My latest Beer 101 is now live, and it takes a look at growing trend toward gluten-free beer. It was a scant few years ago when such a concept was a virtual impossibility in the beer world. Barley is the king of beer and it is chock full of gluten, and so the message was “too bad, so sad Mr. (or Ms.) Celiac.”

However, times change. Today there are a number of gluten-free beer available on beer store shelves. Some are better than others, of course, but all are trying to meet a burgeoning market demand. Latest estimates say that up to 1% of the population is gluten-intolerant in some form, which is a hell of a lot of beer drinkers who are dying for ANYTHING beer-like to consume.

To beer geeks like me and most of you, gluten-free beer is rather hard to swallow. But what we have to appreciate is it is bloody hard to make beer from rice, sorghum, millet, buckwheat and other no-gluten grains. Malting is more difficult, as is the mashing schedule. Plus you have to accommodate rough flavours not found in barley. I defy even the best homebrewer on the prairies to try it!

A couple years ago I wanted to write about gluten-free beer, and realized I shouldn’t be the one offering the taste test. So I convened a panel of gluten-intolerant friends one evening and let them decide whether gluten free beer passed the test. On the whole they were appreciative of the range of flavours offered by the four or five beer I provided. You can read my Vue article on the topic here.

Since writing that original column the number of gluten-free beer in Alberta has doubled. I intend on re-convening my panel sometime soon to review the new arrivals. But for now, you can read my discussion on how to make gluten-free beer and why it is so hard to do. Read the Beer 101 column here.