The story
For people with coeliac disease or gluten intolerance, traditional beer is off-limits, because barley, wheat and rye all contain gluten. For a long time that left few options. In the early 2000s, a handful of breweries began experimenting with alternative grains, and Bard’s Tale Beer Company is often credited with launching one of the first commercially available sorghum beers in the United States. Larger brewers followed, including Anheuser-Busch’s Redbridge.
Since then, dedicated gluten-free breweries such as Glutenberg in Canada and Ghostfish in Seattle have shown that gluten-free beer can be every bit as flavourful as its barley-based cousins.
What it tastes like
Gluten-free beer can be brewed in almost any style, so flavours range widely — from crisp lagers to hoppy IPAs and dark stouts. Beers made from sorghum sometimes have a slightly tart or fruity note, while millet, rice and buckwheat each bring their own subtle character. Modern gluten-free brewers have become very good at matching the flavours and textures of traditional styles, though the body may be a touch lighter.
How it’s made
There are two main approaches. True gluten-free beer is brewed entirely from grains that do not contain gluten, such as sorghum, millet, rice, buckwheat or corn. These grains often need special malting and mashing techniques, and brewers may add enzymes to help convert starches into sugars. The other approach is “gluten-reduced” beer, which is brewed with barley but treated with an enzyme that breaks down gluten proteins.
Fun fact
In the United States, beers brewed with barley and then treated to reduce gluten generally cannot be labelled simply as “gluten-free.” Instead, they typically carry wording such as “crafted to remove gluten,” along with a notice that the gluten content cannot be fully verified. People with coeliac disease are usually advised to choose beers made entirely from gluten-free grains.