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Tuesday, January 5, 2010

gluten free beer


gluten free alcohol can be a tricky subject. most beer and hard alcohols contain wheat, malt, barley, or rye. I had heard of gluten free beer and potato based vodka from several friends over the years, but it wasn't until recently that I found a great selection of gluten free beer at Firefly beer & wine store (12th & cambie) including Bards, La Messagere, and Greens. La Messagere is red ale made from gluten free buckwheat and rice, and is produced in a Quebec based microbrewery. gluten free beer is generally quite expensive, $20 CDN for four bottles.

gin, rum, tequila and sake on the other hand, are naturally gluten free. gin is a spirit whose predominant flavor is derived from juniper berries, rum is made from sugarcane by-products such molasses, tequila is a blue agave based spirit, and sake is made from rice. vodka is unique in that it is mostly made from distilled wheat or rye, but some companies make vodka from potatoes or sugar cane. for a great website on all things vodka including how its made, click here.

alcohol made from wheat grains (wheat, rye, barley) such as whiskey and rye are typically distilled. there is a lot of debate as to whether or not the distilling process actually removes the gluten protein. a fellow gluten free blogger posted an article 'distilling the facts about distillation' that weighs in on the subject. most research suggests that the distillation process does remove the gluten protein from the product making it gluten free and safe for celiacs to consume.

have you tried gluten free beer? if so, post your thoughts!
Happy New Year!  Robyn.

firefly   |   bard's   |   greens

Share

20 comments:

Unknown said...

In the states we also have RedBridge made my Anheuser-Busch and New Grist. The RedBridge is easier to find, so I think I drink that the most. Not a bad flavor and fun to be able to drink a real beer in a bar in NYC.

Trish said...

We also have a Firefly store here. This is cool...I had no idea about GF beer. Oh, and I wanted to tell you that when I was at SaveOn yesterday I saw they had EnerG products in their Bread Dept. Have you seen or used those products? here is the link

http://www.ener-g.com/

robyn said...

Thanks for the heads up Erin! I will see if that brand is available in Vancouver and add it to our blog. I am still researching to see what restaurants and pubs carry gluten free beer as well. Next up, a taste test!

robyn said...

Hi Trish!

Thats great that there is a Firefly in Maple Ridge! There is one about a block away from my house, and I was really impressed with their selection. I found the gluten free beer by accident! It was an exciting find.

Andrea and I are familiar with Ener-G and we recommended their crackers in our cracker and cheese post awhile back. The crackers are my new favorite! As for the breads, I was less than thrilled with the taste, personally. Great to know that Save-On carries some of the product line! I will update our previous post to include that. Thanks for keeping your eyes out for GF!

Hope all is well...

Trish said...

What a goof...of course you covered it there...I see it now. Well, I don't recall seeing the EnerG brand before here locally in my store so glad to see it!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Bob said...

Picked up some Green's and some Bard's today. Like the Green's better. It packs a whallop at 8.5% alcohol though.

Thanks for the info. I love this blog, it's an amazing resource.

robyn said...

hi bob,

thank you so much for posting your review! i havent tried any beer yet myself since i never really drank it before, so happy you tried them!

andrea and i also are very appreciative of your feedback about our blog! if there are any topics you would like to see on the blog, let us know! we are always looking for new ideas to share with our readers.

thanks for reading!

robyn + andrea

Anonymous said...

Watch out, The Messenger costs a lot of money and tastes terrible. i mean really terrible. like sweet beer flavoured syrup. Gross.

much better, Way better, is Estrella Daura which is a spanish beer, certified Gluten-Free (at 6ppm)

way better, same price.

The messenger was the first GF beer i tried, and I actually cried after tasting it, because I thought i would be reduced to drinking it.

Estrella Daura saved my life!

David said...

I love beer. I am big fan. Sadly, beyond my palate I'm not able to really enjoy it anymore. I still sneak one in from time to time but usually pay the price. Walking away from all things gluten hasn't been that big of a deal (other than when friends want to order pizza) but the one area that really bugs me is giving up beer.

I've tried the Bard and Messagere and just get angry at how bad they are. Terrible! Is beer just one of those things that doesn't translate to the gluten-free world?

