Deschutes Brewery is the latest to offer consumers a gluten free beer, its Gluten Free Golden Ale. A company press release explains that by using sorghum, brown rice and roasted chestnuts instead of malted barley or wheat the Deschutes brewers are able to create a flavor that is similar to the crystal malt used in many of their beers.
From the release:
Deschutes Brewery’s Gluten Free Golden Ale is a new and improved version of its Rootin’ Tootin’ Low Gluten beer, which won a Gold Medal at the prestigious Brewers Association 2008 World Beer Cup Awards in the Gluten Free Beer category, beating 12 entrants from some of the world’s best breweries. Although the brewery has produced a small batch of low gluten beer before, the Deschutes brewers were so fastidious in brewing this new gluten free beer that they not only double cleaned the brewing equipment, but also grew the yeast culture used to ferment the beer from a single cell using only sorghum as its nutritional source. The absence of wheat, barley and malt makes the brew a perfect option for individuals with celiac disease.
“We saw that there was a large group of people who weren’t able to enjoy traditional beers and we’re very excited that the release of Gluten Free Golden Ale will make great beer available to everyone,†says Deschutes Brewery president and founder Gary Fish. “The most important part about developing this beer was to make something that tasted really good – the fact that it is gluten free makes it all the more unique.â€
Gluten Free Golden Ale will only be available on draft at the Deschutes Brewery and Public Houses in Bend and Portland.