"gluten free beer" news and stories

One of the things that is largely off limits to anyone with celiac disease is beer. Almost all beers are made with malted barley and other gluten-containing ingredients, such as wheat, barley, rye and/or oats.

New Grist is a beer that is brewed entirely gluten-free using sorghum, hops, water, rice and gluten-free yeast grown on molasses. It is produced by the Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is available in approximately 1/3 of the country. Right now, New Grist is carried by stores that include Whole Foods, which is likely to make the beer more widely available.

To get an idea of how in-demand such a product is, it is interesting to note the Anheuser Busch is actually testing a gluten-free brew of their own. It isn't ready for the market yet, but simply the fact that the country's largest brewery is interested in offering what many would consider to be a niche market means that celiacs are being recognized as a significant portion of the population.

Other gluten-free beer options include Dragon's Gold and HB (formerly called Passover Honey Beer).