Having read reviews of Greens' products I am quite excited to head over to Firefly and pick some up. My hopes are high but my expectations are measured.

Thanks for this post, and the resources!

Anonymous said...

Bard's is truly amazing. I haven't had a beer in 3 years (since diagnosis) and was never a big beer drinker, but in the summer I will occasionally just sit and smell the beer my husband may have on a patio just to reminisce.
Bard's is like a true pale ale. They've actually managed to malt their beer (it's a process usually ascribed to barley, but Bard's has managed to do so with sorghum) and you truly would not know the difference between it and a gluten beer (ask my husband).
Even better -- their website has locations listed even for Vancouver (liquor stores and restaurants). When I chatted with the LDB employee on Cambie and 8th (across from Whole Foods) he said that they began stocking Bard's because other gluten-free option from Quebec was not well-liked and Bard's came recommended from another customer who had had it in the States.

Anonymous said...

The Irish Heather in gastown has a really good gluten free beer.

Chris said...

To Anonymous Posters,

Where are you finding Estrella Daura in Vancouver? I can only find the regular, Gluten-FULL Estrella Damm?

What GF beer does Irish Heather have?

Thanks.

robyn said...

thanks for your comment, Chris. Andrea and I are in the process of updating this post on gluten free beer to hopefully answer your questions. our research is still in progress but we will post very soon with more information. great questions!

Chris said...

Thanks as well Robyn.

The search for more GF beers is a mission of mine too. There are certainly lots internationally, but so few in BC!

robyn said...

i am currently on holiday in palm springs california and found redbridge gluten free beer today at the grocery store! it was very good! also inexpensive, $8 US for 6 bottles compared to $20 CDN for 4 bottles of greens...more gluten free beer research to come soon on the blog, stay tuned! Robyn

jthor99 said...

If you ever come across Frio Light Gluten-Free Lager, stay the hell away from it! It's made in Manitoba, but I found some at a liquor store in West Edmonton Mall. Biggest mistake of my life. I ended up throwing out 4 1/2 bottles. I wouldn't even give it to a drunk old wino on a street corner begging for a fix.

Anonymous said...

Pacific Spirits up on Dunbar and 29th also carries gluten free beer.

robyn said...

hi everyone,

we have an updated blog post on gluten free beer and we list where you can buy a few brands here in Vancouver. Bards is definitely the most widely available...there are so many places that carry it we could only list a few of them!

http://glutenfree-vancouver.blogspot.com/2011/01/happy-new-year-with-gluten-free-beer.html

robyn + andrea

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

gluten free beer


gluten free alcohol can be a tricky subject. most beer and hard alcohols contain wheat, malt, barley, or rye. I had heard of gluten free beer and potato based vodka from several friends over the years, but it wasn't until recently that I found a great selection of gluten free beer at Firefly beer & wine store (12th & cambie) including Bards, La Messagere, and Greens. La Messagere is red ale made from gluten free buckwheat and rice, and is produced in a Quebec based microbrewery. gluten free beer is generally quite expensive, $20 CDN for four bottles.

gin, rum, tequila and sake on the other hand, are naturally gluten free. gin is a spirit whose predominant flavor is derived from juniper berries, rum is made from sugarcane by-products such molasses, tequila is a blue agave based spirit, and sake is made from rice. vodka is unique in that it is mostly made from distilled wheat or rye, but some companies make vodka from potatoes or sugar cane. for a great website on all things vodka including how its made, click here.

alcohol made from wheat grains (wheat, rye, barley) such as whiskey and rye are typically distilled. there is a lot of debate as to whether or not the distilling process actually removes the gluten protein. a fellow gluten free blogger posted an article 'distilling the facts about distillation' that weighs in on the subject. most research suggests that the distillation process does remove the gluten protein from the product making it gluten free and safe for celiacs to consume.

have you tried gluten free beer? if so, post your thoughts!
Happy New Year!  Robyn.

firefly   |   bard's   |   greens

Share

20 comments:

Unknown said...

In the states we also have RedBridge made my Anheuser-Busch and New Grist. The RedBridge is easier to find, so I think I drink that the most. Not a bad flavor and fun to be able to drink a real beer in a bar in NYC.

Trish said...

