Gluten-free Gourmand

A few weeks ago I posted a review of the brand-new Omission Gluten-free Pale Ale from Widmer.   It only took a short time for me to find the beer in a number of different locations, which you can find on the Find Omission page of their website.  Since I have a gluten eater and beer lover as a resource, I will start with my boyfriend's response to the Omission Gluten-free Lager.  He sipped, then said: "What style of beer is this?" "A lager," I replied. "Oh, this is pretty good for a lager.  I've had plenty of lagers that weren't nearly as good as this." In this quote, I may have left out a few expletives that referenced other lagers.  But there were no expletives referencing this one.  You heard it from the expert: Omission Gluten-free Lager is pretty good for a lager.  In some of the other reviews I've read about Omission, bloggers have commented that they prefer the Pale Ale. I, for one, am not one of those bloggers.  I pr...

I stepped into the Horse Brass Pub last night.  The occasion was that the Horse Brass happens to be located across the street from my laundromat.  My boyfriend and I felt like a laundry night celebration - or consolation prize, as the case may be.  I started checking out the famously long list of guest taps that they offer, looking for something gluten-free.  There was a cider on tap, but at the very bottom, I saw a surprise: Omission Pale Ale.  The server came by and I jumped right on it. "Can I get a bottle of the Omission Beer?" I queried, expecting the usual look of pity on my beer-loving server's face when he realized I wasn't going to order anything good.  But that's not the look I got. The server replied, "Yeah, that's actually pretty good.  It's the only gluten-free beer I've ever tried that tastes like real beer."  If I hadn't been getting it anyway, this would have sold me.  I've never had a Portland beer server recomme...

Dark Ale.  Need I say more?   Oh yes - it's gluten-free. I stopped by Belmont Station last evening to meet the brewers, James and John, of Harvester Brewing , which has its base right here in Portland, Oregon.  I had to fight my way through a throng of admirers just to get a taste, but it was worth it.  Harvester Brewing just started distribution of their Pale Ale in December, and already they are available in quite a few local markets.  Last night they introduced two new beers, the Dark Ale and the Experiment Ale, a red ale. I had tried the Pale Ale when I first heard about it, maybe a month ago.  When I tried it again last night I noted a change, and I asked James about it.  Has there been a distinct difference between batches? He granted that he's always improving his recipes.  He noted humbly, "I think I'm just becoming a better brewer."  We talked about how the chestnuts they use influence the taste.  I thought the mos...

 I have been hearing about the Hawthorne Fish House for a long time, and I finally got over there to try some gluten-free fish 'n chips for the first time in August.  Almost everything on their menu is gluten-free! The deep-fried fish is coated with some tasty rice flour.  I got the halibut.    My friend got the Chile-fried Catfish, which was even better than mine, but I didn't have an opportunity to get a shot of that before it was completely devoured.  I really liked the spicy breading.  They have several gluten-free beers in bottles - including all three styles of Green's. Hawthorne Fish House has a very clearly-marked menu that has notes on what is and isn't gluten-free.  The restaurant has a very clever strategy for presenting their fish as not only the healthiest, but also the best in Portland.  Here's a little of what they say about their food: "It's no accident we have Portland's Best Fish & Chips. Besides top quality fish ...

In my previous post I promised to give you a description of the Gluten-free Ale once I could get my hands on it.  Well, I never got one.  What I could get was a description of an even newer gluten-free beer: the Gluten-free Pale Ale. 100% Gluten-Free Ale!  This beer is made with sorghum, brown rice, and carmelixed sugar syrup for a smooth gluten-free experience.  The juicy hop aromas come from Cascade, Centennial, Crystal and a touch of Citra.  Tell your friends! IBU's: 49     Alcohol Content: 5.0% I learned a few things from a helpful server that I hadn't realized before: - The gluten-free beers are all brewed in the Bend facility. - The gluten-free beers are all made in a dedicated gluten-free brew kettle and fermentation tank to avoid cross-contamination. - The Gluten-Free Ale I had last week may have been one in a series of small experimental batches of gluten-free beer. - Deschutes is trying to perfect various recipes in the ho...

Deschutes Brewery has switched over from the Gluten-free ESB to a Gluten-free Ale.  My server described it as a "wheat-style beer."  Of course, as with all the Deschutes Brewery GF beers, it contains no wheat. This beer has the smoothest aftertaste of any sorghum beer I have ever tasted.  There is only a hint of that metallic aftertaste that you get from most gluten-free beers.  Run out and try it soon, or I may drink it all myself!  I got a growler today to enjoy over the weekend. I'll post again when I have an official description of this new gluten-free beer. Have you been to Deschutes lately?  What do you think of their gluten-free beer?

As chance would have it, I had an opportunity to dine at Deschutes Brewery this evening, and I was able to procure their beer list.  I reviewed their current gluten-free beer in a previous post , but I didn't have the official description until today: Gluten Free ESB 100% Gluten-Free Ale!  This beer is made with sorghum, brown rice, maple syrup, and molasses for a smooth gluten-free experience.  We used Topaz and Brewer's Gold hops for bittering and Willamette and Sterling hops for aroma.  Tell your friends! IBU's: 49  Alcohol content: 5.7% You can see their list of " What's on Tap " on the Deschutes Brewery website , but it's often incorrect where the GF beer is concerned.  Click here to find a link to the gluten-free menu at the Portland Pub.  I had the steamer clams with house-made GF bread sticks and a house salad withe gluten-free croutons.  You can't see the croutons in the photo because I had already eaten them all before I took th...

I went to Deschutes brewery the other night with one of my gluten-free friends.  I was looking forward to having another pint of the Gluten-free Wit beer, but instead they had a Gluten-free ESB on tap.  My friend Daniel said after one sip: "I think this is the best gluten-free beer I've ever had." That's what I always say after trying one of Deschutes Brewery's gluten-free beers.

Deschutes Brewery is currently serving a gluten-free wit beer.  Even better news is that my server informed me last night that they have several different kinds of gluten-free beers that they have been trying out lately.  They only have one on tap at a time for obvious practical reasons, but it sounds like they might be rotating them out more frequently now than they were over the summer and fall. Unlike the previous Deschutes beer that I reviewed here , which I called a wit beer but was probably intended to be a hefeweisen style, this one actually is a wit-style beer.  This new wit beer gives the same first impression that most of their gluten-free beers do: the first sip, it tastes like normal beer.  Then, you get that subtle hint of the metallic aftertaste that is so common in beers made from sorghum.  However, in the Deschutes beers the metallic flavor is usually much more toned down than in, say, Redbridge.  This gluten-free wit beer is very good an...

Deschutes Brewery in Portland, Oregon, out-does itself again with their new gluten-free beer, the Gluten-free Crystal Weiss. Deschutes is really perfecting their gluten-free beers - each one is better than the last. Each one also seems to come closer to traditional beers, and sidesteps some of the pitfalls of the typical gluten-free beer. The Gluten-free Crystal Weiss is very drinkable. The ingredients of maple syrup and molasses come through in the flavor and aroma. This one is very pleasant and smooth, with none of the metallic aftertaste that is the signature of other gluten-free beers die to the sorghum malt.  It has a bit of a fruit quality to it but it holds back from being actually sweet. The aroma is what really stood out for me with this beer. Gluten-free beers often have an unusual odor. While I could smell the sorghum in this beer, the scent was surprisingly pleasant. They don't have it posted on their website yet, but the brew is listed on their beer menu: ...