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Epic Beer Post
May 1st, 2009 | caitlin | Categories: The Basket, Uncategorized
Tagged: Gluten Free, Gluten Free Beer, Gluten Free Calgary, Green's Beer, Kensington Wine Market, Willow Park Wine and Spirits

I’ve been sitting on this for a little while. The weather has been less than inspiring and the desire to talk about sitting outside with a beer hasn’t been there. But now that the sun is finally out, and I can visualize myself on the deck getting some colour, I figure why not do it with a beer. Oh ya, a GF beer!

My parents have been very helpful and supportive in my GF living. Mom always double checks labels, and they always keep a look out for new GF products I may like. One such thing is GF beer. A trip to Kensington Wine Market turned fruitful when my dad caught these little diddy’s and bought them. We sat down and had possibly the greatest beer tasting afternoon ever. The results are below. I hope they help you, and I hope that you too can partake in beer at your next BBQ!

Le Messagere

A very light GF beer made in Quebec. First taste and I am reminded of beer shanty’s – beer mixed with ginger ale. It’s very fizzy, a lot like a pop fiz that will produce involuntary burping. Maybe not the best in social situations – you will already be “that guy drinking the weird beer” and this might upgrade you to “that guy who burps a lot”. Maybe not the best if you’re trying to impress someone of the opposite (or same) sex. My mom who is NOT a beer drinker, really liked this one. It was light and didn’t have the bitter beer taste that she hates. If you’re one of those people that isn’t so much about the beer taste of beer, this may be for you.

Greens – Quest

Getting closer to real beer with this one. This one actually holds a little bit of a head of the top. After much discussion we decided that Quest had a more fruity taste to it – something between the taste of a champagne and a sweedish berry candy. Definitely no bitter beer face with this.

What we also liked about Green’s was that it was not only GF but it also covers a myriad of other allergies: wheat, barley, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soy, beans, milk/lactose, nuts, celery, mustard, sesame seeds, sulphur dioxide and sulfites. Okay I know what you’re thinking, why would there be crustaceans and celery in beer? Can’t tell you the answer to that – but they have made it known that if you don’t have to worry about it, it’s not in the bottle!

Green’s – Discovery

Another step closer to a complete success. Discovery is slightly heavier than say, Molson Canadian, but still lighter than a dark ale. With Discovery you start to get more into the finer points of beer. It carries a slightly bitter taste and more of a true beer colour and body. If you’re into the generic beers this is your beer. As with all Green’s beers, this one is also free of allergens.

Green’s – Endeavor

Now this is a beer! This will make you want to drink GF beer. This will make you want to soak your steak, and your burgers in beer again. Oh if only it came in a can and you could have beer can chicken! Endeavor pours with a nice head and has a nice dark honey colour. The closest comparison we could make to a gluten filed beer is Sleeman’s Honey Brown. I will caution you to one thing – this bottle is 7% alcohol. And because it goes down so well you may find yourself  swaying like the front row at a Boyz2Men concert!

If you want to know where I am this weekend – I’m sitting in the sunshine on my parents deck drinking Endeavor.  And if I may, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my parents and Fiance and Cousin J for their help with the taste test. (I think Dad and I had more fun than the rest of them.)

All of the beers above can be found at the Kensington Wine Market and Green’s can also be found (in limited supply) at Willow Park Wines & Spirits.

Happy Beer Day – please drink responcibly.

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