We also have a Firefly store here. This is cool...I had no idea about GF beer. Oh, and I wanted to tell you that when I was at SaveOn yesterday I saw they had EnerG products in their Bread Dept. Have you seen or used those products? here is the link

http://www.ener-g.com/

robyn said...

Thanks for the heads up Erin! I will see if that brand is available in Vancouver and add it to our blog. I am still researching to see what restaurants and pubs carry gluten free beer as well. Next up, a taste test!

robyn said...

Hi Trish!

Thats great that there is a Firefly in Maple Ridge! There is one about a block away from my house, and I was really impressed with their selection. I found the gluten free beer by accident! It was an exciting find.

Andrea and I are familiar with Ener-G and we recommended their crackers in our cracker and cheese post awhile back. The crackers are my new favorite! As for the breads, I was less than thrilled with the taste, personally. Great to know that Save-On carries some of the product line! I will update our previous post to include that. Thanks for keeping your eyes out for GF!

Hope all is well...

Trish said...

What a goof...of course you covered it there...I see it now. Well, I don't recall seeing the EnerG brand before here locally in my store so glad to see it!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Bob said...

Picked up some Green's and some Bard's today. Like the Green's better. It packs a whallop at 8.5% alcohol though.

Thanks for the info. I love this blog, it's an amazing resource.

robyn said...

hi bob,

thank you so much for posting your review! i havent tried any beer yet myself since i never really drank it before, so happy you tried them!

andrea and i also are very appreciative of your feedback about our blog! if there are any topics you would like to see on the blog, let us know! we are always looking for new ideas to share with our readers.

thanks for reading!

robyn + andrea

Anonymous said...

Watch out, The Messenger costs a lot of money and tastes terrible. i mean really terrible. like sweet beer flavoured syrup. Gross.

much better, Way better, is Estrella Daura which is a spanish beer, certified Gluten-Free (at 6ppm)

way better, same price.

The messenger was the first GF beer i tried, and I actually cried after tasting it, because I thought i would be reduced to drinking it.

Estrella Daura saved my life!

David said...

I love beer. I am big fan. Sadly, beyond my palate I'm not able to really enjoy it anymore. I still sneak one in from time to time but usually pay the price. Walking away from all things gluten hasn't been that big of a deal (other than when friends want to order pizza) but the one area that really bugs me is giving up beer.

I've tried the Bard and Messagere and just get angry at how bad they are. Terrible! Is beer just one of those things that doesn't translate to the gluten-free world?

Having read reviews of Greens' products I am quite excited to head over to Firefly and pick some up. My hopes are high but my expectations are measured.

Thanks for this post, and the resources!

Anonymous said...

Bard's is truly amazing. I haven't had a beer in 3 years (since diagnosis) and was never a big beer drinker, but in the summer I will occasionally just sit and smell the beer my husband may have on a patio just to reminisce.
Bard's is like a true pale ale. They've actually managed to malt their beer (it's a process usually ascribed to barley, but Bard's has managed to do so with sorghum) and you truly would not know the difference between it and a gluten beer (ask my husband).
Even better -- their website has locations listed even for Vancouver (liquor stores and restaurants). When I chatted with the LDB employee on Cambie and 8th (across from Whole Foods) he said that they began stocking Bard's because other gluten-free option from Quebec was not well-liked and Bard's came recommended from another customer who had had it in the States.

Anonymous said...

The Irish Heather in gastown has a really good gluten free beer.

Chris said...

To Anonymous Posters,

Where are you finding Estrella Daura in Vancouver? I can only find the regular, Gluten-FULL Estrella Damm?

What GF beer does Irish Heather have?

Thanks.

robyn said...

thanks for your comment, Chris. Andrea and I are in the process of updating this post on gluten free beer to hopefully answer your questions. our research is still in progress but we will post very soon with more information. great questions!

Chris said...

Thanks as well Robyn.

The search for more GF beers is a mission of mine too. There are certainly lots internationally, but so few in BC!

robyn said...

i am currently on holiday in palm springs california and found redbridge gluten free beer today at the grocery store! it was very good! also inexpensive, $8 US for 6 bottles compared to $20 CDN for 4 bottles of greens...more gluten free beer research to come soon on the blog, stay tuned! Robyn

jthor99 said...

