Do you have any GF beer (commercial) recommendations?

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Beerd1

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Finally figured out how to start a new post. I must be forum-challenged.
Had a Green's from Belgium the other day that was very disappointing. :(
The only one that I have liked so far is Redbridge by InBev unfortunately. I say unfortunately since I like to support smaller breweries.
Any recommendations?
 
My likes:
Both Omissions (no reaction myself)
The brunehaut line (some reaction with the blonde)
New grist was ok
Angry orchard ciders are fantastic (as are many other ciders).

Dislikes:
All of the new planet brews (especially their IPA, tasted like a rusty penny)
St. Peters Sorghum (metallic twang again)
I forget the rest, I don't like to dwell on wasted beer.
 
I can only comment on ones in Australia.
O'Briens larger and pale ale are very good. Have't tried the brown ale.
Billabong pale ale is good be it expensive ($25 AUS for a 6 pack)

The international Schnitzer Brau is nice. It interesting in taste but I don't mind it. It's also expensive at $25 a 6-pack.

To put it in to context normal beer is about $15 a 6-pack
 
There is a GF brewery in Portland called harvester brewing. My wife really like their beer. I think it was their pale ale she had. Probably pretty difficult to get it there. She has also enjoyed New Grist, but had one tonight that she said tasted different then her previous experiences.nhowever, we discovered it was bottled in April. Freshness matters big time with GF IMO
 
From this side of the pond I've had:

BeerUp - Austrian (millet, corn and buckwheat) - Excellent, best I've had so far
Lammsbrau - German (Barley with gluten removed) - No bad, not great but not bad. Tasted a little skunky, what is it with GF brewers and the green bottles? The other problem is that I could feel a mild reaction if I had more than 2 in one sitting
Liebhart''s Residenz - Organic Dark and Light Rice Beer - Pretty good, though the malt backbone was a little light. Basically like what I remember a Coor's Light being
 
Lets discuss it over a Bards (lol). Bard's Tale is the best commercial GF beer I've had (except Snowman Brewing's triple but theyre not for sale yet). They malt the sorghum, so it has malt character and mouthfeel, unlike other GFB's. It's a german lager with a sweet malty character, light body, a crisp caramel finish, not much sour/bitter taste (surprisingly)... very drinkable (I've had 12+ in one night ;P).

After having had a few homebrews made with malted/roasted grains, and Bard's, I began to realize that maybe sorghum is not the problem - you need quality malted grain to make a good beer! Briess is doing it all wrong, that's the problem.

Edit:
I've found Bards tastes best out of the bottle, cold.
 
Lets discuss it over a Bards (lol). Bard's Tale is the best commercial GF beer I've had (except Snowman Brewing's triple but theyre not for sale yet). They malt the sorghum, so it has malt character and mouthfeel, unlike other GFB's. It's a german lager with a sweet malty character, light body, a crisp caramel finish, not much sour/bitter taste (surprisingly)... very drinkable (I've had 12+ in one night ;P).

After having had a few homebrews made with malted/roasted grains, and Bard's, I began to realize that maybe sorghum is not the problem - you need quality malted grain to make a good beer! Briess is doing it all wrong, that's the problem.

Edit:
I've found Bards tastes best out of the bottle, cold.

I agree with Bards being the best. To us it was virtually impossible to discern a difference between it and a "normal" beer.
 
They're all basically rubbish. I've been most impressed with Green's, because they are at least true to style (so if you like Belgian beers....), but Harvester disappointed me mightily. I spent $100 to get a case of bombers shipped to me, and most of it went down the drain. The Dark Ale was dreadful, like licking a tire. The Red was also pretty bad, but I could see it being good if it was fresher. The Pale was decent, as was the Raspberry, but I could still barely drink them. I used to like New Planet okay, but I've lost my taste for their pale and raspberry ales. St. Peter's is good if you can get a fresh one, the amarillo hops can really pop, but most of 'em are pretty stale and not very good...kinda skunky, due to the green glass. I like New Grist if it's hot enough outside, it's like a PBR to Red Bridge's Bud Light. Omission gives me a reaction, and tastes like arse anyway, and I tend to stay away from any "de-glutenized" beers.

