<\/a><\/p>\n One of my readers (there is one that one, that was the first piece of exciting news) reached out to me about Gluten-Free Beers. Personally, I have had no experience with the category. I have had a need to. If you are a Coeliac<\/a>, you don’t have a choice unless you want to spend the night in agony. \u00a0So what the heck. We got a crew together to taste 12 beers. 11 can be found at Holiday Market in Royal Oak, MI and the remainder (Brunehaut) is a special order. This was brought to the party by our Gluten-Free specialist, Ryan. It was saved for last. The remainder of our crew was myself and two notable beer connoisseurs, Brad & Russ.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n All of us are fans of Untappd<\/a>, which is a mobile app for tracking and exploring beers. You can also win badges (like Foursquare). If you tagged all 12 beers, you would get at least one level in Land of the Free. While we initially thought this was a Gluten-Free badge, it was actually for American Made Beers. No Gluten-Free Badge in the app, bummer.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Cheers! I asked the group to rate them on if you would order them in a bar from 1-10 (1 no to 10 yes). \u00a0Tasting notes were kept for each of the beers and I’ll present the winners below. Gluten is a key part in beer and it makes for a trickier process to make a good balanced beer with out it. \u00a0There were some winners and a lot of losers. \u00a0Refer to the first graphic for pictures of the beer bottles.<\/p>\n #1: Estrella Damm Daura #2: Bard’s Sorghum Malt –\u00a0<\/strong>Easy to Find in Stores<\/em> <\/a><\/p>\n #3: Redbridge – <\/strong>Very Easy to Find in Stores<\/em> #4: New Grist Pilsner\u00a0<\/strong>–\u00a0Easy to Find in Stores<\/em> <\/p>\n #5: Omission Lager<\/strong> #6: New Planet Pale Ale<\/strong> #7: G-Free<\/strong> #8: New Planet Amber Ale<\/strong> <\/p>\n #9: Omission \u00a0Pale Ale<\/strong> #10: Glutenator<\/strong> #11: Dry Hopped Lager<\/strong>
\nType:\u00a0<\/strong>Lager
\nCountry of Origin:<\/strong> Spain
\nBrewery<\/strong>: S. A. Damm<\/a>
\nPrice Point: <\/strong>$2.09 \/ 12 oz bottle
\nOur Average Rating (1-10):\u00a0<\/strong>4
\nNotes: <\/b>Nick:\u00a0It’s a light toasty flavor with a bit of hop and subtle bitters. Pretty tart. Ryan: Standard Lager Taste, unlike most Gluten-Free Beers. Brad: It’s Miller Time. Light, crispy, cereal-ish and typical lager. Russ: Good light beer.<\/p>\n
\nType: <\/strong>American\u00a0<\/strong>Lager
\nCountry of Origin:<\/strong>\u00a0USA
\nBrewery<\/strong>:\u00a0Bard’s Beer<\/a>
\nPrice Point:\u00a0<\/strong>$1.79 \/ 12 oz bottle
\nOur Average Rating (1-10): <\/strong>4
\nNotes:\u00a0<\/b>Nick: Mild Nose, Taste: Sharp, gummy, astringent with a little sweet. Ryan: Smooth Sorghum, Nutty, Slight spicy finish. Brad: More body than typical lager, apple cider vinegar flavor, flat tasteless finish with metallic after taste. Russ: Too metallic tasting, cider vinegar taste too.<\/p>\n
\nType:\u00a0<\/strong>Sorghum\u00a0Base
\nCountry of Origin:<\/strong>\u00a0USA
\nBrewery<\/strong>: Amhenuser-Busch\u00a0<\/a>
\nPrice Point:\u00a0<\/strong>$1.39 \/ 12 oz bottle
\nOur Average Rating (1-10): <\/strong>3
\nNotes:\u00a0<\/b>Nick: Sweet nose both rich and full. Tasted very metallic, stars good but then goes downhill fast. A bit fruity and grainy. Ryan: Slightly sweet and spicy up front then no aftertaste. Very little body. Brad: More body than typical lager, apple cider vinegar flavor, metallic. Tasteless tail. Russ: Very metallic taste. Smells ok. Really not good. More sweetness.<\/p>\n
\nType: <\/strong>Rice\/Sorghum\u00a0Ale
\nCountry of Origin:<\/strong>\u00a0USA
\nBrewery<\/strong>: Lakefront Brewery<\/a>
\nPrice Point:\u00a0<\/strong>$1.59 \/ 12 oz bottle
\nOur Average Rating (1-10):<\/strong> 2