If you ever come across Frio Light Gluten-Free Lager, stay the hell away from it! It's made in Manitoba, but I found some at a liquor store in West Edmonton Mall. Biggest mistake of my life. I ended up throwing out 4 1/2 bottles. I wouldn't even give it to a drunk old wino on a street corner begging for a fix.

Anonymous said...

Pacific Spirits up on Dunbar and 29th also carries gluten free beer.

robyn said...

hi everyone,

we have an updated blog post on gluten free beer and we list where you can buy a few brands here in Vancouver. Bards is definitely the most widely available...there are so many places that carry it we could only list a few of them!

http://glutenfree-vancouver.blogspot.com/2011/01/happy-new-year-with-gluten-free-beer.html

robyn + andrea

Creative Commons License
gluten free vancouver: dining & lifestyle blog by Gluten Free Vancouver is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

gluten free beer


gluten free alcohol can be a tricky subject. most beer and hard alcohols contain wheat, malt, barley, or rye. I had heard of gluten free beer and potato based vodka from several friends over the years, but it wasn't until recently that I found a great selection of gluten free beer at Firefly beer & wine store (12th & cambie) including Bards, La Messagere, and Greens. La Messagere is red ale made from gluten free buckwheat and rice, and is produced in a Quebec based microbrewery. gluten free beer is generally quite expensive, $20 CDN for four bottles.

gin, rum, tequila and sake on the other hand, are naturally gluten free. gin is a spirit whose predominant flavor is derived from juniper berries, rum is made from sugarcane by-products such molasses, tequila is a blue agave based spirit, and sake is made from rice. vodka is unique in that it is mostly made from distilled wheat or rye, but some companies make vodka from potatoes or sugar cane. for a great website on all things vodka including how its made, click here.

alcohol made from wheat grains (wheat, rye, barley) such as whiskey and rye are typically distilled. there is a lot of debate as to whether or not the distilling process actually removes the gluten protein. a fellow gluten free blogger posted an article 'distilling the facts about distillation' that weighs in on the subject. most research suggests that the distillation process does remove the gluten protein from the product making it gluten free and safe for celiacs to consume.

have you tried gluten free beer? if so, post your thoughts!
Happy New Year!  Robyn.

firefly   |   bard's   |   greens

Share

20 comments:

Unknown said...

In the states we also have RedBridge made my Anheuser-Busch and New Grist. The RedBridge is easier to find, so I think I drink that the most. Not a bad flavor and fun to be able to drink a real beer in a bar in NYC.

Trish said...

We also have a Firefly store here. This is cool...I had no idea about GF beer. Oh, and I wanted to tell you that when I was at SaveOn yesterday I saw they had EnerG products in their Bread Dept. Have you seen or used those products? here is the link

http://www.ener-g.com/

robyn said...

Thanks for the heads up Erin! I will see if that brand is available in Vancouver and add it to our blog. I am still researching to see what restaurants and pubs carry gluten free beer as well. Next up, a taste test!

robyn said...

Hi Trish!

Thats great that there is a Firefly in Maple Ridge! There is one about a block away from my house, and I was really impressed with their selection. I found the gluten free beer by accident! It was an exciting find.

Andrea and I are familiar with Ener-G and we recommended their crackers in our cracker and cheese post awhile back. The crackers are my new favorite! As for the breads, I was less than thrilled with the taste, personally. Great to know that Save-On carries some of the product line! I will update our previous post to include that. Thanks for keeping your eyes out for GF!

Hope all is well...

Trish said...

What a goof...of course you covered it there...I see it now. Well, I don't recall seeing the EnerG brand before here locally in my store so glad to see it!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Bob said...

Picked up some Green's and some Bard's today. Like the Green's better. It packs a whallop at 8.5% alcohol though.

Thanks for the info. I love this blog, it's an amazing resource.

robyn said...

hi bob,

thank you so much for posting your review! i havent tried any beer yet myself since i never really drank it before, so happy you tried them!

andrea and i also are very appreciative of your feedback about our blog! if there are any topics you would like to see on the blog, let us know! we are always looking for new ideas to share with our readers.

thanks for reading!

robyn + andrea

Anonymous said...

