginger Beer” is also used to refer to many non-alcoholic soft drinks. (a little bit mis-leading -eh?)
Brewed ginger beer originated in England in the 18th century, originally comprised of ginger, sugar, water, lemon juice and a fungal bacteria known as “ginger beer plant”. Oddly enough, since it’s creation the non-alcoholic soft drink version of ginger beer has become more popular.
Note: Ginger beer recipes may vary – not all ginger beers will be gluten-free.