First Draught — Can’t say enough good things about Glutenberg

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/01/2018 (3009 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There was a time when I believed there would never be such a thing as a good gluten-free beer available all over Manitoba, but there are now several options available through Glutenberg out of Quebec and Mongozo out of Belgium.

I was lucky enough to check out the Glutenberg Brewery back in June thanks to having a friend who was brewing at Glutenberg’s sister brewery. At Glutenberg I saw massive sacks of buckwheat and other various non-gluten grains being used to brew their beer.

The thing I like about Glutenberg is that they’re a craft brewery that’s experimenting with gluten-free ingredients for beer drinkers throughout Canada and the United States. They are considered one of the top gluten-free breweries in the world.

Manitoba has missed out on some of their more recent brews like their stout and thé houblonné (hopped tea ale), we currently have their Pale Ale Américaine, India Pale Ale and Blonde. The IPA is currently being discontinued, so you will see it on clearance in coming days, but their Pale Ale Américaine is currently on sale at Liquor Marts throughout Manitoba,

The thing I love about Glutenberg’s Pale Ale Américaine is that it looks, smells and tastes like your typical craft beer from Montreal.

The beer pours a clear golden straw beer with a liberal amount of carbonation in the body, and a thick amount of white head on top that diminishes over time, leaving behind a good deal of residue on the side of the glass.

La Pale Ale Américaine smells delicious for not containing any barley or wheat — there’s a great hop presence with notes of pine, lime, a hint of spice, alfalfa, and grapefruit. Bitter and somewhat fruity.

The flavour of Glutenberg’s Pale Ale Américaine is mostly bitter up front — the first thing I get is a bit of a dill bitterness. There’s notes of lemon, grass, a bit of pine, a bit of a strange grain flavour that I can’t pick out — likely the buckwheat being used.

During the entire review, I was hiccuping and thinking that I was going to really dislike this beer. Well, I really appreciate Brasserie Glutenberg’s beers for their experimenting with different grains and still trying to replicate popular craft beer styles. This Pale Ale Américaine has a surprisingly moderate amount of foam lacing as the beer is being sampled.

This may be one of the better gluten free beers I’ve ever had — this has a great hop presence of pine and dill, it’s easy to drink, and it looks great in your glass as you’re drinking it!

Glutenberg’s IPA is soon going to be discontinued by Manitoba Liquor Marts, but their Pale Ale Américaine is definitely the better of the two beers, especially for the hop heads! Until Jan. 28, you can find Glutenberg’s Pale Ale Américaine for $3.49 per 473 ml can at Liquor Marts in Brandon at the Corral Centre and 10th & Victoria Liquor Marts.

I seriously wish that MBLL would bring more Glutenberg products to Manitoba!

Rating: 4/5 pints

» Cody Lobreau is a Canadian beer blogger who reviews every beerhe can get his hands on as he believes that he should try every beer twice to get an understanding if it’s truly good or bad. BeerCrank.ca