Watch out, The Messenger costs a lot of money and tastes terrible. i mean really terrible. like sweet beer flavoured syrup. Gross.

much better, Way better, is Estrella Daura which is a spanish beer, certified Gluten-Free (at 6ppm)

way better, same price.

The messenger was the first GF beer i tried, and I actually cried after tasting it, because I thought i would be reduced to drinking it.

Estrella Daura saved my life!

David said...

I love beer. I am big fan. Sadly, beyond my palate I'm not able to really enjoy it anymore. I still sneak one in from time to time but usually pay the price. Walking away from all things gluten hasn't been that big of a deal (other than when friends want to order pizza) but the one area that really bugs me is giving up beer.

I've tried the Bard and Messagere and just get angry at how bad they are. Terrible! Is beer just one of those things that doesn't translate to the gluten-free world?

Having read reviews of Greens' products I am quite excited to head over to Firefly and pick some up. My hopes are high but my expectations are measured.

Thanks for this post, and the resources!

Anonymous said...

Bard's is truly amazing. I haven't had a beer in 3 years (since diagnosis) and was never a big beer drinker, but in the summer I will occasionally just sit and smell the beer my husband may have on a patio just to reminisce.
Bard's is like a true pale ale. They've actually managed to malt their beer (it's a process usually ascribed to barley, but Bard's has managed to do so with sorghum) and you truly would not know the difference between it and a gluten beer (ask my husband).
Even better -- their website has locations listed even for Vancouver (liquor stores and restaurants). When I chatted with the LDB employee on Cambie and 8th (across from Whole Foods) he said that they began stocking Bard's because other gluten-free option from Quebec was not well-liked and Bard's came recommended from another customer who had had it in the States.

Anonymous said...

The Irish Heather in gastown has a really good gluten free beer.

Chris said...

To Anonymous Posters,

Where are you finding Estrella Daura in Vancouver? I can only find the regular, Gluten-FULL Estrella Damm?

What GF beer does Irish Heather have?

Thanks.

robyn said...

thanks for your comment, Chris. Andrea and I are in the process of updating this post on gluten free beer to hopefully answer your questions. our research is still in progress but we will post very soon with more information. great questions!

Chris said...

Thanks as well Robyn.

The search for more GF beers is a mission of mine too. There are certainly lots internationally, but so few in BC!

robyn said...

i am currently on holiday in palm springs california and found redbridge gluten free beer today at the grocery store! it was very good! also inexpensive, $8 US for 6 bottles compared to $20 CDN for 4 bottles of greens...more gluten free beer research to come soon on the blog, stay tuned! Robyn

jthor99 said...

If you ever come across Frio Light Gluten-Free Lager, stay the hell away from it! It's made in Manitoba, but I found some at a liquor store in West Edmonton Mall. Biggest mistake of my life. I ended up throwing out 4 1/2 bottles. I wouldn't even give it to a drunk old wino on a street corner begging for a fix.

Anonymous said...

Pacific Spirits up on Dunbar and 29th also carries gluten free beer.

robyn said...

hi everyone,

we have an updated blog post on gluten free beer and we list where you can buy a few brands here in Vancouver. Bards is definitely the most widely available...there are so many places that carry it we could only list a few of them!

http://glutenfree-vancouver.blogspot.com/2011/01/happy-new-year-with-gluten-free-beer.html

robyn + andrea

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

gluten free beer


gluten free alcohol can be a tricky subject. most beer and hard alcohols contain wheat, malt, barley, or rye. I had heard of gluten free beer and potato based vodka from several friends over the years, but it wasn't until recently that I found a great selection of gluten free beer at Firefly beer & wine store (12th & cambie) including Bards, La Messagere, and Greens. La Messagere is red ale made from gluten free buckwheat and rice, and is produced in a Quebec based microbrewery. gluten free beer is generally quite expensive, $20 CDN for four bottles.

gin, rum, tequila and sake on the other hand, are naturally gluten free. gin is a spirit whose predominant flavor is derived from juniper berries, rum is made from sugarcane by-products such molasses, tequila is a blue agave based spirit, and sake is made from rice. vodka is unique in that it is mostly made from distilled wheat or rye, but some companies make vodka from potatoes or sugar cane. for a great website on all things vodka including how its made, click here.

