New Grist - Lakefront Brewery (USA - Wisconsin - Milwaukee)

New Grist - Lakefront Brewery (USA - Wisconsin - Milwaukee) 5.3%

Very pale gold in a glass, almost like a cider with a nearly nonexistent head. All of which is typical of gluten free beers. The aroma is very lightly citrusy (tangerine perhaps) and fairly tart.

The taste is a just little tart at first, especially in the finish, but is otherwise very beer like. New Grist is a little overcarbonated to my tastes but has a convincing malt flavour with light grain flavours and even some light dry european hops. This is a very convincing Pilsner style gluten-free beer and while it is a little light on flavour that makes it a whole lot better than some of the gluten-free options out there. If Lakefront added just a little bit more dry hops flavour I think it would be about as close to a Pilsner as a gluten-free beer could be.

Mongozo Premium Pilsner (Belgium) 5.0%

Mongozo Premium Pilsner (Belgium) 5.0%

Gold in a glass with a little less than an inch of off-white head that was fairly resilient for a gluten-free beer. Smelled quite a bit like a typical pilsner at first, a dry sort of hops aroma with some malt-like aroma, sort of like a American Adjunct Lager. Then the slightly sour and a little cheesy aroma I've found in many gluten-free beers. Wow, it tastes remarkably like a typical pilsner or Euro Lager. There is a faint sourness but other than that it's hard to tell the difference between Mongozo Premium Pilsner and any other gluten bearing pilsner: quite impressive.

Note: Brewed in Belgium under license for a brewery from the Netherlands.

Nickel Brook Gluten Free - Better Bitters Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Burlington)

Nickel Brook Gluten Free - Better Bitters Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Burlington) 5.8%

An interestingly hoppy aroma before a cheesy aroma that some gluten-free beers have barges in; although the two do find some balance in the end. I'm not sure if that particular aroma is due to the sorghum or not, but the hops still carries through lightly. Pale gold in a glass and with a quick-fading, soda-pop-like head: after all, the proteins that allow beer's unique among beverages frothy head to form are necessarily absent from a gluten-free beer.

The taste is sweet and tart, maybe even a touch metallic at first. It is really quite bitter and the hops come through, at times more than others, with nice floral and cedar hop notes. Other than the bitterness, the overall flavour is milder on the whole than most gluten-free beers I have reviewed. This combination of factors, particularly the skillful use of hops, makes Nickel Brook Gluten Free perhaps the most similar to conventional beers out of the gluten-free beers I have tried. That being said, its flavour certainly still takes some getting used to and there are some other gluten free beers which manage to taste very good, in my opinion, even if they don't taste much like conventional beers. Overall, a good gluten-free alternative and, if you are into gluten-free, a must-try.

Glutenberg Blonde - Brasseurs Sans Gluten (Canada - Quebec - Montreal)

Glutenberg Blonde - Brasseurs Sans Gluten (Canada - Quebec - Montreal) 4.5%

Pale gold in a glass with a head that fades quickly but is better than most gluten-free beers I have tried. A strong grapefruit aroma which is very pleasant actually with just a touch of something malt-like. That grapefruit aspects continues into the palate and is still very nice. The taste is also just a little bit skunky and malty with a lingering shadow of a flavour that reminds me of sushi rice prepared with a dash of rice wine vineagar.


Definitely my favourite gluten-free beer I've had to this point: I really like the grapefruit flavour. Glutenberg Blonde has a stylish label complete with nutrional factsheet but sports a plain silver bottlecap (not pictured).

La Messagère - Les Bières de la Nouvelle-France (Canada - Quebec - St Alexis des Monts)

La Messagère - Les Bières de la Nouvelle-France (Canada - Quebec - St Alexis des Monts) 4.7%

Very, very pale gold in a glass. Malty aroma ctually, bread and quite a bit of yeast. Quite taste (at times very sour), flowery but some malt-like taste and overall really not that bad. One of the best gluten-free beers I've even had, by far.

Bard's Gold - Bard's Beer Co (USA - New York - Utica)

Bard's Gold - Bard's Beer Co (USA - New York - Utica) 4.6%

An off putting yeasty and sort of medicinal aroma with tones of stinky cheese. Fortunately it is tastier than that. Though the taste is metallic and herbal. Yeasty too but the head and look of the beer are like any other. A coppery-gold colour in a glass.

The bottlecap has a cool graphic and each has a discussion provoking question underneath (mine read: " Which is more dangerous to own: nuclear fuel rods or a trampoline?") which all goes along with the cheery slogan, " Discuss it over a Bard's".

Not my favourite beer to drink by a long shot but definitely better than the other gluten free beer I have tried and I'm sure there are many people suffering from Celiac's disease who are grateful for this option.