I'd rather spend my money on any of Crispin's "Artisanal Reserve" ciders...the Lansdowne is great, the Irish stout yeast really comes through. I've been trying like hell to get my hands on their Cho Tokkyu rice cider with sake yeast, but I can't even seem to special order it here in CA. Frankly, though, I've been working on acquiring a taste for whisky...it's my go-to when I don't have homebrew available. Bulleit Rye and Johnnie Walker Red are my favorites. I'm really hoping that Harvester gets their act together, though...they have the right mindset for a craft brewery, having produced an IPA, a Fresh Hop Pale ale, and now a Pumpkin ale (none of which I've managed to get my hands on). Also, New Planet has a Brown ale due out in 2013 that I have high hopes for....
 
Dogfish head's T'weason ale is the only gf beer I can stand. I'd suggest that over nasty ass bards.
 
Frankly, though, I've been working on acquiring a taste for whisky...it's my go-to when I don't have homebrew available. Bulleit Rye and Johnnie Walker Red are my favorites. QUOTE]

Be careful with whiskey. The distilling process eliminates any gluten and its components but some of the distillers add falvour/colourings that contain gluten (usually from malt). The most common reaction I've heard of and in fact experienced is that the alcohol hits you like a ton of bricks. One shot feels like 3.

One of my favourites is Wiser's Small Batch.
 
They're all basically rubbish. I've been most impressed with Green's, because they are at least true to style (so if you like Belgian beers....), but Harvester disappointed me mightily. I spent $100 to get a case of bombers shipped to me, and most of it went down the drain. The Dark Ale was dreadful, like licking a tire. The Red was also pretty bad, but I could see it being good if it was fresher. The Pale was decent, as was the Raspberry, but I could still barely drink them. I used to like New Planet okay, but I've lost my taste for their pale and raspberry ales. St. Peter's is good if you can get a fresh one, the amarillo hops can really pop, but most of 'em are pretty stale and not very good...kinda skunky, due to the green glass. I like New Grist if it's hot enough outside, it's like a PBR to Red Bridge's Bud Light. Omission gives me a reaction, and tastes like arse anyway, and I tend to stay away from any "de-glutenized" beers.

I'd rather spend my money on any of Crispin's "Artisanal Reserve" ciders...the Lansdowne is great, the Irish stout yeast really comes through. I've been trying like hell to get my hands on their Cho Tokkyu rice cider with sake yeast, but I can't even seem to special order it here in CA. Frankly, though, I've been working on acquiring a taste for whisky...it's my go-to when I don't have homebrew available. Bulleit Rye and Johnnie Walker Red are my favorites. I'm really hoping that Harvester gets their act together, though...they have the right mindset for a craft brewery, having produced an IPA, a Fresh Hop Pale ale, and now a Pumpkin ale (none of which I've managed to get my hands on). Also, New Planet has a Brown ale due out in 2013 that I have high hopes for....

As for whiskys, believe it or not, for the the money I think Wiser's Canadian Whisky is pretty darn good. Check it out if you are getting into whiskys.
 
Keep in mind that the varieties of liquor/beer available in Ontario is limited compared to the USA *cough-LCBO* (and everything is overpriced). If I could buy T'weason ale, I would, same goes for Crispin's ciders. Probably wouldn't brew so much otherwise. But I do like Bards better than the other Commercial GF beers that I can buy, especially Nickelbrook GF - it's terrible. Overall I'm more into bold beers, like Belgian Triples/Strong Ales, stout's, IIPA's. GF Belgian Strong Ale's are great, and easy to make.