alcohol made from wheat grains (wheat, rye, barley) such as whiskey and rye are typically distilled. there is a lot of debate as to whether or not the distilling process actually removes the gluten protein. a fellow gluten free blogger posted an article 'distilling the facts about distillation' that weighs in on the subject. most research suggests that the distillation process does remove the gluten protein from the product making it gluten free and safe for celiacs to consume.

have you tried gluten free beer? if so, post your thoughts!
Happy New Year!  Robyn.

firefly   |   bard's   |   greens

Share

20 comments:

Unknown said...

In the states we also have RedBridge made my Anheuser-Busch and New Grist. The RedBridge is easier to find, so I think I drink that the most. Not a bad flavor and fun to be able to drink a real beer in a bar in NYC.

Trish said...

We also have a Firefly store here. This is cool...I had no idea about GF beer. Oh, and I wanted to tell you that when I was at SaveOn yesterday I saw they had EnerG products in their Bread Dept. Have you seen or used those products? here is the link

http://www.ener-g.com/

robyn said...

Thanks for the heads up Erin! I will see if that brand is available in Vancouver and add it to our blog. I am still researching to see what restaurants and pubs carry gluten free beer as well. Next up, a taste test!

robyn said...

Hi Trish!

Thats great that there is a Firefly in Maple Ridge! There is one about a block away from my house, and I was really impressed with their selection. I found the gluten free beer by accident! It was an exciting find.

Andrea and I are familiar with Ener-G and we recommended their crackers in our cracker and cheese post awhile back. The crackers are my new favorite! As for the breads, I was less than thrilled with the taste, personally. Great to know that Save-On carries some of the product line! I will update our previous post to include that. Thanks for keeping your eyes out for GF!

Hope all is well...

Trish said...

What a goof...of course you covered it there...I see it now. Well, I don't recall seeing the EnerG brand before here locally in my store so glad to see it!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Bob said...

Picked up some Green's and some Bard's today. Like the Green's better. It packs a whallop at 8.5% alcohol though.

Thanks for the info. I love this blog, it's an amazing resource.

robyn said...

hi bob,

thank you so much for posting your review! i havent tried any beer yet myself since i never really drank it before, so happy you tried them!

andrea and i also are very appreciative of your feedback about our blog! if there are any topics you would like to see on the blog, let us know! we are always looking for new ideas to share with our readers.

thanks for reading!

robyn + andrea

Anonymous said...

Watch out, The Messenger costs a lot of money and tastes terrible. i mean really terrible. like sweet beer flavoured syrup. Gross.

much better, Way better, is Estrella Daura which is a spanish beer, certified Gluten-Free (at 6ppm)

way better, same price.

The messenger was the first GF beer i tried, and I actually cried after tasting it, because I thought i would be reduced to drinking it.

Estrella Daura saved my life!

David said...

I love beer. I am big fan. Sadly, beyond my palate I'm not able to really enjoy it anymore. I still sneak one in from time to time but usually pay the price. Walking away from all things gluten hasn't been that big of a deal (other than when friends want to order pizza) but the one area that really bugs me is giving up beer.

I've tried the Bard and Messagere and just get angry at how bad they are. Terrible! Is beer just one of those things that doesn't translate to the gluten-free world?

Having read reviews of Greens' products I am quite excited to head over to Firefly and pick some up. My hopes are high but my expectations are measured.

Thanks for this post, and the resources!

Anonymous said...

Bard's is truly amazing. I haven't had a beer in 3 years (since diagnosis) and was never a big beer drinker, but in the summer I will occasionally just sit and smell the beer my husband may have on a patio just to reminisce.
Bard's is like a true pale ale. They've actually managed to malt their beer (it's a process usually ascribed to barley, but Bard's has managed to do so with sorghum) and you truly would not know the difference between it and a gluten beer (ask my husband).
Even better -- their website has locations listed even for Vancouver (liquor stores and restaurants). When I chatted with the LDB employee on Cambie and 8th (across from Whole Foods) he said that they began stocking Bard's because other gluten-free option from Quebec was not well-liked and Bard's came recommended from another customer who had had it in the States.