\nNotes:\u00a0<\/b>Nick: Sweet and fruity nose. Big, aggressive, chalky and honey taste. A little metallic. Ryan: Citrus upfront front. Chalk and Honey with slight bitterness. Brad: Mild body, cider vinegar, metallic, no aftertaste. Basically it sucks. Russ: Horrid. Do not buy.<\/p>\n
\nType:\u00a0<\/strong>Lager
\nCountry of Origin:<\/strong>\u00a0USA
\nBrewery<\/strong>:\u00a0Omission Beer<\/a>
\nPrice Point:\u00a0<\/strong>$1.79 \/ 12 oz bottle
\nOur Average Rating (1-10):\u00a0<\/strong>1
\nNotes:\u00a0<\/b>Nick: Fungus smell. Tastes like carbonated milk. Not pleasant. Just plain awful. Ryan: No, no, just no. Rancid nose. Kill me now. \u00a0Brad: Stale Labatt’s awful. Russ: Stale smell and taste.<\/p>\n
\nType:\u00a0<\/strong>Pale Ale
\nCountry of Origin:<\/strong>\u00a0USA
\nBrewery<\/strong>:\u00a0New Planet Brewery<\/a>
\nPrice Point:\u00a0<\/strong>$2.39 \/ 12 oz bottle
\nOur Average Rating (1-10): <\/strong>3
\nNotes:\u00a0<\/b>Nick: Hope and caramel smell. Starts tasty then goes acidic and metallic. Ryan: Spicy nose with a hoppy taste and surprising finish. Brad: strong citrus nose, good start with nice hops then goes wrong and bitter. Russ: Good smell, aromatic. Nice start but finish is rough.<\/p>\n
\nType:\u00a0<\/strong>Pilsner Lager
\nCountry of Origin:<\/strong>\u00a0UK
\nBrewery<\/strong>:\u00a0St. Peters<\/a>
\nPrice Point:\u00a0<\/strong>$4.49 \/ 1 pint & 0.9 oz bottle
\nOur Average Rating (1-10): <\/strong>2
\nNotes:\u00a0<\/b>Nick: Herbal and sweet taste. But taste of rotten raspberries with bad bitters and hops and finished with watery cardboard. Ryan: Minty nose. Herbal and floral taste. Brad: Hoppy and floral nose with a good hoppy start then a bitter middle and a hoppy after taste. Hoppy! Russ: Smell is floral, bitter finish and could be a good beer.<\/p>\n
\nType: <\/strong>Amber Ale
\nCountry of Origin:<\/strong>\u00a0USA
\nBrewery<\/strong>:\u00a0New Planet Brewery<\/a>
\nPrice Point:\u00a0<\/strong>$2.39 \/ 12 oz bottle
\nOur Average Rating (1-10):\u00a0<\/strong>1
\nNotes:\u00a0<\/b>Nick: Taste of rotten grass with hints of bitter and sour. Ryan: No. Pure…No. Brad: Vinegar apple nose with good start then follow bed rotten grass and horrible finish. Russ: Oh no is all I can say.<\/p>\n
\nType:\u00a0<\/strong>Pale Ale
\nCountry of Origin:<\/strong>\u00a0USA
\nBrewery<\/strong>:\u00a0Omission Beer<\/a>
\nPrice Point:\u00a0<\/strong>$1.79 \/ 12 oz bottle
\nOur Average Rating (1-10): 7<\/strong>
\nNotes:\u00a0<\/b>Nick: Hoppy, rich but a vapid middle. Great hop finish. Ryan: Hoppy aroma with citrus. Cereal and citrus taste with hop finish. \u00a0Brad: Mild citrus nose with hops and smooth finish. Russ: Good smell and very aromatic. Starts very nice. Good taste on initial drink but the finish kicks your butt with a bad backlash.<\/p>\n
\nType:\u00a0<\/strong>Millet\/Sorghum\/Sweet Potato Base
\nCountry of Origin:<\/strong>\u00a0USA
\nBrewery<\/strong>: EPIC Brewin<\/a>g
\nPrice Point:\u00a0<\/strong>$6.39 \/ 1 pint & 6 oz bottle
\nOur Average Rating (1-10): <\/strong>4
\nNotes:\u00a0<\/b>Nick: Sweet and hoppy to the nose. Full and hoppy sour with herby notes. Ryan: Citrus & pepper notes in the nose. Citrusy taste with smooth finish. Brad: Hoppy citrus nose. Floral start then too cidery but a clear finish. Disappointing. Russ: Strongest head of all so far. Very cidery. Big Disappointment.<\/p>\n
\nType:\u00a0<\/strong>Lager
\nCountry of Origin:<\/strong>\u00a0USA
\nBrewery<\/strong>:\u00a0Merchant du Vin<\/a>
\nPrice Point:\u00a0<\/strong>$6.99 \/ 1 pint & 6 oz bottle
\nOur Average Rating (1-10): <\/strong>4
\nNotes:\u00a0<\/b>Nick: Great herbs and hops on the nose. Pleasant start with herbs but then goes flat then very bitter. Ryan: jasmine, herbal up front with a light body and no aftertaste. \u00a0Brad: Flowery, herby nose. Floral start with a mild body and tart. No aftertaste. Russ: Nice nose, good head and very floral. Missing a body.<\/p>\n