I too am a fan of Rye Whiskey, and although I like Wisers, I like Centennial even better - Centennial is like Wisers but it's smoother, and very sippable. Wisers spiced rye is pretty good too, tasty and smooth, way better than other spiced rums.
 
Beerd1 said:
Is that a seasonal beer? I haven't seen it but I will keep an eye-out for it.

You know. It is. I can find it near me. Probably only because people around me aren't buying it. Sorry Holmes.
 
Beerd1 said:
As for whiskys, believe it or not, for the the money I think Wiser's Canadian Whisky is pretty darn good. Check it out if you are getting into whiskys.

I wasn't aware that whiskey was GF?
 
Skagdog said:
Distilled likker is gluten free.

Just did some research, long story short is theoretically yes it is but in practice many people still get serious reactions from gluten based distilled liquors. Damnit.
 
Sorghum "beer" will never be like traditional beer, just like GF bread will never be like a wheat based bread. It can get close, but will never be the same. Accept it for what it is. I am not gluten intolerant, but my wife is (for over 10 yrs). She used to really like her beer, so I have been questing to find her beer since she started her GF life. I try all these GF beers out of curiosity. The most beer-like of the GF beers are certainly the low gluten Omission and Estrella Daura. For the sorghum brews, I like Bards, New Grist is okay, Harvester pale (haven't tried the others), and the New Plant pale was okay. If you are expecting a sorghum IPA to compare to a traditional ipa, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. It will never be the same. But, they can be good for what they are. Sometimes I actually drink them on purpose! Especially during warmer weather.

As far as liquor goes, a good tequila is GF and IMO better than a good whiskey (but it costs more).
 
I must disagree, I have made several beers including a few IPAs that non-GF drinkers not only like but cannot believe they are GF. So it can be done.
 
I am looking for a good ipa recipe to brew soon....care to share a couple of your best brew recipes?
 
I picked up a 4 pack of New Planet's Off Grid IPA yesterday and it was so nasty I had to wash it down with Red Bridge. Plus it was $9 for 4 beers. Ridiculous.
 
Personally, I've found that freshness is probably one of the biggest factors in the quality of gluten free beers. There isn't much in the way of GF beer available locally, so at times when I've found a different GF beer in some strange place (almost always dusty bottles on the bottom shelf at some store), I've bought it, but several times now I've thought it was nasty...and later when I've gotten one at a higher volume store (usually in Minneapolis), it has been way better.
 
New Planet Tread Lightly Ale (their Blonde Ale) is my absolute favorite but at 9$ for a 4 pack, it'll break the bank. I'm trying to homebrew a clone, but in the meantime, I'm stuck paying for the sweet nectar.
 
Cloning New Planet's Blonde shouldn't be too difficult. There's nothing fancy to it, just sorghum, corn sugar, orange peel, and Cascade hops. 15 IBUs, 5% ABV, dead-simple, I'm sure.
 
I haven't sampled GF beers very widely, but since it hasn't been mentioned yet here, I have to say that my girlfriend and I both enjoyed Sprecher's Shakparo. Definitely "malt" forward, and fuller-bodied than other GF beers I've had.
 
I have a recommendation: don't buy Tweason ale! Blech! I bought a 4 pack of that this past weekend--I'd never had it before but heard good things. EIther my batch was skunked or that stuff is just plain bad.
 
I had the exact same experience still have 2 bottles in the fridge that I need to pour out... The beer was awful
 
I live in San Diego and am an avid IPA consumer, sorry was, now I'm gluten free and the only "almost" gluten free beer I enjoy, because it's mildly hoppy, is Omission Pale Ale (a subsidiary of Widmer).

But, important to note depending on your sensitivity, this beer is gluten reduced to 20 ppm. It is not gluten free.

Very tasty though compared to other GF beer.
 
Epic Brewing Glutenator

My wife has been GF for about a year and we've been searching far and wide for anything close to real beers. This is a hands down winner.

She also enjoys Omission and New Planet's offerings. But this is the first GF beer I truly enjoy.
 

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