Anonymous said...

The Irish Heather in gastown has a really good gluten free beer.

Chris said...

To Anonymous Posters,

Where are you finding Estrella Daura in Vancouver? I can only find the regular, Gluten-FULL Estrella Damm?

What GF beer does Irish Heather have?

Thanks.

robyn said...

thanks for your comment, Chris. Andrea and I are in the process of updating this post on gluten free beer to hopefully answer your questions. our research is still in progress but we will post very soon with more information. great questions!

Chris said...

Thanks as well Robyn.

The search for more GF beers is a mission of mine too. There are certainly lots internationally, but so few in BC!

robyn said...

i am currently on holiday in palm springs california and found redbridge gluten free beer today at the grocery store! it was very good! also inexpensive, $8 US for 6 bottles compared to $20 CDN for 4 bottles of greens...more gluten free beer research to come soon on the blog, stay tuned! Robyn

jthor99 said...

If you ever come across Frio Light Gluten-Free Lager, stay the hell away from it! It's made in Manitoba, but I found some at a liquor store in West Edmonton Mall. Biggest mistake of my life. I ended up throwing out 4 1/2 bottles. I wouldn't even give it to a drunk old wino on a street corner begging for a fix.

Anonymous said...

Pacific Spirits up on Dunbar and 29th also carries gluten free beer.

robyn said...

hi everyone,

we have an updated blog post on gluten free beer and we list where you can buy a few brands here in Vancouver. Bards is definitely the most widely available...there are so many places that carry it we could only list a few of them!

http://glutenfree-vancouver.blogspot.com/2011/01/happy-new-year-with-gluten-free-beer.html

robyn + andrea

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

gluten free beer


gluten free alcohol can be a tricky subject. most beer and hard alcohols contain wheat, malt, barley, or rye. I had heard of gluten free beer and potato based vodka from several friends over the years, but it wasn't until recently that I found a great selection of gluten free beer at Firefly beer & wine store (12th & cambie) including Bards, La Messagere, and Greens. La Messagere is red ale made from gluten free buckwheat and rice, and is produced in a Quebec based microbrewery. gluten free beer is generally quite expensive, $20 CDN for four bottles.

gin, rum, tequila and sake on the other hand, are naturally gluten free. gin is a spirit whose predominant flavor is derived from juniper berries, rum is made from sugarcane by-products such molasses, tequila is a blue agave based spirit, and sake is made from rice. vodka is unique in that it is mostly made from distilled wheat or rye, but some companies make vodka from potatoes or sugar cane. for a great website on all things vodka including how its made, click here.

alcohol made from wheat grains (wheat, rye, barley) such as whiskey and rye are typically distilled. there is a lot of debate as to whether or not the distilling process actually removes the gluten protein. a fellow gluten free blogger posted an article 'distilling the facts about distillation' that weighs in on the subject. most research suggests that the distillation process does remove the gluten protein from the product making it gluten free and safe for celiacs to consume.

have you tried gluten free beer? if so, post your thoughts!
Happy New Year!  Robyn.

firefly   |   bard's   |   greens

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20 comments:

Unknown said...

In the states we also have RedBridge made my Anheuser-Busch and New Grist. The RedBridge is easier to find, so I think I drink that the most. Not a bad flavor and fun to be able to drink a real beer in a bar in NYC.

Trish said...

We also have a Firefly store here. This is cool...I had no idea about GF beer. Oh, and I wanted to tell you that when I was at SaveOn yesterday I saw they had EnerG products in their Bread Dept. Have you seen or used those products? here is the link

http://www.ener-g.com/

robyn said...

Thanks for the heads up Erin! I will see if that brand is available in Vancouver and add it to our blog. I am still researching to see what restaurants and pubs carry gluten free beer as well. Next up, a taste test!

robyn said...

Hi Trish!

Thats great that there is a Firefly in Maple Ridge! There is one about a block away from my house, and I was really impressed with their selection. I found the gluten free beer by accident! It was an exciting find.

Andrea and I are familiar with Ener-G and we recommended their crackers in our cracker and cheese post awhile back. The crackers are my new favorite! As for the breads, I was less than thrilled with the taste, personally. Great to know that Save-On carries some of the product line! I will update our previous post to include that. Thanks for keeping your eyes out for GF!

Hope all is well...

Trish said...

What a goof...of course you covered it there...I see it now. Well, I don't recall seeing the EnerG brand before here locally in my store so glad to see it!

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Bob said...

Picked up some Green's and some Bard's today. Like the Green's better. It packs a whallop at 8.5% alcohol though.

Thanks for the info. I love this blog, it's an amazing resource.

robyn said...

hi bob,

thank you so much for posting your review! i havent tried any beer yet myself since i never really drank it before, so happy you tried them!

andrea and i also are very appreciative of your feedback about our blog! if there are any topics you would like to see on the blog, let us know! we are always looking for new ideas to share with our readers.

thanks for reading!

robyn + andrea

Anonymous said...

Watch out, The Messenger costs a lot of money and tastes terrible. i mean really terrible. like sweet beer flavoured syrup. Gross.

much better, Way better, is Estrella Daura which is a spanish beer, certified Gluten-Free (at 6ppm)

way better, same price.

The messenger was the first GF beer i tried, and I actually cried after tasting it, because I thought i would be reduced to drinking it.

Estrella Daura saved my life!

David said...

I love beer. I am big fan. Sadly, beyond my palate I'm not able to really enjoy it anymore. I still sneak one in from time to time but usually pay the price. Walking away from all things gluten hasn't been that big of a deal (other than when friends want to order pizza) but the one area that really bugs me is giving up beer.

I've tried the Bard and Messagere and just get angry at how bad they are. Terrible! Is beer just one of those things that doesn't translate to the gluten-free world?

Having read reviews of Greens' products I am quite excited to head over to Firefly and pick some up. My hopes are high but my expectations are measured.

Thanks for this post, and the resources!

Anonymous said...

Bard's is truly amazing. I haven't had a beer in 3 years (since diagnosis) and was never a big beer drinker, but in the summer I will occasionally just sit and smell the beer my husband may have on a patio just to reminisce.
Bard's is like a true pale ale. They've actually managed to malt their beer (it's a process usually ascribed to barley, but Bard's has managed to do so with sorghum) and you truly would not know the difference between it and a gluten beer (ask my husband).
Even better -- their website has locations listed even for Vancouver (liquor stores and restaurants). When I chatted with the LDB employee on Cambie and 8th (across from Whole Foods) he said that they began stocking Bard's because other gluten-free option from Quebec was not well-liked and Bard's came recommended from another customer who had had it in the States.

Anonymous said...

The Irish Heather in gastown has a really good gluten free beer.

Chris said...

To Anonymous Posters,

Where are you finding Estrella Daura in Vancouver? I can only find the regular, Gluten-FULL Estrella Damm?

What GF beer does Irish Heather have?

Thanks.

robyn said...

thanks for your comment, Chris. Andrea and I are in the process of updating this post on gluten free beer to hopefully answer your questions. our research is still in progress but we will post very soon with more information. great questions!

Chris said...

Thanks as well Robyn.

The search for more GF beers is a mission of mine too. There are certainly lots internationally, but so few in BC!

robyn said...

i am currently on holiday in palm springs california and found redbridge gluten free beer today at the grocery store! it was very good! also inexpensive, $8 US for 6 bottles compared to $20 CDN for 4 bottles of greens...more gluten free beer research to come soon on the blog, stay tuned! Robyn

jthor99 said...

If you ever come across Frio Light Gluten-Free Lager, stay the hell away from it! It's made in Manitoba, but I found some at a liquor store in West Edmonton Mall. Biggest mistake of my life. I ended up throwing out 4 1/2 bottles. I wouldn't even give it to a drunk old wino on a street corner begging for a fix.

Anonymous said...

Pacific Spirits up on Dunbar and 29th also carries gluten free beer.

robyn said...

hi everyone,

we have an updated blog post on gluten free beer and we list where you can buy a few brands here in Vancouver. Bards is definitely the most widely available...there are so many places that carry it we could only list a few of them!

http://glutenfree-vancouver.blogspot.com/2011/01/happy-new-year-with-gluten-free-beer.html

robyn + andrea